acasestudyofteacherpeakexperiences-TheAppreciative.doc

USING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY TO DESCRIBE AND CREATE TEACHER PEAK EXPERIENCES: A Case Study of ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS A Dissertation by Crystal D. Hummel M.Ed., University of South Florida, 1988 B.A., Asbury College, 1977 Submitted to the College of Education and the faculty of the Graduate School of Wichita State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education May 2007  ? Copyright 2007 by Crystal D. Hummel All Rights Reserved  USING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY TO DESCRIBE AND CREATE TEACHER PEAK EXPERIENCES: A Case Study of ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content, and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Education with a major in Educational Leadership. __________________________________ Raymond L. Calabrese, Committee Chair We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: __________________________________ John Fast, Committee Member __________________________________ Dennis Kear, Committee Member __________________________________ Jean Patterson, Committee Member __________________________________ Randy Turk, Committee Member Accepted for the College of Education _________________________________ Jon M. Englehardt, Dean Accepted for the Graduate School _________________________________ Susan K. Kovar, Dean  DEDICATION To Russ for his support, Papa Jeff for his presence, Kimi for her daily encouragement, Clay for his belief in me, and Tammy for her assistance throughout my educational journey. In loving memory of my mother, Frances Morris Jeffries, who always believed in me.  “If we want to answer the question how tall can the human species grow, then obviously it is well to pick out the ones who are already tallest and study them.” -Abraham Maslow (1971, p. 7) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to Dr. Ray Calabrese for his commitment to excellence. His brilliance, integri