September 13, 2017

Dear Administration/Teacher,
I am a graduate student at West Chester University in the Department of Early and Middle
Grades Education, I am working toward my M.Ed. in Early Childhood. As a part of my Masters
degree program, I will be conducting a classroom action research assignment to understand
childrens experiences as they engage in high interest activities during the day.
For the next six to eight weeks I would like to include you and your class in my research project
on childrens experience with high interest activities in their preschool classroom. During the
first two week period I will begin with a general classroom observation. I intend to observe how
well the classroom runs and assess the interest level of the children in your room. During the
following three to four weeks the teacher will be given high interest activities, based on the pre-
observation period, to implement in her class. I will observe the children as they participate in
the activities to determine their reactions and responses to new activities. The last two weeks I
will observe the children post-implementation to see the effect the high interest activities had on
your classroom, potentially recommending additional new or adapted activities to be used in the
classroom.
I will also give you checklists and surveys and if possible interviews to get your opinion of how
the classroom is progressing throughout this whole process on a weekly basis. I would also like
to speak with the children about their interest in the activities.
All observations that I collect (observation, interviews, checklists or surveys) will be kept
confidential and no reference will be made to your name will be used in my research.
I do not anticipate any risk to you, as your participation will not differ from your role as
administrator or teacher in a typical school environment. Your participation and the participation
of your students is completely voluntary. All families will be sent an informed consent
document, similar to this document, requesting their participation in my research.
Throughout the next 6-8 weeks, all children will be involved in the high interest activities. The
teachers who are participants in my research will be observed and interviewed as they engage
in the use high interest activities. If you choose to not participate you will not be interviewed
and observed about your experiences during the high interest activities and you will not be
recorded or used in my research and course work. The choice you make whether to participate or
not will not impact your school, evaluation or employment status in any way. You may withdraw
your consent of participation at any time, with no penalty.
All information that is obtained during this research project will be kept strictly secure and will
not become a part of your school record. Your name and any other information concerning your
identity will be deleted from the research information. Your confidentiality is most important and
every effort will be made to insure that this research remains confidential at all times.
The results of this study will be used for an online website that is required in my course, Early
Childhood Researcher, in the College of Education at WCU. Pseudonyms or codes will be
substituted for the names of teacher, administrator, children and the school. This helps protect
confidentiality. The website is a private site, viewable by myself, my classmates and my
professors only. I will be constructing a summary of my research project that will be available
online to all, however, the teacher, administrator, childrens family names and the name of our
school will not be included in the summary of my research.
In the space at the bottom of this letter, please indicate whether or not you will participate in this
project. Participation includes the use written observations about your classrooms experiences
during the high interest activities and informal interviews with you and your experiences.
Teacher checklists or observations will be sent home on a weekly basis beginning with pre-
implementation and continuing weekly throughout. Simply return your checklist or survey if you
wish to allow your responses to be included in my research. Simply discard the checklist or
survey if you choose not to participate.
Please return one copy of this completed form as soon as possible. The second copy is to keep
for your records. If you have any questions about this research project, please feel free to contact
me. Please keep a copy of this form for your records.
Sincerely,

Jacquelyn A. Bryant

_________ I agree to participate in the interview and observations of my experiences in high

interest activities introduced in my class. I understand there is no risk to me and that I may
withdraw my consent at any time, without penalty.

_________ I would rather not participate in the interviews and observations. I understand that
this decision will not negatively impact my status or participation in the school experiences.

Teacher/Administrator signature and date:

______________________________________________________________________________

If you have any questions about your childs participation or this research project, please contact
me at the school phone or my email address mslovelieladie@yahoo.com.