Information for Parents/Guardians

Your child’s teacher is helping us learn more about PocketLab TaylorAI.
Research studies include only people who choose to take part. We are asking you to consider allowing your child to take part in a research study being done by WestEd, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. Your child’s teacher is part of the research study. This form will describe the study to you, let you know how to get more information about the study, and give you the option to exclude your child’s data from the study.
Why is this study being done?
WestEd does research on educational technology. They are helping Myriad Sensors, Inc. to learn how their product PocketLab TaylorAI may help children like yours. The purpose of this study is to find out how PocketLab TaylorAI might be used in a classroom setting and how it supports student learning.

You and your child are being asked to take part in this study because we want to learn if TaylorAI helps improve student’s science skills. The U.S. Department of Education is funding this study.
What is PocketLab TaylorAI?
The PocketLab TaylorAI system includes PocketLab TaylorAI, PocketLab Notebook, and PocketLab Voyager. TaylorAI is an online tool that checks whether your student understands the science content and practices they are learning about. It is a feature in PocketLab Notebook. PocketLab Notebook is an online science lab notebook. The PocketLab Voyager sensor is a sensor that students use to do science experiments. They will write about their experiments in PocketLab Notebook.
What will happen in my child’s classroom?
In this study, participating classrooms will either use the PocketLab tool for 8 science lessons or continue with their typical classroom science lessons. 

All students in your child's class will take a survey about their attitudes towards science, and a quiz to assess their science knowledge at the beginning and end of the study. The survey has questions about students’ feelings about learning science, and their feelings using PocketLab TaylorAI. The quiz will assess students’ understanding of science content. There will also be 2 interim assessments throughout the study.

For classrooms using PocketLab, researchers may visit the classroom (virtually or in person) to observe a lesson. No identifiable information about students will be collected during the observation.
What will my child do for the study? What am I giving permission for?
    If you choose for your child to be in this study, your child’s surveys, quizzes, and PocketLab TaylorAI information will be used in the research study. Your child will also be given the option to choose whether they participate. If you or your child decide to not have your child’s data used for the study, they will still use TaylorAI as a part of their science class. However, their data will not be used in our analysis.
    Do I have to allow researchers to use information about my child?
    No. It is completely voluntary. There are no penalties for you or your child if your child is not in the study. You can remove your child from the study at any time. There are no penalties for leaving the study early. If you or your child choose not to participate, your child will still participate in their regular class activities, but your child’s survey responses and test responses will not be used by researchers.
    Can my child stop being in the study?
    Yes. You can remove your child from the study at any time. There are no penalties for leaving the study early. If you decide to stop participating in the study, you can contact your child’s teacher or the researcher (listed below).
    Will our privacy be protected?
    Yes. Your child’s personal information will be kept confidential. Your child’s personal information will be kept confidential. All names and identifiable information will be removed before analysis, and only researchers with permission will have access to the data. After the end of the study, we will destroy records that contain personally identifying information, like your child’s name and student ID. If you and your child choose to participate, the rest of the study information may be used for future research studies or shared with another researcher for future research studies.
    Are there any risks to allowing researchers to use my child’s data?
    We do not believe there to be any risks to your child, beyond those of typical classroom activities.
    Are there any benefits?
    The results from this study have the potential to improve science learning in classrooms for children like yours. There may not be a direct benefit to your child.
    I have more questions. Who do I contact?
    If you have questions about this study, you can contact Olivia Cornfield at ocornfield@wested.org. If you have questions or concerns about your child’s rights as a research participant, you may call the WestEd Institutional Review Board (IRB) at 844-IRB-KIDS (844-472-5437) or subjects@wested.org.
    How does my child participate in the study? What if I say “No”?
    • If you DO want your child to be in the study, you can close the browser window.
    • If you DO NOT want your child to be in the study, follow the directions on the following page.

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