SAMPLE PARENT INFORMED CONSENT LETTER: CLASSROOM RESEARCH SETTING
Dear Parent or Guardian,
I am currently doing graduate work in education at Alverno College, and I am preparing to begin work on an
action research project. This project is a requirement of an Educational Inquiry course, is supervised by NAME
TLA 750 INSTRUCTOR, and it is designed to help improve my practice as an educator. My research topic is
students’ motivation for writing, which I will pursue in the context of collaborative writing assignments that I
have developed for the purpose of improving student writing. Better understanding what motivates students to
write will help me to become a better writing teacher and contribute to improving education at our school.
Should you and your child agree to participate in the classroom research project, she or he will be asked to
participate in a no more than 30 minute conference at the end of the trimester on his or her thoughts about
writing. He or she may also be asked to participate in a fifteen minute group discussion about what I am
generally hearing from students about writing. The conference would be held outside of class but during
regular school hours and at an agreed upon time with your child. The discussion would occur during class time.
The other data I would collect specifically for the action research project involves my recording of my
observations about student attitudes and behaviors toward the required writing for the class, and so, generally
would not require any extra work on the part of your child as a student. I also want to stress that this action
research project is an extension of the work I do as part of my normal responsibilities as a teacher.
Participation in the end-of-term conference is completely voluntary, and you may withdraw your permission for
your child to participate at any time without any consequence for you or your child. I do not foresee any risks
from your child’s participation in the research. I will keep all the data I collect completely confidential, and I will
not use students’ names in any research reports. Any information that I present will not be linked to any
personal information that could be used to identify individual students.
I will probably include some quotes from the conferences in my written and oral research reports, which I will
present to the public at an event in May 2010. In addition, I may present my research report to teachers at XYZ
High School or at the Wisconsin Reading Association Conference, if I think my findings would help others
improve their teaching.
If you have any questions about the research, you may reach me at PHONE NUMBER or at EMAIL ADDRESS.
Please sign below and return a copy of this letter to me indicating whether or not you give your child permission
to participate in this research project.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
RESEARCHER NAME
 I give permission for my child to participate in the research project describe above.
 I do not give permission for my child to participate in the research project describe above.
Child’s Name
Signature of Parent/Guardian
Date