You are being asked to participate in a research study to evaluate the effect of prepared discussion forum posts on the student learning experience. You have been asked to participate in this study because you are a student in a class that is being studied or used as a control. The purpose of this study is to create knowledge that has the potential to improve the educational experience for students at the University of Washington and beyond.

What will you be asked to do?

If you agree to be in this study, your survey responses and course discussion board analytics may be used to inform research. Your participation involves only agreeing to let us use your data in our analysis. You will not be required to do anything beyond normal educational practice.

What will happen to the information you provide?

Data from participants will be retained only for research purposes. Your instructor will not know whether you are participating in this study until after final grades have been posted. Anonymized data may be shared with researchers outside of the University of Washington.

What can you do if you want more information?

Talk to the study team. Kevin Lin is the lead researcher at the University of Washington for this study and can be contacted at kevinl@cs.uw.edu.

Talk to someone else. If you want to talk with someone who is not part of the study team about the study, your rights as a research subject, or to report problems or complaints about the study, contact the UW Human Subjects Division at hsdinfo@uw.edu or 206-543-0098.

What are my options for participation?

Online surveys will be distributed alongside class materials at various points during the term. The survey includes a consent form to allow us to include your responses in the research. Survey questions may be left blank.

You may withdraw your consent from the research at any point until the final exam by contacting Vani Agarwal at vagar343@uw.edu.