Animal Sciences: The IRB Diaries

Our team has another milestone under its belt – we submitted our Application for Exemption for human subjects research for consideration by the OSU Institutional Review Board (IRB). As with developing the Charter for the project, the process of writing the application and all the supporting materials took more time than anticipated, but was a very worthwhile exercise. It forced us all to think carefully about what we are trying to achieve with the project (i.e., using technology to enhance student learning) and what measures we could use to determine if we achieve the goals and associated learning outcomes. A challenge was honing the questions we will be asking students to respond via survey questionnaires and focus group activities. We started with a basket full of questions. Through discussion and several iterations of fine tuning, editing and careful consideration of what we really wanted to know, we were able to narrow the questions to a manageable number so that students won’t shriek when they open the questionnaire.

Now the focus shifts to implementing Adobe Connect™ and Poll Everywhere to the lecture content. This will involve a reasonable learning curve that is manageable with the team we have assembled. As I repeatedly assure my teammates (as well as my family), I am teachable! We are all excited to learn how to use technology in and beyond the classroom in a way that supports student learning and enhances their educational experience.