Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate how well college students meet U.S. dietary guidelines by examining the mean intakes of nutrients to limit (sodium, sugar, refined grains, and saturated fat), and what factors lead to exceeding the dietary recommendations. Participants: Participants were first-year undergraduate students (N =…

The associate degree nursing program offered at a privately owned, regionally accredited career college in central Virginia was placed under conditional approval by the Virginia Board of Nursing (VBON) due to low NCLEX[R]-RN pass rates and nine other violations of regulation. The lack of VBON approval for the nursing program resulted in the…

Currently in the United States, 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia have established prekindergarten (pre-K) age 4 learning standards that are intended to outline skills and knowledge that set children on a path to success in kindergarten and upcoming grades. These standards are emphasized as a centralizing force in early…

The professional preparation of teachers is essential because of their critical role in developing students' learning. Preparing quality teachers is a complex process, as they matriculate through the programs that prepare them for the classroom. The problem addressed by this study is teachers' lack of effective strategies and skills in…

In this study, researchers analyzed the reliability and validity of the mentor's assessment for principal internships at a university in the Southeast region of the United States. The results of the study yielded how trustworthy and dependable the instrument is and the effectiveness of the instrument in the current principal preparation program.…

The six National Standards for Family-School Partnerships provide a research-based framework for strengthening family engagement programs, activities, and policies by shifting the focus from what schools should do to involve parents, to what parents, schools, and communities can do together to support student success. An adjunct to the National…

The number of online learners in the United States at the K-12 level almost doubled in the two-year period from 2006 to 2008. However, research in this area is emergent at best. With the passage of legislation in 2010 requiring all school districts in Virginia to have a plan to provide online learning options for K-12 students, the need for…

Through a non-experimental descriptive and comparative mixed-methods approach, this study investigated the experiences of sixth grade earth science students with groundwater physical models through an extended SE learning cycle format. The data collection was based on a series of quantitative and qualitative research tools intended to investigate…

Everyday occurrences with evaporation are so ordinary that adults may not realize that children wonder about them and create explanations about what happens to water as wet objects dry. The process of evaporation is not visible, making it hard for young children to understand. Because they like to look for clues and participate in group…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent that diagrammatic literacy is necessary for success on standardized science tests at the late-elementary and middle grade levels. Towards this goal, we quantified the frequency, form and function of graphical representations on select state science tests. 985 tests items from 14 states were…

This article is based on the work of Louv (2005, 2008) and Lowell (2008) and their ideas are explored with regard to barriers to, as well as opportunities for, effective environmental education. State curriculum standards in the U.S. include substantial environmental education (EE) content. Despite this, overall education policy stymies educators'…

Jeremey Stoddard's article in this issue, "Toward a Virtual Field Trip Model for the Social Studies," describes his analysis of the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip and a conceptual model for developing meaningful and successful electronic or virtual field trips. In an effort to contextualize the Colonial Williamsburg…

As has been said by many educators, the challenge of educating the historically underserved--minority students, low-income students, and students who are the first in their families to attend college--must be met. Apart from the moral imperative, there is the need to raise the education and skill levels of all people to assure a reasonable…

Three years after calling for a reordering of elementary and middle school math curricula, the nation's largest group of math teachers is urging a new approach to high school instruction, one that aims to build students' ability to choose and apply the most effective problem-solving techniques, in the classroom and in life. Cultivating those…

Virginia is in the process of transitioning to new English language arts and mathematics standards that will better prepare students to be successful in college and their careers. Time, effort, and resources must be dedicated to effective implementation in order to realize the promise of these new common core state standards. This document…