After School Research Consent Form

Dear Camp Adventure Counselor,

This summer, Camp Adventure will be using mathematics and literacy resources developed by the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). UNI is developing educational resources as part of a federal appropriation through the Department of Defense to help military families meet educational standards as they transition from one school district to another. The UNI project team is committed to producing high-quality educational resources that are consistent with research-based best practice in the fields of mathematics and literacy. The UNI project, called Making Sense, includes two content areas, Thinking Aloud! Making Sense of Literacy and Problem Solved: Making Sense of Mathematics.

Thinking Aloud! Making Sense of Literacy helps students and parents make sense of challenging literacy concepts. Through engaging videos, the inquisitive Knowledge Seekers demonstrate how to examine the thinking that goes on inside their heads as they process or create text. By using Thinking Aloud! videos and supplementary resources, students develop the literacy strategies necessary to construct understanding and flexibly apply them to new situations.

Problem Solved: Making Sense of Mathematics helps students and parents make sense of challenging mathematics concepts and procedures. The videos in the series build the viewer’s conceptual understanding of mathematics by working through interesting real-life situations. Supplementary resources give students the opportunity to check and extend their reasoning by solving problems similar to those in the videos.

You are invited to participate in a research study about Making Sense. Regardless of your participation in this study, you will have the opportunity to use the Making Sense resources during Camp Adventure Clubs. However, in order to provide feedback to the developers you will need to:

1. Read and sign the letter of invitation/consent form prior to the start of Camp Adventure programming.
2. Complete a Pre-Summer Survey prior to the start of Camp Adventure programming.
3. Complete a Post-Club Survey following each week of Camp Adventure programming that you are involved with the Making Sense resources.

It should take about five minutes to complete each survey. Your participation is completely voluntary and there are no foreseeable risks to participation. Your confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. Specifically, no guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties. After initial data collection, your name will be used to match your responses over time, but it will be permanently removed from the data file as soon as data collection is complete. You are free to withdraw from participation at any time or to choose not to participate at all, and by doing so you will not be penalized. If you agree to participate, you can electronically sign this consent form and take the first survey. Your time and feedback are greatly appreciated and will provide essential information to the Making Sense developers.

If you have questions about the Making Sense resources or your participation, you may contact Dr. J.D. Cryer at 319-273-2294 at the University of Northern Iowa. You may also contact the office of the Human Participants Coordinator, University of Northern Iowa, at 319-273-6148, for answers to questions about rights of research participants and the participant review process.

Thank you for your consideration.

I am fully aware of the nature and extent of my participation in this project as stated above and the possible risks arising from it. I hereby agree to participate in this project. I have received a copy of this form.