About the Study

What is this study about?

• This is a research study, designed to test and create new ideas that other people can use. The purpose of this investigation is to study the effects of high school students’ participation in VEX robotics competitions on their attitudes towards STEM and 21^st century skills as well as their STEM career interests.
• There is a current general belief that in order to succeed in the future workforce, a focus on STEM subject areas is important in a student’s education. There are many in-school and after- school programs that focus on increasing students’ exposure to and experience in STEM subjects. This study looks into a specific program — VEX Robotics — and how participation in VEX Robotics competitions affect students’ attitudes towards STEM. This research posits that students’ self-efficacy and participation in VEX Robotics competitions may positively influence their attitudes towards STEM. Since the VEX Robotics program continues to grow across schools in various countries, the researcher is exploring the benefits and effects of participation in the STEM-based activity. Results may hopefully be used by schools exploring avenues of expanding their STEM focus for enriching student learning.

Why are you asking me to be in this research study?

• You are being asked to be in this research study because your school has high school students who are members of VEX robotics teams and are participating in VEX robotics competitions.
• These are the qualifiers that fit the population of subjects to be involved in this study.
• This study will include a total of about 200 students from different schools. It is expected that about 10 to 20 students will be from your school.

What will I be doing if I agree to be in this research study?

• While you are taking part in this research study, students who choose to participate in the study and allowed by their parents to do so will complete an online survey that will take about 20 minutes to complete. After all students in the study have completed the online survey, the researcher will visit specific schools at an agreed-upon date and time (to be coordinated through your schools robotics teacher/coach) and conduct a focus group with as many students as possible who completed the survey. There will only be one visit for the focus group session which will take approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

Research Study Procedures - as a participant, this is what you will be doing. To participate in this study:

• you should be a high school student at your school (Grade 9 to 12 or equivalent level),
• you volunteered to participate in this study after being asked by your teacher or the researcher, and you have received written permission from your parents to participate in this study.

There will be two (2) groups in the study.

• Group A will be composed of high school students who are part of your school’s VEX Robotics team and has competed in at least one VEX Robotics competition.
• Group B will be composed of high school students who are NOT part of your school’s VEX Robotics team and have NOT competed in VEX Robotics competitions. These students should be classmates / same grade levels as those students in Group A.
• Both Group A and Group B students will complete THE SAME type of anonymous online survey. Completing the survey will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes. The survey will be completed only once — there will be no additional surveys to be completed.

Are there possible risks and discomforts to me?

• This research study involves minimal risk to you. To the best of our knowledge, the things you will be doing have no more risk of harm than you would have in everyday life.
• There are no known physical, psychological, legal, privacy, social, economic, group or community risks on your part by participating in this study. Survey results will be kept solely by the researcher. There are no identifying labels on your survey entry aside from your gender, grade level, and school name.

What happens if I do not want to be in this research study?

• You have the right to leave this research study at any time, or not be in it. If you do decide to leave or you decide not to be in the study anymore, you will not get any penalty or lose any services you have a right to get. If you choose to stop being in the study, any information collected about you before the date you leave the study will be kept in the research records for 36 months from the conclusion of the study but you may request that it not be used. [All records must be kept for a minimum of 36 months but may be kept longer if stated here].

What if there is new information learned during the study that may affect my decision to remain in the study?

• If significant new information relating to the study becomes available, which may relate to whether you want to remain in this study, this information will be given to you by the investigators. You may be asked to sign a new Informed Consent Form, if the information is given to you after you have joined the study.

Are there any benefits for taking part in this research study?

• There are no direct benefits from being in this research study. We hope the information learned from this study will help provide schools and other educational institutions with information that can be used in determining options to offer students in enriching their STEM education and experience.

Will I be paid or be given compensation for being in the study?

• You will not be given any payments or compensation for being in this research study.

Will it cost me anything?

• There are no costs to you for being in this research study.

How will you keep my information private?

• Information we learn about you in this research study will be handled in a confidential manner, within the limits of the law and will be limited to people who have a need to review this information. Data collected through the online surveys will be downloaded and kept in an external hard drive. A backup copy will be kept for data security. Data will be available to the researcher, the Institutional Review Board and other representatives of this institution, and any regulatory and granting agencies (if applicable). If we publish the results of the study in a scientific journal or book, we will not identify you. All confidential data will be kept securely. Your survey data will be kept by the researcher on a separate USB storage device that is known only to the researcher. All data will be kept for 36 months and destroyed after that time by deleting all survey digital record files and destroying all printed copies.

Will there be any Audio or Video Recording?

• This research study involves audio and/or video recording for the focus group session and will affect you only if you are part of the focus group conducted by the researcher in your school. This recording will be available to the researcher, the Institutional Review Board and other representatives of this institution. The recording will be kept, stored, and destroyed as stated in the section above. Because what is in the recording could be used to find out that it is you, it is not possible to be sure that the recording will always be kept confidential. The researcher will try to keep anyone not working on the research from listening to or viewing the recording.

Whom can I contact if I have questions, concerns, comments, or complaints?

• If you have questions now, feel free to ask us. If you have more questions about the research, your research rights, or have a research-related injury, please contact:

Primary contact:

• Mr. Paul Roland A. Maiquez (B.A., M.A., Ed.D.)
• E-Mail: rmaiquez@ais.edu.hk
• Twitter: @rollymaiquez

Research Participants Rights

For questions/concerns regarding your research rights, please contact:

• Institutional Review Board
• Nova Southeastern University
• (954) 262-5369 / Toll Free: 1-866-499-0790 IRB@nova.edu
• You may also visit the NSU IRB website at <www.nova.edu/irb/information-for-research-participants> for further information regarding your rights as a research participant.