MUNICIPALIDAD DE CARTAGO

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teacher Experiences with Newcomer Students at the Secondary Level: A Phenomenological Study

Researcher: Lindsey Marie Conrad Liberty University

School of Education

You are invited to be in a research study on the experiences of newcomer ESOL teachers at the secondary level in Northern Virginia. You were selected as a possible participant because you are a Virginia certified educator with three years of teaching experience, two of which are in ESOL, and you currently work with newcomers on a regular basis, OR an administrator, counselor, educational coach, or other school-based staff member who currently works with newcomer students. Please read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study.

Lindsey Conrad a doctoral candidate in the School of Educationat Liberty University, is conducting this study.

Background Information: The purpose of this study is to describe teacher experiences in a

secondary newcomer ESOL classroom in Northern Virginia.

Procedures: If you agree to be in this study, I would ask you to do the following things:

1. Participate in a semi-structured interview. This interview will take approximately 1 hour and will be audio recorded.

2. Respond to a writing prompt via email with 6-8 sentences with information about the most important part of being an ESOL teacher. This will take approximately 20 minutes. 3. Allow the researcher to perform a classroom or office observation to view the format and

setup of your room. This will be done while no students are present. This step should take approximately 15 minutes.

*An optional teacher observation will occur only if the participant elects to allow the researcher to observe a lesson.

4. Participate in an online focus group via Google. This will allow the researcher to ask for clarification of information from the interview or for the participant to give additional information. It will be guided by specific questions. This step should take approximately 25 minutes.

Risks and Benefits of Participation: The risks involved in this study are minimal, which means

they are equal to the risks you would encounter in everyday life. Participants should not expect to receive a direct benefit from taking part in this study.

Compensation: Participants will be compensated for participating in this study with a $10

Amazon gift card. The gift card will be sent after the semi-structured interview, writing prompt, classroom observation, and focus group are completed. The gift card will only be given to

Confidentiality: The records of this study will be kept private. In any sort of report I might

publish, I will not include any information that will make it possible to identify a subject. Research records will be stored securely, and only the researcher will have access to the records.

• Each participant will be assigned a pseudonym. Your name, your school, and school district’s name will not be used in the research. I will conduct the interviews in a location where others will not easily overhear the conversation.

• Data will be stored on a password locked computer. Data may be used in future presentations pertaining to this study. After three years, all electronic records will be deleted.

• Interviews will be recorded and transcribed. Recordings will be stored on a password locked computer for three years and then erased. Only the researcher will have access to these recordings.

• I cannot assure participants that other members of the focus group will not share what was discussed with persons outside of the group; however, pseudonyms will be used for the online focus group.

Voluntary Nature of the Study: Participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision whether

or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with Liberty University. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at any time without affecting those relationships.

How to Withdraw from the Study: If you choose to withdraw from the study, please contact the researcher at the email address/phone number included in the next paragraph. Should you choose to withdraw, data collected from you,apart from focus group data, will be destroyed immediately and will not be included in this study. Focus group data will not be destroyed, but your contributions to the focus group will not be included in the study if you choose to withdraw.

Contacts and Questions: The researcher conducting this study is Lindsey Conrad. You may ask

any questions you have now. If you have questions later, you are encouraged to contact her at 570-262-9867 or [email protected]. You may also contact the researcher’s faculty chair, Linda Holcomb, at [email protected].

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher, you are encouraged to contact the Institutional Review Board, 1971 University Blvd., Green Hall Ste. 2845, Lynchburg, VA 24515 or email at [email protected]. Please notify the researcher if you would like a copy of this information for your records.

Statement of Consent: I have read and understood the above information. I have asked

questions and have received answers. I consent to participate in the study.

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