| Institutional Review
Board and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Applying for IRB Approval: the Arizona State University Experience
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In Fall 2001 I wrote up my VKP project and sent it to the ASU IRB (See
de Jesús' IRB Form). In short, they took a very long time in
responding, and their initial response was negative. There were concerns
regarding subject anonymity as well as "coercion" as I was interviewing
current students about their experiences in my web-based class. Time was
of the essence as I was expecting the VKP film crew here in a month and
really needed to get my end of the project off the ground. I turned to
my Associate Dean, for help. He has been very supportive of all my work
with VKP. With his intervention, the IRB quickly revised its decision
and merely requested that I add three specific items to my consent form
(See
memo outlining changes). The project went off without a hitch, and
it was extremely interesting and rewarding.
What I'm finding is that ASU in general is at a loss to evaluate scholarship
on teaching and learning, particularly if it is coming from people in
the Humanities. My Dean requested that I revise and resubmit my summer
research grant (my VKP project) to incorporate social science methodology
even though I do Asian American literature and culture. I revised this
proposal and did receive summer funding, but the process underscores that
while there indeed is institutional interest in SoTL, it does not translate
well to RTP/grant committees. SoTL is perceived to be something that happens
in our Center for Learning and Teaching--not something that I engage in
as part of my research agenda. Furthermore, the weight given to quantitative
vs qualitative research in the College of Public Programs (where my department
is housed) places me in a weird bind. I feel as if I'm breaking new ground
in terms of incorporating SoTL and my humanities training with Asian American
Studies and new media pedagogies, but I am having problems translating
this work into the more social science-based methodologies reified by
my College.
Nevertheless, I am really pleased with the data I was able to collect,
and am looking forward to creating an interactive on-line essay that incorporates
my student interviews about the ways they learn in the Asian American
studies classroom.
Melinda de Jesús, VKP Independent Investigator
Arizona State University
de Jesús' Consent Form
de Jesús' IRB Form
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