In most of the United States, the central area situated between boulevards is referred to as the median; however in New Orleans, Louisiana, since the Civil War, the area is called the neutral ground. This qualitative study concerns the neutral ground area of the segment of North Claiborne Avenue which runs through Faubourg Tremé, the oldest Black neighborhood in the United States. My interest in this specific space stems from the fact that I understand it as a space of Black education. The problem is that between the years of 1961 and 1969 the government procured the neutral ground as a green space and used it to construct interstate 10. For this study, I explored the narratives surrounding this construction in order to better understand how the educational trends in the Black community of Faubourg Tremé shifted due to the construction of I-10. Black educational spaces, in response to engaging the meanings of the construction, were something not relegated to the brick and mortar institution. Rather, Black educational spaces were those simultaneously embodied and/or places re-imagined in multidisciplinary capacities through community engagements. It is this consideration which functioned as grounding for my inquiry into the neutral grounds of Faubourg Tremé and the broader North Claiborne Avenue corridor. Altogether, this study resulted in increased understanding of how collective spatial embodiment and/or re-imagining of place occurs through communal memory in response to violent infrastructural change.

This thesis follows my journey as an educator to find purpose and fulfillment in a career whose demands make it challenging to maintain balance between work and life. The mental, emotional, and physical energy that working in a "helping" or "giving" profession demands often poses a threat to valuable personal and family time, as well as a struggle to keep professionals working in these fields.

This thesis explores my personal struggle writing a Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) Thesis, what I have learned about this methodology and how I apply the insights I have gained to my work as a Student Affairs Professional. Topics such as vulnerability, truth, growth, personal liberation, meaning, and education are explored through my personal journey of learning to see myself as an educator through this type of writing. I describe how and why I came to use the SPN methodology for my thesis, some of the challenges that arose for me as I worked to put myself in the writing, some foundational SPN principles, a few struggles that came from sharing personal stories in such formal writing and above all, a deep description of what joys and lessons this type of writing can bring and how the insights influence my work with college students. My hope is that my journey through this process can yield useful information for educators and students alike as they progress through today's academy and work to find meaning in their role and education.

The lived experiences of mothers raising gifted and talented (G/T) children can differ from the lived experiences of mothers raising non-G/T children, and these unique experiences may spark concern, impact choices, and exacerbate stress and anxiety. The purpose of this study was to gather data in order to illustrate the distinctly defining experiences and perceptions of mothers currently raising G/T children as well as to consider both the internal and external factors affecting and influencing perspectives and self-efficacy. Utilizing a qualitative, case study research design approach, the researcher conducted interviews with eight volunteer mothers willing to share their thoughts and feelings regarding personal experiences. Several themes and subthemes were presented in the findings: (1) emotional responses stemming from appreciation, discomfort, anxiety and frustration; (2) parent protective factors stemming from concern for child and misunderstanding of child; and (3) misunderstanding of mother and her role.

<p> It is generally believed by educators that it is important for students to know basic multiplication facts. When students struggle to retrieve the answers to basic multiplication facts, it can negatively influence their ability to complete more difficult algorithms. There has been a call from educators to look to technology as a resource to teach this generation of students, claiming they are motivated by and prefer a technology rich learning environment. This quantitative, quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of the Mathletics.com technology on basic multiplication fact fluency in fourth grade students. The treatment group received three weeks of scheduled time using Mathletics.com, while the control group practiced multiplication facts using only traditional methods. To determine the effectiveness of the intervention, a nonequivalent control group design was used. To evaluate multiple dependent variables, MANOVA tests provided answers indicating statistical significance and post hoc tests were applied as needed. Using a multivariate approach with speed and accuracy for the construct of fluency, the results indicated that both groups made gains in the accuracy of their answers (<i>F</i>(2, 25) = 3.40, <i>p</i> &lt; .05; Wilks&rsquo; &lambda;&nbsp;= .79; partial &eegr;² = .21). While both groups improved with the speed of response on the posttest, the control group improved significantly more than the treatment group (<i>t</i>(13) = 3.60, <i>p</i> &lt; .025). Although the results did not indicate that technology significantly improved the learning of the treatment group, it could still be considered as a tool for today&rsquo;s student.</p>

Professional development for teachers currently working in the classroom is an important focus of educational programs and school systems. Continuous professional development is especially important for special education teachers to maintain current information related to strategies and supports that are effective in educating students with disabilities. The increase in identification of students with autism has forced many teachers to quickly adapt to working with a population of students they have limited experience in teaching through preservice education and previous classroom experience. Coaching is a popular method for professional development delivery to special education teachers currently working in the classroom. This delivery model is used to promote understanding and application of evidence based practices for students with autism to promote positive outcomes for teachers and students. Existing research demonstrates the effectiveness of coaching models to assist teachers in delivering instruction using evidence-based practices to students with autism. The purpose of this study was to determine teachers’ self-reported satisfaction and success with the National Professional Development Center (NPDC) coaching model. A nonexperimental survey research method was designed to investigate the relationship of the independent variables, participation in the NPDC coaching process, years of teaching experience, and the frequency of meeting with coach. The dependent variables examined in the study included the use of evidence-based practices with students and teachers’ reported appraisal of the NPDC coaching model. In order to measure the effect of coaching on self-reported change in teacher practice, a survey was conducted with the 21 teachers currently involved in the NPDC coaching model implementation sites. While a causal relationship between coaching as a professional development mechanism and the use of evidence-based practices was not established, teachers communicated the social validity and impact that participation in the project had on their instruction. Teachers also reported increases in students’ academic and behavioral skill development. The findings suggest that even though coaching can impact a teacher’s practice, many other factors are involved in the development of a teacher’s instructional skill set. Future research should continue to define the factors that influence teacher skill development, specifically around implementing evidence-based practices for students with autism spectrum disorders.

This experiment was designed to determine the effect essay writing has on learning introductory level college mathematics, learning mathematical skills, problem-solving and mathematical applications, and the retention of new knowledge in mathematics. The independent variable was the writing of essays. Essay writing included responding to questions assigned as homework and addressing mathematical situations presented in in-class activities. The dependent variables were overall achievement, skills, applications, and retention in each of these areas. The sample consisted of five classes of introductory-level algebra at Virginia State University. The experimental group consisted of 50 students in two classes; the control group was made up of 49 students in three classes. Achievement was measured by a twenty-question, multiple-choice test. Students took a different form of the test three times: pretest, posttest, and retention test. Mathematical skill ability was determined by subscores based on fifteen problems from the tests. The remaining five questions made up a subtest measuring the ability to solve mathematical application problems. The period of treatment was four weeks although the control group covered the material in three weeks. The essays were graded according to their completeness, accuracy, and clarity. Based on total scores the experimental group was divided into three subgroups- good writers, average writers, and poor writers. Analysis of covariance was used to test the null hypotheses. Results of this study indicated that essay writing in college mathematics classes did not improve mathematics achievement but suggested a highly positive effect on retention. Students identified as good writers received the greatest benefit as a result of writing essays. Good writers showed higher achievement than either poor writers or students who did not write essays at all. The researcher notes that creating, explaining, practicing, and grading the essay assignments are very time-consuming activities. Even so, the treatment is recommended for mathematics teachers because of the possible effect on retention and the increased interest level of the students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible relationships between a physician's personality type and his or her risk of receiving a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit. Patients frequently initiate a malpractice claim for reasons other than the perception of an injury. Often it is the result of a misunderstanding caused by ineffective or insufficient communication with the physician. Different personality types are known to communicate differently. Six research questions were explored in this analytical-descriptive study. The population was the physician faculty of the Medical College of Virginia. The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) was completed by 236 faculty. Information on medical malpractice claims for this sample was provided by the faculty professional liability insurance plan. A stratified and systematic sample of 100 MBTI respondents consented to complete the Tennenhouse Risk Prevention Skills learning system. There were significant, but moderate, correlations between male Intuitive types and female Feeling types and scores on the Tennenhouse system. There was a significant, but small, correlation between Sensing types and malpractice claims. The relationships between older physicians, claims, and low scores on the Tennenhouse system were significant. The relationships between age, gender and scores on the Tennenhouse system were significant; females received higher scores than males, and younger physicians performed better than older physicians. There was a significant relationship between physicians with claims against them and low scores on the Tennenhouse system.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of patient teaching in the home setting on compliance to one's home care regimen, number of hospital readmissions, and days of rehospitalization for patients with chronic congestive heart failure. An experimental design was used with subjects randomly assigned either to the experimental or control group. Both groups received traditional education in the hospital setting. In addition, the experimental group received the home health teaching program and the control group received an assessment visit for the purpose of counteracting the Hawthorne effect. Compliance data were collected from both groups by the investigator via telephone interview three months and six months after the initial hospitalization. Data were verified and supplemented by patients' medical records. The study was guided by the following hypotheses: 1. Patients with chronic congestive heart failure who have home teaching in addition to traditional education in the hospital setting will comply to a greater degree with the treatment regimen, as measured by a Compliance Assessment Guide, than patients who receive only traditional teaching in the hospital setting. 2. Patients with chronic congestive heart failure who have home teaching in addition to traditional education in the hospital setting will have fewer hospital readmissions for congestive heart failure than patients who receive only traditional education in the hospital setting. 3. Patients with chronic congestive heart failure who have home teaching in addition to traditional education in the hospital setting will have fewer days of rehospitalization for congestive heart failure than patients who receive only traditional education in the hospital setting. The Student's t test was used to determine if statistically significant differences existed between the two groups on the variables of compliance, number of hospital readmissions, and days of rehospitalization. No significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups on compliance measured by a Compliance Assessment Guide. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups on the number of readmissions and days of rehospitalization for congestive heart failure. The experimental group had fewer readmissions and fewer days of rehospitalization for congestive heart failure than did the control group. The differences between the two groups on these two variables were attributed to the effectiveness of the home teaching program for the experimental group.

Purpose: Disease management (DM) programs are typically evaluated using study designs that are susceptible to selection bias and other internal validity threats because participants are often allowed to self-select into the programs. As a result, DM evaluation results are usually biased because researchers are unable to control for preexisting differences between the DM participants and non-participants. Linden and Adams (2006) offer an instrumental variables (IV) regression procedure as a means of deriving unbiased estimates of DM program effectiveness. However, IV regression relies upon the existence of one or more variables (or instruments) that produce considerable variation in the program participation variable, but have no direct effect on the outcome variable. Linden and Adams argue that participant three-digit zip codes meet these criteria and can be used as instruments in IV regression. Methods: To test the feasibility of their IV regression procedure, a series of ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrumental variables (IV) regression models were used to evaluate the effects of a high intensity Medicaid diabetes DM program on annual diabetes-related costs, emergency department visits, and hospital days. Program participation was the endogenous variable and age, gender, and propensity scores were the exogenous variable. Standard statistical tests were performed to assess the quality and validity of the IV regression models and zip code instruments. Results: The study found that using propensity scores as covariates in the regression models appeared to offer a viable means of controlling for potential overt biases. However, the statistical tests performed to assess the quality and validity of the IV regression procedure using recipient three-digit zip codes as instruments indicated that it may not be appropriate due to various issues such as multicollinearity, lack of significant differences between the IV and OLS regression models, and weak instrument bias. Conclusions: While the results of the present study do not support the use of participant three-digit zip codes as instruments in IV regression, the quality of the results obtained using this procedure may depend on the specific sample that is used in the analysis. Researchers may thus still wish to consider this procedure when evaluating DM programs because different samples may yield different results.