Elsa Nownes

Clinical Assistant Professor

Biography

Teaching experience at the undergraduate level
Instructor; University of Tennessee, Knoxville
1997-present
Responsibilities:
Design courses
Preparation and administration of syllabi and lectures
Preparation, administration, and grading of course work
• CFS101: Introduction to Child and Family Studies
• CFS 110: Introduction to Early Childhood Education
• CFS 210: Lifespan Human Development
• CFS 211: Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers
• CFS 213: Middle Childhood and Adolescence
• CFS 405: Development of Professional Skills
• CFS 440: Family Life Education

Teaching experience at the graduate level
Instructor; University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• CFS 552 Diversity in Children and Families; Summer 2015
• Inclusive Early Childhood Education Summer Institute 568: Theories and
Interventions; Summer 2000 and Spring 2003
• Inclusive Early Childhood Education Summer Institute 595: Foundations of Early
Childhood Special Education;
Summer 2002
• Inclusive Early Childhood Education 567: Applications of Theories in Early
Childhood Education; Spring 2002

Friends of Tennessee Infant Parent Services (FOT)
Grant Writer, 2005
• Wrote grants to local agencies and philanthropists to support FOT’s efforts to
serve children with disabilities and their families.
Curriculum Development, Introduction to Early Childhood Education Distance Learning
Course
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, March 2000 to 2003
Responsibilities:
• Wrote an independent study course for undergraduates that included commentaries,
study guides and writing assignments for the course material.
• Grade assignments as needed.

Lead Parent Advisor, Tennessee Infant Parent Service
June 2002 to May 2003
Responsibilities:
• Training new parent advisors.
• On-site facilitator for the creation of new curricula pertaining to grandparent-parent
families called Project Heritage.
• Completing initial home visits.
• Completing federally mandated and regulated paperwork.
• Assessing parent advisor paperwork and progress with families.
• Writing articles for local and statewide newsletters (see article titles in non-academic
article section.)

Evaluator, Tennessee Early Intervention System
March 1999 to August 2003
Responsibilities:
• Test young children (birth to 3) for eligibility in the early intervention system.
• Evaluation tools used: Battelle Developmental Inventory, Hawaii Early Learning
Profile (HELP), Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale-2 (REEL-2),
INSITE Developmental Checklist, Denver-2, PEACH, and Developmental
Assessment of Young Children (DAYC).
• Write up evaluation results with recommendations.
• Explain results to parents and TEIS service coordinators.

Parent Advisor (PA), Tennessee Infant Parent Service
January 1999 to June 2002 (when promoted to Lead PA)
Responsibilities:
• Plan and implement developmental activities for young children with disabilities.
• Teach parents of young children with disabilities how to effectively play and work
with their children to promote optimal development.
Service Coordinator, Tennessee’s Early Intervention System, Knoxville, TN, October
1998-December 1998 (an interim position) and August 1994-September 1997
Responsibilities:
• Coordination of early intervention services for young children with disabilities and
their families.
• Screening of children for developmental disabilities.
• Determination of eligibility for early intervention services.
• Development and implementation of Individualized Family Service Plans in
accordance with federal law.
• Participation in development of agency policies.
• Filing of reports for federal, state, and county government agencies.
• Participation in state-wide district and interagency meetings.

Child Care Provider
Henson Family, Knoxville, TN, September 1993-October 1994
Responsibilities:
• Care for a young child with spina bifida.
• Implemented objectives set by parents and therapists.
• Catheterization.

Substitute Teacher
Child Development Laboratories, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, Summer 1993
Responsibilities:
• Implementation of curriculum in toddler and preschool classrooms.

Child Care Worker
Plantation Academy, Kennesaw, GA, April 1987-August 1987
Responsibilities:
• Daily care of 8-10 infants.

Education

PhD Department of Child and Family Studies
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, December 1998
Areas of specialization:
• Integration of children with disabilities into child care and school settings
• The assessment of children
• Support and encouragement of healthy socio-emotional development of children
• Organizational and environmental management of infant, toddler, and preschool
classrooms

MS Department of Child and Family Studies
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, May 1995

BA Psychology
Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, GA, June 1992

Curriculum Vitae