INFORMED CONSENT FORM: FOR STUDENTS
Co-Designing Innovative Strategies in Developing Multilingual Students’ STEM Literacies in Public Schools
Dear Student,
I am Dr. Angel Lin at the Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University. I am doing a research study to understand how an innovative teaching approach to help you to successfully develop language in your content learning.
Our team is as follows and we welcome you to join in our research:
Principal Investigator: Dr. (Angel) Mei Yi Lin, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Professor, Simon Fraser University
Co-Investigator: Dr. Bong-gi Sohn, Postdoctoral Fellow, Simon Fraser University
Collaborators: Dr. Sean Chorney, Assistant Professor, SFU; Joan Sharp, Teaching Professor, SFU; and Megan Barker, Lecturer, SFU
Research Consultants: Dr. Maurice Cheng, Associate Professor, University of Waikato, New Zealand; and Dr. Kok-Sing Tang, Associate Professor, Curtin University of Technology
Research Assistants: Dr. Arlene Spracklin, Postdoctoral Fellow, Simon Fraser University; Dr. Ivy Tsang, Postdoctoral Fellow, Simon Fraser University; Pedro dos Santos, PhD Candidate, SFU; and Qinghua Chen, PhD Candidate, SFU
Why are we doing this study?
The purpose of this research study is to explore a Content-Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Approach in Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) literacies and English-as-an-additional language (EAL) classrooms. This research will help students improve their learning of both science and math subjects and academic English. We would like to invite you to take part in this research.
All individuals less than 19 years of age must have this consent form done by a parent or guardian before they will be allowed to take part in the research study.
Your participation is voluntary (free/independent).
You have the right to say no to not join this study. If you said in the consent form that you do not want participate, we will not gather any data from you. If you decide to participate, you may still choose to leave from the study at any time without any bad outcomes. You can contact either PI or Co-PI for the leave (contact information available on page 4).
What happens if you say, “Yes, I want to be in the study?”
The main data collection plans will be between _______ and _______. If you say yes to join this research, you will be asked to:
- allow online classroom observation and collect audio- or video-recorded lectures in your science/math lesson: your teacher’s audio- or video-recorded lectures will be collected to focus on your teacher and his/her explanations and use of the CLIL approach in the teaching process. The data will not add any students who have not said yes to the study. In the case that some students who have not said yes get into the teacher’s lecture recording when talking with the teacher, this part will be erased entirely from the audio or videotape. In all presentations and reports (oral or written) of the findings of the study, ONLY data from those participants who said yes will be used. And if any parts of video data are used in later presentations (oral or written) of the findings of the study, all student faces will be blocked and all possibly recognizable details of the participants will be erased.
- allow the research team to collect your parent’s self-recorded audio or video of you and your family discussing science and math-related subjects: to understand STEM-related literacy of you with your families. Your parents will either audio- or video-record you which shows how you talk with your family related to science/math subjects. Your parent will send his/her recordings to SFU Vault link, which is the university owned online space. This will be provided by a research assistant that your parent has closely talked with. This SFU Vault link is the principal investigator’s and shared with the research team. This will be used for storing all the participants’ electronic files. The principal investigator will create folders for each participant, using nicknames (e.g., Teacher A; Family X). Each participant will have a folder link to upload his/her audio- or video-recorded data. The participants cannot go to other participants’ folders. Once the participants upload their files, all recognizable information will be changed; and the names of people, places, and schools will be changed with nicknames. For audio and video recordings, we will erase any information that notices a participant, including the file names (e.g., Family B_Interview 1). For video recordings, we will block the participants faces when we present the data to others.
Those who have not said yes to participate will still talk and play with you, but the data about them will not be gathered and used in the research. Any family members who have not said yes to the study will not be added from your parent’s self-audiotaped or videotaped data. In the case that some family members who have not said yes get into the view of the camera when talking with you, this part will be deleted entirely from the videotape. In all presentations and reports (oral or written) of the study, only data from those participants who have said yes will be used. And if any parts of video data are used in presentations (oral or written) of the findings of the study, all your faces will be blocked and all possibly recognizable details of the participants will be erased.
- allow the research team to collect samples of your work: samples of students’ work are regularly collected (and scanned copies are made of them) from those students who have said yes to the study. Any information that can recognize you (e.g. names) will be deleted from them. Electronic copies of the your works will be collected instead of hard copies.
- allow the research team to collect your work in pre- and post-tasks: participating students will be given pre-tasks and post-tasks before and after a teaching unit. Your work will be collected and scanned copies are made of them. Any information that can recognize you (e.g. names) will be deleted from them.
- attend individual interviews (if volunteered as one of the student informants): interviews (around 30 minutes each) will be regularly carried out virtually (e.g. at the end of each teaching unit) to get your views on the CLIL approach used by your teacher. Before recording, one RA will ask the student participant agreement for the recording and he/she will be able to choose which recording devices (i.e., audio-recorder or video-recorder) to be used.
Is there any way this study could be bad for you?
There are no dangers related to joining this study. Your joining this research or your no to join has absolutely no harm to you. You will have the right to review the recordings of classroom and your family talk and ask to erase the parts of recording involving you. You can stop joining the research at any time without any negative outcomes. If this happens, all the data related to you will be destroyed. Any publication from the research will not identify people or school. You will take part in the research freely.
What are the benefits (advantage) of participating?
Your participation let teachers to have a better understanding on your development through STEM literacies and the ways you talk about science/math. This will greatly help teachers to develop their teaching in their multilingual STEM classrooms.
How will your privacy be maintained (protected/kept)?
This research project promises privacy of the data about you, your family, and your school. Only the Principal Investigator and her team members (Bong-gi Sohn, Sean Chorney, Joan Sharp, Megan Barker, Maurice Cheng, Kok-Sing Tang, Arlene Spracklin, Ivy Tsang, Pedro dos Santos, and Qinghua Chen) will see the data collected in this research. Your identity (e.g., name) is protected in case of publication or presentation of research and the nicknames will be used if the research leads to publication.
After the study is done, the final written data (i.e. lesson and interview transcripts) will be uploaded to an online repository/storage—SFU RADAR (https://researchdata.sfu.ca/). Any information that could recognize students (e.g., names, email addresses) in these files will be erased to promise privacy. All audio-visual data (i.e. video/audio-recorded lessons and interviews) will be securely stored at the researchers’ password-protected computers and the principal investigator’s password-protected SFU Vault folder. The SFU Vault folder link that we will provide to your parents will be only available to them and the research team.
During the interim period, computer equipment containing password-protected data will be saved in each researcher’s locked cabinet at home, and all audio-visual data (i.e. video/audio-recorded lessons and interviews) will be securely stored at the principal investigator’s password-protected SFU Vault folder. Once the interim period ends, it will be locked in the principal investigator’s cabinet in the University for a maximum of five years upon completion of the research. After this, all of these will be erased.
The written data notes that have been completely nameless (i.e. removing all identifying details such as names of students/teachers/schools/districts) will be available for open access to other education researchers after the research is done.
What if I decide to stop my yes to participate?
You may leave from this study at any time without giving reasons. If you choose to enter the study and then decide to leave at a later time, all data gathered about you will be erased.
Study results.
We will share our main findings with our collaborating teachers in verbal and written form in order to help them to develop their teaching. What we found from this study will also be shown at academic conferences and/or published in academic journals and books. These will be available in the PI’s website (www.angellin.ca) and the research participants can call the research team directly if they have any questions.
Who can you contact if you have questions about the study?
You can contact Dr. Angel Lin (Email: angellin_2018@sfu.ca Phone: 778 782 5789) or Dr. Bong-gi Sohn (Email: bsohn@sfu.ca Phone: 778 782 3111).
Who can you contact if you have complaints or concerns (worries) about the study?
If you have any worries about your rights as a research participant and/or your experiences in this study, you may contact Dr. Jeffrey Toward, Director, Office of Research Ethics (Email: jtoward@sfu.ca Phone: 778 782 6593).
PARTICIPANT CONSENT
Taking part in this study is entirely up to you. You have the right to say no to not join this study. If you decide to take part, you may choose to pull out of the study at any time without giving a reason and without any bad results on you.
- Your signature below shows that you have received a copy of this consent form for your own records.
- You do not give up any of your legal rights by participating in this study.
☐ By checking this box, I am saying yes to participate in the research (To be checked by the person under the age of 19 years.).
☐ By checking this box, I am saying yes that my child may participate in the research (To be checked by the parent/guardian.).
Please check every item that you saying yes to.
☐ I agree to take part in this research by allowing myself in the audio/video-recorded lessons to be observed and gathered.
☐ I agree to take part in this research by allowing my parent’s self-audio/video-recorded talk with my family to be gathered.
☐ I agree to take part in this research by allowing my works be gathered by the researchers.
☐ I agree to take part in this research by allowing my works in the pre-tasks and post-tasks be gathered by the researchers.
☐ I agree to take part in the student online interviews in this research. I agree that these interviewees be either audio- or video-taped and I have a right to choose which one. The interview will take about 30 minutes.
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Participant Signature Printed Name of the Participant
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Parent/Guardian Signature Printed Name of the Parent/Guardian
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Date (yyyy/mm/dd)
*The University and those conducting this project subscribe to the ethical conduct of research and to the protection at all times of the interests, comfort, and safety of subjects. This form and the information it contains are given to you for your own protection and full understanding of the procedures. Your signature on this form will signify that you voluntarily agree to participate in the research project.
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