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OFFICE OF INSTITUTIO NAL
EFFECTIVENESS
Kaplan University Institutional Review Board
CLAIM OF EXEMPTION
INSTRUCTIONS
The Claim of Exemption Instructions are to be used by investigators who wish to determine whether
their research protocols involving human subjects is exempt from the federal regulations for the protection
of human subjects [HHS regulations 45 CFR 46.101(b)].
If you believe that your human subject’s research protocol may be exempt under the regulations, please
complete this application and provide the necessary documents.
Does your research protocol involve human subjects in any way other than the following?
1) Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal
educational practices. This category may include children.
2) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey
procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior for which subjects can not be
identified directly or through coded identifiers, or, if they can be identified, release of the information
would not be harmful1 to the subject.
a. Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement) for
which subjects can not be identified, or release of the information would not be harmful to the
subject. This category may include children.
b. Research involving the use of survey procedures or interview procedures or observation of public
behavior for which subjects can not be identified, or release of the information would not be
harmful to the subject. This category may not include children.
3) Survey or interview of public or elected officials. Testing of public officials.
4) Research involving the collection or study of existing data2, documents, records, pathological
specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if these sources are publicly available or if the information is
recorded by the investigator in such a manner that subjects cannot be identified, directly or through
identifiers linked to the subjects. This category may include children.
5) Research and demonstration projects that are conducted by or subject to the approval of Department
or Agency heads, and which are designed to study or evaluate public benefits or services (e.g.
1
Harm to subjects means that any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research could reasonably place the
subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or can be damaging to subjects’ financial standing, employability, or reputation.
2
Existing data means the items exist before the research was proposed or was collected prior to the research for a purpose
other than the proposed research. (For purposes of an HHS grant, this refers to data collected prior to the time the research
was proposed).
IRB
550 West Van Buren
Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60607
312.777.6406
doshana@kaplan.edu:
chasemeier@kaplan.edu:
cbach@kaplan.edu:
Associate Chair
Associate Chair
Chair
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evaluation of public benefits programs: Medicare, Public Assistance). This category refers to
projects under Federal Department or Agency Heads. This category may include children.
If your research involves ONLY one or more of the activities listed above and NO OTHER, please
proceed with the application.
Please include the following with your submission:

abstract, performance sites and key personnel

research plan – specific aims

background and significance

research design and methods - if applicable, please provide a list of all variables, i.e., data, that will
need to be obtained from Kaplan, and include a rationale for each variables use

literature cited

gender/minority/vulnerable population inclusion

collaboration/support letters where appropriate

any recruitment materials: flyers, a copy of email(s) to be sent, recruitment letter, brochures

all questionnaires, survey instruments, interview questions, and /or data collection instruments
Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal
educational practices.
IRB
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OFFICE OF INSTITUTIO NAL
EFFECTIVENESS
Kaplan University Institutional Review Board
CLAIM OF EXEMPTION FORM
Protocol No.: 08-33
DATE APPLICATION COMPLETED: 11/6/08
PROJECT TITLE
Classroom Management Skills for New Teachers: Veteran Teacher Attitudes
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Name (Last, First)
Baile, Sara
Department
SOTE
Degree(s)
BA
Address
City
5213 Bracana Court Las Vegas
Other institutional affiliation
University Status
Student
State
NV
Phone Number
702-386-2291
Zip Code
E-mail Address
89141
sarabaile@student.kaplan.edu
Status
List all co-investigators below, including those from other institutions
CO-INVESTIGATOR
Name (Last, First)
Zucker, Gloria
Department
SOTE
OR FACULTY SPONSOR X
Degree(s)
Ed.D
Address
City
State
1699 Crest Hills Ave. N. Las Vegas, NV 89229
Other institutional affiliation
CO-INVESTIGATOR
Name (Last, First)
Department
Zip Code
Phone Number
607-331-7430
E-mail Address
gzucker@kaplan.edu
Status
Degree(s)
Address
E-mail Address
Other institutional affiliation
IRB
550 West Van Buren
Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60607
312.777.6406
University Status
FT Faculty
University Status
Phone Number
City
State
Status
doshana@kaplan.edu:
chasemeier@kaplan.edu:
cbach@kaplan.edu:
Associate Chair
Associate Chair
Chair
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FUNDING SOURCE – Please provide the following:
P.I. of Grant or Contract:
Name of Funding Source:
Grant/Contract No. (if available):
Grant/Contract or Project Title:
PERFORMANCE SITES
List all collaborating and performance sites
Provide certification or
letter of IRB approval
Provide letters of
cooperation or support (as
appropriate)
1. Is Kaplan University the only performance
site?
Yes
X No
2. Other: Brinly Middle School
Attached
Will follow
N/A
Attached
Will follow
N/A
3. Other:
Attached
Attached
Will follow
Will follow
N/A
N/A
EXEMPT CATEGORY CLAIMED
Please identify all that apply to your research (check all applicable boxes)
1. Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational
practices. This category may include children.
Yes
2. Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey
procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior for which subjects can not be identified
directly or through coded identifiers, or, if they can be identified, release of the information would not be
harmful1 to the subject.
a. Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement) for which
subjects can not be identified, or release of the information would not be harmful to the subject. This
category may include children.
Yes
b. Research involving the use of survey procedures or interview procedures or observation of public
behavior for which subjects can not be identified, or release of the information would not be
harmful to the subject. This category may not include children.
X Yes
3. Survey or interview of public or elected officials. Testing of public officials.
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Yes
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4. Research involving the collection or study of existing data2, documents, records, pathological specimens, or
diagnostic specimens, if these sources are publicly available or if the information is recorded by the
investigator in such a manner that subjects cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the
subjects. This category may include children.
Yes
5. Research and demonstration projects that are conducted by or subject to the approval of Department or
Agency heads, and which are designed to study or evaluate public benefits or services (e.g. evaluation of
public benefits programs: Medicare, Public Assistance). This category may include children.
Yes
If your research involves only those procedures listed in one or more of the categories above, it may be
reviewed as exempt.
1Harm to subjects means that any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research could
reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or can be damaging to subjects’ financial standing,
employability, or reputation.
2Existing
data means the items exist before the research was proposed or was collected prior to the research for
a purpose other than the proposed research. (For purposes of an HHS grant, this refers to data collected prior to
the time the research was proposed.)
EXEMPT CATEGORY RATIONALE
Provide a rationale for each exempt category claimed for this research. Use non-technical language that can be
understood by IRB members whose primary concerns are non-scientific. The information must include a brief
specific description of the procedure(s) involving the human subjects in sufficient detail to demonstrate that the
research protocol meets the requirements for each category of exemption claimed in this human subjects
research protocol.
The rationale for exemption is found under category 2b – I plan on conducting interviews where release
of identifying information on the subjects does not pose greater than minimal risk of harm.
Classroom Management Skills for New Teachers: Veteran Teacher Attitudes
Research Question: Are new teachers prepared to handle classroom management challenges during their first
year of teaching?
Hypotheses:
a) New teachers cannot be successful when they lack sufficient, research-based classroom management
strategies.
b) New teacher satisfaction and retention are related to the quality of classroom management training they
received in their teacher education program.
This pilot study attempts to gather information on veteran teacher attitudes. Specifically, the researcher will
survey veteran teachers at a middle school using a rating scale (6 questions) plus open-ended questions (2
questions). Veteran teachers will share their views on to what degree classroom management skills play a role in
new teacher success. After the paper survey is complete, the researcher will conduct 3 follow-up interviews
(participants will be randomly selected) to gain a more in-depth understanding of why veteran teachers hold the
attitudes revealed in the survey (interview questions listed in Appendix A at the end of this research project
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description).
Approximately 25 subjects for this study will be taken from Brinly Middle School.
The researcher plans to collect data for no more than 2 weeks from start to finish. She will send an e-mail to the
subjects describing the study and including basic elements of informed consent (Appendix B). If a subject replies
to the researcher that he/she is interested in participating in the study, then that reply message serves as a
documentation of informed consent, and thus, consent to participate in the study. These e-mails will be
destroyed once a master of list of subjects interested in participating in the study is created.
The researcher will not place any undue pressure on faculty to respond to any of the interview questions
included in this study, nor will participation affect instructors’ employability with their school district. Interview
transcript and questionnaire data will be stripped of all teachers’ identities to protect the participating faculty
members. A master list of teacher identities will be stored under the protection of a locked computer and will be
destroyed after completion of the study.
The researcher will take notes by hand as the interview progresses to capture the salient points from each
interviewee. There will be no identifying information on these hand-written notes. Along with the open-ended
survey questions, they will serve as the raw qualitative data to be examined using the Grounded Theory
Methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) to perform the data coding and analysis tasks. With this approach,
researchers don't begin with a theory that they are trying to prove. Rather, they begin with an area of study and
what is relevant to that area is allowed to emerge from the data collected. Thus, using the grounded theory
method can help to generate conceptual themes and relationships among variables that emerge from the data.
Initially, the researcher will code the data into categories and subcategories. After this initial (open) coding, the
data will be examined to make connections among and between categories. The researcher will review the
resulting codes to look for any differences that arise and then re-code the data until consensus is reached.
Finally the researcher will look for themes in the normal discussion transcripts that relate to the research
questions listed in this summary. To strengthen the validity of the findings, the researcher will incorporate an
audit of the findings by a qualitative researcher not involved in the study.
The findings from this qualitative data analysis will be used as part of MSE candidate and principal
investigator’s INSERT NAME OF MSE CANDIDATE capstone project.
The plan at this point in time is not to publish and/or present the results from the proposed study in a peerreviewed journal or at a distance learning or general education conference. However, if presentation of these
findings is desired in the future, the researcher will not disclose Brinly Middle School as the source of the data in
any dissemination of the study’s findings.
Appendix A
Survey Questions-Rating Scale:
On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being strongly agree, 2 being agree, 3 being undecided, 4 being disagree, and 5
being strongly disagree, please respond tot the following 6 questions:
1. Classroom management skills are the most important factor for predicting new instructor
retention.
2. Only research-based strategies should be used when new teachers manage their classrooms.
3. Poor classroom management skills lead to feelings of frustration for the teacher.
4. Reorganization of the class into smaller groups can make a big difference for new teachers
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trying to gain control of a difficult class.
5. New teachers need to involve students in the formation and acceptance of rules and
procedures.
6. Teacher-student relationships play a critical role in classroom management.
Survey Questions--Open-ended:
1. Do you agree that many new teachers fail because they are unable to manage their classroom?
Why or why not?
2. Which classroom management techniques do you find the most valuable?
Interview Questions:
Do you think that classroom management strategies should be supported by research? Why or why not?
If you were mentoring a new teacher, what advice about managing the classroom might you offer for the first day
of school?
Do you think that one teachers’ lack of classroom management skills can affect other teachers in the school?
How?
What are some of the challenges with helping a new teacher understand the concepts of effective classroom
management?
Appendix B
Sample of the e-mail message that will be sent to all learning community members (i.e., informed
consent)
Dear Veteran Teacher:
The researcher will conduct an eight item survey to identify your attitudes on the benefits of classroom
management skills in the classroom. Six questions will be on a rating scale and two questions will be openended. Three veteran teachers will then be selected for a one-on-one, ten minute interview. You can read a
complete copy of the survey and interview questions on the page following this consent form. This e-mail is the
vehicle for making you aware of this study (see summary description below), as well as an invitation to
participate. It is my obligation to make you aware of the main risk related to participation, which is the potential
disclosure of identity. That being said, I will minimize this risk with such safeguards as keeping data locked on
my password-protected computer, and, for publication purposes, I will only present results in aggregate and
without any identifying information. Participation in this study is strictly voluntary. There is no penalty (especially
to your employability) if you decline to participate. I also want to make it clear that participation in the study may
benefit you indirectly (e.g., indirect benefit may include potential to contribute to knowledge in this area). Thank
you for considering this opportunity to participate in this study. By typing your name and date on this form it
will confirm that you are participating in the study of your own accord and that you are aware of the
risks and benefits. Thank you for considering being a part of this research project.
Name: _______________________________________________Date:____________________________
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INVESTIGATOR’S ASSURANCE
In submitting this application electronically -1) I certify that the information provided in this claim of exemption is complete and correct.
2) I understand that as Principal Investigator, I have ultimate responsibility for the protection of the rights and
welfare of human subjects and the ethical conduct of this research protocol.
3) I agree to comply with all Kaplan policies and procedures, as well as with all applicable federal, state, and local
laws regarding the protection of human subjects in research, including, but not limited to, the following:
 the project will be performed by qualified personnel according to the research protocol,
 maintaining a copy of all questionnaires, survey instruments, interview questions, data collection
instruments, and information sheets for human subjects,
 necessary review by the Kaplan IRB will be sought if changes made in the research protocol may result in
the research no longer meeting the criteria for exemption.
4) I will complete the required educational program on ethical principles and regulatory requirements in human
subjects research in a timely manner.
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