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Serious educational gameplay continues to gain traction in K-12 educational settings, as access to novel technologies increases. Increased access to computers and other devices has shifted the landscape of the classroom, increasing students' screen-time, as technology infused lessons replace other learning experiences. Amid this context, our research team created a serious educational game (SEG) designed for elementary science learners. Previous studies have linked serious gameplay to learning gains and changes in attitudes, yet the rigor of the studies often underwhelms, as the studies lack an adequate sample size, detailed student data, or quality comparison groups. These limitations are compounded in the study of science learning in elementary schools, due to structural difficulties and student variability that impede the implementation of this type of experimentation. This research attends to this knowledge gap, as our team conducted two quasi-experimental studies to explore the learning gains associated with Virtual Vet, a SEG designed to address the fundamental science concepts associated with the human body systems and the subsequent effect of diabetes and obesity related illnesses on the given body systems. In Study 1, students (n=232) were randomly assigned to play Virtual Vet or participate in guided inquiry lessons that addressed the same objectives. Our study found that students in the game condition outperformed the non-game condition. Based on this finding, we designed Study 2 to compare learning outcomes associated with two conditions: students play only Virtual Vet or students play Virtual Vet and they participate in the guided inquiry activities, which doubled the instructional time for this group. Students (n=166) were assigned to one of the conditions and we found no significant increase in learning gains for the students who participated in both activities. These results indicate that well-designed SEGs powerfully facilitate and support science learning in elementary settings.

Public community colleges were established to improve access to higher education. However, access for all often results in low student retention and in the loss of effort, time, and money for students and institutions. This institutional specific retention study, which examined student factors, both demographic and academic, and institutional factors, was completed at a public community college in New England. Working from an existing database, the data on a cohort of first-time full-time students (N = 1,729) were tracked through the period fall 1998 through fall 2003 and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and logistic regression analysis. The findings resulted in a set of recommended changes in institutional policies and practices aimed at improving student retention and, thereby, greater success for the students and the institution. (Contains 5 tables.)

Debate over the proper identification and placement of gifted children in public schools is not new. But the pressure put on public schools by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has brought advocates and opponents of gifted education into starker conflict. This presents a chance to reexamine the foundational premises of the argument in closer view and to analyze the potential role of law in resolving it. In the first part of this article, the author considers the premises of the equality versus excellence debate as it involves the issue of gifted children and their treatment in the public schools. She concludes that although no innate conflict exists between the goals of achieving educational equality and promoting individual academic excellence, these two goals engage a core "political" conflict that has long thwarted efforts to provide adequate public funding for gifted education. In the second part, she recounts the history of federal support for gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds, concluding that the political system fails to promote the development of such children and that this fact is unlikely to change. In the third section, she discusses the other legal route to delivering needed services to gifted and disadvantaged kids: the creation and funding of nonprofit organizations. She argues that the philosophy behind the nonprofit sector in the United States--that nonprofits exist, in large part, to increase liberty, encourage diversity, and promote innovative solutions to important social problems--makes devising and funding nonprofit ventures a more promising way to benefit gifted and disadvantaged children than government funding. However, the diversity and diffusion of the nonprofit sector present a formidable obstacle to the kind of coherent and organized mandate that would most effectively help gifted children. She identifies five core goals of such a mandate and describes one program that, in conjunction with the public school system,seems designed to implement all five. (Contains 72 footnotes.)

Youth participation in sports has increased greatly over the past 20 years. Consequently, there has been a rise in the number of sports injuries. A study was conducted to determine teen's level of physical activity, knowledge about risk factors for sports injuries, use of protective equipment, and parental involvement. Two groups of teens, one of which was required to take a physical education class, were given a self-administered, written survey. The study found that the teens in this small Virginia town have a high level of involvement in sports and other physical activity and good general knowledge of sports injury prevention. Improvement is needed in the use of protective equipment when participating in informal sports activities and in the provision of sports injury prevention education to parents. As advocates for student health, school nurses are in a unique position to educate students, parents, staff, and the community about prevention of sports-related injuries. (Contains 1 table.)

Analyzes the trend toward ranking colleges, and what it means to community colleges. States that the National Center for Public Policy published "Measuring Up 2000" as its first state-by-state report card on higher education, including community colleges. Reports that the study ranks the states according to six key elements: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, benefits, and learning. (NB)

Uses the example of British polytechnic institutions' conversion into universities as a warning to the United States to avoid transforming community colleges into baccalaureate-granting institutions. Asserts that conversion places undue burdens on community colleges while altering their historic mission. (NB)

Discusses the implications of the "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency" (2000) decision supporting the use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills for other state assessment programs. Notes that the legal success of the state test in Texas was not due merely to good fortune, but to the test's adherence to legally defensible principles. (SLD)

The article discusses the challenges of treating diabetes in pets, particularly cats and dogs. Traditional therapy involves a combination of diet, exercise, and insulin therapy, which can be burdensome for owners and may negatively impact their daily lives. However, there have been advances in therapy and monitoring that aim to simplify treatment and decrease the euthanasia rate. The article highlights two specific treatments: SENVELGO oral solution for cats and PROZINC for dogs, both of which have shown promising results in improving glycemic control and reducing clinical signs of diabetes. The article emphasizes the importance of proper dosing and monitoring for successful treatment. [Extracted from the article]

Taking into account reassessments of Franz Boas' concepts of race as well as the correspondence between Zora Neale Hurston and Boas, I suggest that Hurston arrived at a crucial turning point between her first and second Florida field expeditions. By following Boas' injunctive to attend to the 'manner of rendition' over the content of a folk tale, Huston experienced an epiphany, documented in her correspondence, on the nature of vernacular 'lies'--storytelling. Rather than seeing vernacular African American culture as a static tradition, Hurston came to see it as an ongoing, participatory dynamic, in which attention to the manner of rendition is paramount: an aesthetic she incorporated into all of her writing after that point., It was only when I was off in college, away from my native surroundings that I could see myself like somebody else and stand off and look at my garment. [...]