Description of the Research Project and Implications of Participation

As a participant in an On the Cutting Edge workshop, you are being asked to take part in a research project conducted by the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. We received funding from the National Science Foundation for this project (DUE #0127310, #0127141, #0127257, and #0127018). The purpose of this research is to investigate:

• The nature of the cycle of educational innovation and its implementation in geoscience.
• The specific roles that Cutting Edge activities and resources play in supporting, strengthening, and broadening the cycle of educational innovation for individuals and the geoscience community.
• The role of discipline-specific professional development in supporting the cycle of innovation.
• The interplay between the cycle of educational innovation and scientific innovation.

If you agree to take part in this study, we will analyze the information you submit in the application and registration forms, as well as the materials you submit as part of the workshop and its follow-on activities (e.g. scenarios and solutions, evaluation forms, follow-up surveys). You may also be asked to participate in a telephone interview. We will conduct the interviews via telephone 2-6 months after the workshop. If you do not wish to be audio taped, do not participate in this part of the study.

This data will be incorporated into our research results in aggregate. Presentation of the material will be confined to project work groups, professional publications, and conferences. When individual quotes are used to illustrate important points, your name will not be identified. There are no foreseeable risks resulting from your participation. Your participation in this workshop is voluntary and you may leave at any time.

If you have questions about this project, please contact Dr. Cathryn A. Manduca, Director of the Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, 55057. Phone: (507) 222-7096, email: cmanduca@carleton.edu.

The chair of the Institutional Review Board, Sharon Akimoto, can be reached at Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057. Phone: (507) 222-4224, email: sakimoto@carleton.edu.