LETTER OF INFORMATION FOR CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Title of Study: Connecting Best Practices for Teaching Linguistically and Culturally-Diverse International Students with International Student Satisfaction and Student Learning: A Review of STEM and Non-STEM Student Perspectives.
You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Dr. Clayton Smith, from the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor.
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel to contact Dr. Clayton Smith at 519-253-3000 ext. 3802.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study will explore the promising teaching practices for teaching linguistically and culturally-diverse international students by identifying the teaching practices that have high levels of international student satisfaction and student learning.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in one focus group discussion or an individual interview.
We anticipate that it will take one hour to attend a focus group discussion or one hour to attend an individual interview. The focus groups and interviews will take place at the University of Windsor
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
This research may cause students to relive adverse impact experiences, including those that impacted their personal wellness while taking classes at the University of Windsor. We will make sure research participants receive appropriate counseling support, if needed.
Your decision to participate or not participate will have no influence on your relationship to the University or your receipt of services from the University.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
Research participants will learn about their preferences for teaching methods and the amount of learning they estimate for each method.
This study will help us to identify promising teaching practices associated with teaching linguistically and culturally-diverse international students, international student satisfaction with each promising teaching practice; and the amount of learning associated with each promising teaching practice. We hope to be able to show which teaching practices have the highest levels of international student satisfaction and perceived learning levels so that instructors will know which teaching methods to include in their instruction to achieve both high levels of international student satisfaction and high levels of student learning.
COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
Students who complete the focus group or individual interview will have the option to participate in a cash draw, which will include a prize of $25. It will not be available to those who do not complete a focus group discussion or individual interview.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission.
Information that is collected as part of the focus groups will be known to focus group participants and the research team. The participants and research team members will agree to keep this information confidential. The focus group is a group event. This means that while confidentiality of all the information given by the participants will be protected by the researchers themselves, this information will be heard by all the participants and therefore will not be strictly confidential.
Only members of the research team will have access to study data.
Focus group discussions and individual interviews will be audio/digital recorded to ensure the flavour of these discussions can be captured by the research team. Research participants will have the right to review the audio/digital recording within 30 days of the recording date. They will then be transcribed. Once the transcription is complete, the audio recording will be destroyed.
All study records will be maintained for five years after the study is completed.
Aggregate study findings will be used to inform related academic and professional conference presentations and to enhance teaching and academic advising of University of Windsor students.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
Focus group participants have the right to withdraw from the research study at any time prior to the aggregation of the focus group discussions. Individual interview participants have the right to withdraw from the research study at any time prior to the anonymization of the interview discussions. To withdraw from the study, participants will need to send an email to the research team informing them of the participant’s plan to withdraw from the study.
Participants who withdraw from the study will have their data removed from the study and deleted from the study database.
The research team reserves the right to terminate a participant’s involvement in the study if s/he engages in actions inconsistent with the University of Windsor Student Code of Conduct.
FEEDBACK OF THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO THE PARTICIPANTS
Web address: http://www.uwindsor.ca/people/csmith/339/research-findings or https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/research-result-summaries/
Date when results are available: February 2020
SUBSEQUENT USE OF DATA
These data may be used in subsequent studies, in publications and in presentations.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
If you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, contact: Research Ethics Coordinator, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4; Telephone: 519-253-3000, ext. 3948; e‑mail: ethics@uwindsor.ca