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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to gain feedback from high school teachers, who participate as facilitators at their high schools, on the laboratory components of Missouri Western’s Dual Credit CHE 111 General Chemistry I course. The teachers administer ten of the laboratory exercises at their high schools, and their students visit the Missouri Western Chemistry Department laboratories twice each year to complete four laboratory exercises total. The teachers participate in a Teacher’s Workshop hosted by Missouri Western each year to train to facilitate the course. Several challenges currently exist to the implementation and delivery of the labs at both the high schools and the Missouri Western campus. This study is designed to address these issues with the goal of improving the experience of the students and teachers participating in the program. STATEMENT OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The teachers’ responses will be gathered through an anonymous survey administered by email through the Class Climate Course Evaluation Feedback System and comments offered at the Teacher’s Workshop. Oral and written comments offered during the workshop will be notated without making reference to the teacher’s name, but will include their subject number. Teachers will sign an informed consent form that will be assigned a subject number prior to completing the survey and a second one at the beginning of the Teacher’s Workshop. The surveys will be sent out to the participant list constructed from the emails provided by the teachers who serve as facilitators in the program. Each email received will include a password randomly generated by Class Climate, which will give the participant access to a link to the survey. The identity of the teacher will not be known to the investigator through the teacher’s name, school, or password. The instructions to the survey will convey that the teachers should not give any information in the free-response boxes that could lead to the identification of the teacher or their school. Subject numbers will be removed from the informed consent forms for the survey as they are received, and at the conclusion of the workshop for the comments. The principals at each of the teacher’s high schools will be notified of the project, its goals, scope, and intent to gather information from the teachers at their school if the teacher chooses to sign the informed consent form. The results of this research are intended to be used in presentations at professional meetings in the discipline of chemical education and peer-reviewed publications of scientific research. ANTICIPATED RISKS AND BENEFITS This study should involve only minimal risk to the participants. The teachers will be present in a general chemistry laboratory during part of the workshop, but the participation of the teacher in the hands-on experiments is not being assessed by this study. The teachers may be present in the room and only observe the events occurring in the room and still provide their feedback if they choose. Typically available laboratory safety equipment will be provided when the teachers are present in the laboratory and they will be instructed in all precautionary measures, such as proper lab dress and conduct, prior to anyone’s participation in the laboratory experiments. All teachers participating in the research study will be required to be present in the room when safety precautions are addressed. SUBJECT SELECTION Survey subjects will include high school teachers who participated in the program as facilitators during the 2011-2012 school year and later who choose to sign the informed consent form. Comments will be gathered only from those teachers who attend the Teacher’s Workshop July 23-27, 2012 at Missouri Western State University and will be participating in the program during the 2012-2013 school year. Comments offered by teachers during the Teacher’s Workshop who decline to sign the informed consent agreement will not be used for the purpose of this proposal. The number of possible participants could be as high as 27 teachers, but will more likely be approximately 20 teachers. Students will not be included in this study. CONFIDENTIALITY Once the informed consent form for each part of the study has been received, the teacher’s subject number will be removed from the form so the name and the subject number will not be linked. Oral and written comments received during the workshop will not have the name of the contributor written by the comment, only their subject number. Subject numbers will be removed from the informed consent form for the oral and written comments at the conclusion of the workshop. Teachers who offer comments during the workshop who choose not to participate in the study will not be included in any data used for research. The identity of all participants in the survey will be protected and each will be given a code that is not traceable to their identity by the investigator. PRIMARY SUPPORTING DOCUMENT Click for Word Document Extension Request on 08-09-2012 I have learned during the course of the study that I need to obtain the permission from the school principals to allow their teachers to take part in a research study. So, I am requesting an extension of 60 days from the date of the original expiration of August 13, 2012 so that I may obtain the necessary permissions and proceed to collect data through the survey instrument that was intended to be used for this study. Thank you for considering my request. Extension Request on 09-06-2012 When I requested an extension last month, I wrote here that I would like 60 days, but only 30 were granted. I am hoping this submission will provide the additional 30 days I had hoped to be allowed. Extension Request on 10-12-2012 the beginning of the semester and need for additional documentation is causing a delay in this project which I would like to take up again over the next month Extension Request on 11-09-2012 No time!! Extension Request on 12-11-2012 Extension Request on 01-11-2013 Extension Request on 02-09-2013 Extension Request on 03-12-2013 Extension Request on 04-09-2013 Extension Request on 05-11-2013