Digital Commons Network^™

An Evaluation Of The Social Validity Of The Center For Advanced Professional Studies (Caps) Program, Jason L. Watt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) programs are emerging high school programs emphasizing immersive, real-life professional experiences for students. CAPS programs endeavor to facilitate student-centered partnerships between business and public education to produce personalized learning experiences for students centered around the completion of real-world industry projects.

To ensure successful educational programs, leaders must consider more than simple outcome data or statistical descriptions of the program’s reliability and validity. Successful leaders of schools must also determine the program’s value from the perspective of the stakeholders it purports to serve—that is, by its social validity. Understanding what consumers of education …

A Sociological Evaluation Of A Large Team Science Project: The Iutah Experience, K. Taylor Dean

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many contemporary scientific research projects are composed of large numbers of researchers working together to provide solutions to social issues that affect our society. In an attempt to understand and address these issues, projects have been implemented where researchers from a wide variety of disciplines come together and collaborate. As this research includes a variety researchers, it requires a unique approach. Questions such as how to make these projects as effective as possible, how to properly evaluate these projects, and how to gauge the quality and success of these projects need to be answered.

These are directly addressed in this …

An Investigation Of Educators' Perceptions Of The Influence Of A Teacher Evaluation System On Student Learning, Bryon Nielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, the researcher explored the views and opinions held by teachers and administrators toward a teacher evaluation system. The purpose was to learn how educators’ opinions and views might impact how school leaders administer the evaluation system and how teachers receive it. Knowledge gained from this study may provide understanding for district and school-level leaders as they develop training and implementation strategies. Teachers and administrators were interviewed, and district-provided documents were reviewed, to gather data that was analyzed using qualitative research methods. Based on the data analysis, recommendations are made regarding implementation strategies that may improve the evaluation …

Evaluation Of 'Structure-From-Motion' From A Pole-Mounted Camera For Monitoring Geomorphic Change, Rebecca K. Rossi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Emerging "Structure-from-Motion" (SfM) photogrammetry techniques encourage faster, cheaper, and more accessible field methods for accurately reconstructing 3D topography. The SfM method consists of collecting sets of overlapping images of the ground surface with a point and shoot camera, and reconstructing surface topography from the images with developed software programs. This research develops and implements a SfM image acquisition method and post-processing workflow as a supplemental technique to the traditional total-station method to aid in monitoring sandbar change in Marble and Grand Canyons along the Colorado River in Arizona. Due to permitting in Grand Canyon National Park, a 4.9 m pole-mounted …