Email Invitation for Teachers
Hello, my name is Kim Thompson, and I am a Liberty University Doctoral Candidate in the School of Education. I have been approved through Dr. Susan Stone (pseudonym), the Director of Elementary Instruction for Timberlake County Public Schools (pseudonym) to conduct research regarding my doctoral dissertation. I am searching for participants who are teachers who entered the profession through an alternative route to teacher licensure, and your name was given to me as a potential candidate. Participation may yield a benefit to education in general, specifically in regards to the support of new teachers who are alternatively certified. Teachers who enter the profession through this manner are integrated with traditionally certified teachers during the new hire mentorship induction phase of their careers. If alternatively certified teachers need additional supports above and beyond those of their traditionally certified
counterparts, this research may highlight such needs. Please see the attached consent form which will outline how the research process would work, should you choose to participate. Being a former teacher, I completely understand the time constraints under which a teacher works.
Therefore, I respectfully ask that you read the information and decide if you are interested or not. I would appreciate a return email with any questions you may have, as well as your decision as to whether or not you are willing to participate by insert date here. The entire process on your part will only take approximately two to two and a half hours, and can take place wherever and whenever is most convenient for you. You will also be compensated for your time with a $50 gift card to the vendor of your choice.
Appendix B
CONSENT FORM
“Participation in a Traditional Mentorship Program: A Multiple Case Study of Alternatively Certified Teachers”
Kim Thompson Liberty University School of Education
You are invited to be in a research study of alternatively certified teachers who have completed a new teacher mentorship program. You were selected as a possible participant because you are a teacher who earned certification/licensure through an alternative route. I ask that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study.
Kim Thompson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at Liberty University, is conducting this study.
Background Information: The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a traditional mentorship program (which was designed for both alternatively and traditionally certified teachers) on alternatively certified teachers.
Procedures: If you agree to be in this study, I would ask you to do the following things:
1. Meet with the researcher for an approximate one to one and a half hour interview. Notes will be taken and the interview will be audio recorded for researcher review at a later time. All information shall remain confidential throughout the entire process, and will later be destroyed.
2. Allow the researcher to observe you in the classroom while students are present. Notes will be taken for review at a later time. A follow-up phone call will be made between you and the researcher to discuss any clarifications, explanations, etc. you would like to note.
3. Release any previous performance appraisals during your tenure in this school system, any student test data progression data, and your hire date.
Risks and Benefits of Participation: The risks involved in this study are minimal, no more than you would encounter in everyday life.
Participants should not expect to receive a direct benefit from taking part in this study.
Benefits to society include possible assistance to education in general, specifically in regards to the support of new teachers who are alternatively certified. Teachers who enter the profession through this manner are integrated with traditionally certified teachers during the new hire mentorship induction phase of their careers. If alternatively certified teachers need additional
supports above and beyond those of their traditionally certified counterparts, this research may highlight such needs.
Compensation: Participants will be compensated for participating in this study with a gift card of their choosing in the amount of $50. The gift card will be presented to the participant upon successful completion of participation. Participants will receive this compensation regardless of whether or not they decide to complete all activities or provide the entirety of the researcher’s requested information.
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. • All information collected from participants will remain confidential throughout the entire
process. At no time will anyone other than the researcher or the professional
transcriptionist have access to the data. The transcriptionist will sign a confidentiality agreement as well.
• Paper data will be stored in locked storage areas, while any electronic data will be stored in a password protected environment. At the end of the research, all identifiable data will be destroyed either by shredding of paper documents or by deletion of electronic media. • Verbal recordings of the interviews will only be made available to the researcher and the
paid professional transcriptionist, who will sign a confidentiality agreement. These recordings will be held in a locked storage area until they are downloaded into a password protected private computer. These recordings, and then the written
transcriptions, will assist the researcher in reviewing the interview material discussed. Once the research is concluded, all recordings and transcriptions will be permanently erased.
• There are no limits of confidentiality for these teacher participants. All information shared with the researcher will remain completely confidential.
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 will be destroyed immediately and will not be included in this study.
Contacts and Questions: The researcher conducting this study is Kim Thompson. You may ask any questions you have now. If you have questions later, you are encouraged to contact her at
540-206-7761/kdthompson@liberty.edu. You may also contact the researcher’s dissertation
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, Carter 134, Lynchburg, VA 24515 or email at irb@liberty.edu.
Please notify the researcher if you would like a copy of this information to keep 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.
(NOTE: DO NOT AGREE TO PARTICIPATE UNLESS IRB APPROVAL INFORMATION WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN ADDED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
The researcher has my permission to audio-record me as part of my participation in this study.
______________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Participant Date
______________________________________________________________________________
Appendix C
Interview Questions for Teachers Standardized Open-Ended Teacher Interview Questions
Pre-Participation in a Traditional Mentorship Program
1. Please tell me about yourself (i.e. things you like to do, your family, where and what you teach, etc.).
2. Tell me why you decided to become a (insert content area of interviewee) teacher through an alternative route and how you decided on the subject you teach?
3. Please tell me about the process of how you became an alternatively certified teacher (i.e. the type of alternative route to licensure you took, etc.).
4. Please describe your first day in the classroom with students.
5. How confident did you feel in your abilities to be a successful teacher on that first day?
During Participation in a Traditional Mentorship Program
6. Please tell me about your mentor/mentee relationship during your new hire mentorship induction program at both the district level and the school level. 7. Please tell me about the specific components of your mentorship program that you
experienced that first year (i.e. new hire meetings in and out of the school building, the availability and quality of advice and direction given, etc.).
8. What specific supports were available to you in the traditional mentorship program? 9. What specific supports were missing in the traditional mentorship program?
Post-Participation in a Traditional Mentorship Program
describe what you perceive as your strengths after completion of the traditional mentorship program.
11. Please also describe what you perceive as your challenges or areas of continued growth that were or are still needed after completion of the traditional mentorship program.
12. In an effort to provide the school district with useful and practical feedback, what do you believe needs to be enhanced or added to the traditional mentorship program for alternatively certified teachers like yourself?
13. How confident do you feel in your abilities to be a successful teacher now that you have completed the mentorship program?
Appendix D
Teacher Classroom Overt Observation Checklist
o Observations/Field Notes regarding the teacher’s interactions with students
o Observations/Field Notes regarding the teacher’s overall style of teaching
o Observations/Field Notes regarding the overall flow of the class