Introduction and Informed Consent
Thank you for taking the time for the interview today. My name is [name] and I work for the Center for Effective School Practices at Rutgers University, which is conducting this study for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory (REL). As I mentioned [in my email/when we spoke on the phone], we are in the process of collecting data from teachers and principals in the district regarding the first year of implementation of professional learning communities or PLCs in all schools in the District. The purpose of this interview is to gather information regarding how you have been involved in the implementation of the program and your assessment of this experience. We also want to have your take on how productive the PLC experience has been for teachers in your. We will be interviewing all other principals in the district to gather information on their perspectives as well. The interview will last about 2 hours using a standard set of questions we developed for all principal interviews and will be audio-recorded for the purposes of transcribing and analyzing your responses to our questions. You will have an opportunity to provide additional information or offer relevant insights that are not covered by the questions. Your participation is voluntary and you may terminate the interview at any time and for any reason. If you agree to participate in this interview, the information you provide will be kept strictly confidential and we will not identify you or your school by name in the study reports. Information collected for this study comes under the confidentiality and data protection requirements of the Institute of Education Sciences (The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183). Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for the study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district, school, or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you, your district or your school to anyone outside the study team, except as permitted by law.
Paperwork Burden Statement
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 2 hours per interview , including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., LBJ, Room 2E117, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or send electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number.
Before we can continue with the interview I must obtain your informed consent. Please read carefully the following consent form, and if you choose to participate in this interview, please print your name, sign, and date this form at the bottom of the document.
CONSENT TO BE A RESEARCH PARTICIPANT
You are invited to participate in an interview, as a part of the Evaluation of a District-Wide Implementation of the Professional Learning Community Initiative in West Chester Area School District (WCASD) in the 2013-2014 school year. The evaluation of this initiative is conducted by the Rutgers University research team, funded by the Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic (REL MA). The purpose of this interview is to gather information about the implementation of PLCs in WCASD activities both in terms of successes and challenges. If you agree to participate in the interview, please print your name, sign, and date this form.
Participation in the study entails audio recording, which may be transcribed and analyzed with regard to the provided information about the post-implementation phase of this initiative. Interview sessions may take approximately 2 hours to complete, and audio-recording may be interrupted at any time, may you choose to not have your voice recorded.
The interview transcription and/or the interviewer field notes, gathered from this interview will be kept confidential and will be used only for the purpose of this project by the Rutgers University research team. Your name will not be linked with any reporting of results. Any printed and hand-written data will be stored in a locked file cabinet. All printed and electronic data will be destroyed 7 years after the completion of the project.
The information you provide in this study is confidential. Therefore, any risk or possible discomfort to you due to participation in this study is expected to be minimal. You will not receive a copy of the completed interview transcription and/or hand-written notes, however, the information you provide in this study will enhance our ability to understand the successes and challenges of the implementation of PLCs in WCASD. There is no cost for participants who agree to be involved in this study.
If you do not wish to participate in this study, there is no cost to you. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you have other questions concerning this project, please feel free to contact the Principal Investigator, Dr. Cynthia Blitz, or the Rutgers University’s Institutional Review Board using the following contact information:
Dr. Cynthia Blitz, Principal Investigator
Rutgers University, Center for Effective School Practices
80 Cottontail Ln, Somerset, NJ 08873
Tel: (732) 564-9100, x 21
Email: cindy.blitz@gse.rutgers.edu
Rutgers University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects
Office of Research & Sponsored Programs
3 Rutgers Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8559
Tel: 848-932-0150
Email: humansubjects@orsp.rutgers.edu
Thank you for your participation.
Participant name: _________________________
Participant signature: _____________________________
Date: ______________
Interview Questions
Principal Name:
School:
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This concludes the interview. Thank you very much for your participation.
OMB
Package: Evaluation of a District-Wide Implementation of a
Professional Learning Community Initiative
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
File Title | Table of Contents |
Author | Cindy Blitz |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2021-01-28 |