Education Commons^™

Elementary Principal Perceptions Of The Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model, Jason W. Vance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) had been in a state of reform since being awarded the Race to the Top Grant. Few teachers admit that an evaluation influenced them significantly; additionally, few administrators agreed that when they evaluated a teacher, it did not significantly affect the teacher or students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the perceptions of building‑level principals regarding the effectiveness (i.e., increased teacher participation and quality) and efficiency (i.e., produces the required results) of the TEAM in regard to teacher evaluations. Four elementary school principals from East Tennessee participated in the study. The …

Hand Function Evaluation For Dental Hygiene Students, Sara Taft

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dental hygiene students may struggle in dental hygiene curriculum in regards to hand function. Currently, this is not an aspect dental hygiene programs screen for or have protocol in place to help students. The research in the study examined if hand function could improve with hand function exercises and if exercises improved instrumentation scores. During a 6-week pilot study, an occupational therapist tested the hand function of a cohort of dental hygiene students. The results were recorded and the students began a 6-week hand function exercise regimen. After 6 weeks the same evaluations were preformed and the pre- and posttest …

Evaluating Special Education Teachers: Do We Get The Job Done? A Regional Perspective., Robert Edward Widener Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legislation enacted by federal and state governments has created a transition in the service delivery model of instruction provided to many students identified as having an educational disability. As a result of this transition, more emphasis is being placed on educating these students in the least restrictive environment, which moves these students from a self-contained model into a collaborative or inclusive setting. This transition has also created a situation where building level administrators are now evaluating and observing special education teachers in a variety of instructional settings.

This qualitative study was conducted in order to examine perceptions of a group …

Investigation Of The Relationship Between A Job-Embedded Model Of Professional Development And Reading Achievement Of Elementary School Students., Janet Faulk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of highly effective teachers is of interest to school systems because the quality of the teachers is associated with students' success. This study explored the relationship between teachers' participation in a job-embedded model of professional development and students' achievement in reading.

Teachers in the third grade and fifth grade at five different elementary schools received more than 100 hours of training. The reading achievement scores of students assigned to these teachers were compared to the scores of students whose teachers did not participate in the training. Findings in this study were mixed. Fifth-grade students whose teachers participated in …

An Evaluation Of The Using Information Technology Program At East Tennessee State University., John Dalton Chenoweth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents information gathered and analyzed during an evaluation study of the Using Information Technology (UIT) program at East Tennessee State University. The UIT program, which all undergraduate students must complete before graduation, consists of satisfying a computer literacy foundation requirement and a two course UIT-intensive requirement. The foundation requirement is satisfied by completing a two credit hour course or a challenge exam. Students then take two courses that have been designated as UIT-intensive. One of these courses must be completed in the major.

The study, which used a responsive evaluation methodology, involved generating a list of evaluation questions …