[nobe-l] Fwd: Survey Cover Letter with Link

[Catherine Mendez]

Greetings all,
I was recently asked to pass along this information regarding a research study about blind educators. Please take the time to complete the  survey.

Thanks,
Cayte Mendez,
President, National Organization of Blind Educators, a division of the National Federation of the Blind 

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Yvette Hartnell <hartnelly at hotmail.com>
> Date: September 5, 2017 at 9:26:26 PM EDT
> To: "caitryl at gmail.com" <caitryl at gmail.com>
> Subject: Survey Cover Letter with Link
> 
> Hi Cait,
> 
> 
> I'm so glad you reached out to me. My apologies if I attempted to contact you at a very busy time. I greatly appreciate you sending this out for me.
> Here is my brief summary as to the reasoning behind my research project:
> 
> Why is this topic important?
> 
> This topic is important because although there are many programs out there to help assist in job seeking for the visually impaired; little research is done that verifies on-the-job training for teachers with a visual impairment. (Candella & Wolffe, 2002) They must acquire their own strategies in order to be effective teachers on a daily basis. This issue is of great importance for future teachers with a visual impairment to have specific strategies at hand prior to or during their teaching career. So once we have a greater understanding of how they achieve and maintain those skills, we can then share these skills with other future educators who are visually impaired and seeking a job in the teaching field.
> 
> What do we already know about it?
> 
> We know that there has been much research done on effective teachers in general. These general studies have shown that effective teachers have specific and very similar strategies that work best for their teaching skills and their pupils in an educational setting.
> 
> What don’t we know?
> 
> We know very little about the new skills acquired for teachers who are visually impaired in the teaching field. These specific strategies are what we are seeking in order to better understand how they achieved those skills and what it takes in order to maintain those effective teaching skills as a teacher with a visual impairment.
> 
> How do the previous studies form a foundation for yours?
> 
> The previous studies exhibit the fact that there is solid evidence for specific skills that teachers have in order to be effective teachers. Teachers who have common beliefs in teacher-student interactions, positive attitudes in the classroom, organizational skills, providing many learning opportunities and modeling are all foundations that will build upon researching further into how teachers who are visually impaired become effective teachers. If all teachers in general have these common foundations, then the research can be branched off into further detail to specify what is need for their teaching career as well. 
> 
> Present research questions and explain why they are important?
> 
> Research Question #1:  What are the characteristics of effective teachers and how do teachers who are visually impaired acquire these characteristics?
> 
> Why Question #1 is important?
> 
> This is relevant because we need to know the origin of how these specific skills began and how they were learned so other educators who are visually impaired will know what pre-directives are needed in order to accomplish the same effective skills.
> 
> Research Question #2: How do teachers who are blind or visually impaired acquire and successfully demonstrate skills of effective teaching?
> 
> Why Question #2 is important?
> 
> This question is relevant because a teacher seeking these new skills will need to understand how another teacher demonstrated the skills and maintained them for successful teaching in the classroom. The teacher who is learning the new skill may choose to demonstrate the same skill similarly or tailor it to fit their specific teaching skills.
> 
> Research Question #3: What accommodations do they use?
> 
> Why Question #3 is important?
> 
> This question is important so the person seeking a teaching career with a visual impairment can be well prepared to notify their current employer of any accommodations that may be needed. If teacher is already prepared with knowing what they need, employer can immediately take action to make sure they do their part in order for the teacher to receive these accommodations promptly.
> 
> Hypothesis: To determine what skills teachers who are visually impaired use and what accommodations they make to be effective.
> 
> Describe Methodology?
> 
> -Participants will be selected by way of networking with other colleagues and professionals in the teaching field.
> 
> -Within this group of the selected, they will be asked to participate on a voluntary basis only.
> 
> -A gratuity gift will be given ($5 gift card to Target) if they complete entire study
> 
> -All participants will be considered unless they choose to opt out which may be done at any time
> 
> -Survey- If participant agrees to volunteer to do the study, they will be given an online survey link to participate and answer questions about their teaching profession, experience, and visual condition. Survey will be their consent form to participate unless they specify otherwise.
> 
> -Interview- Once survey has been completed, the participant will be offered the opportunity for a one-on-one interview over the telephone. They will be informed that it will be recorded for transcription purposes only. This interview will further elaborate on survey questions. 
> 
> -Observation- Select teachers will be asked (based on geographic/transportation reasons) if they would like to be observed in their teaching profession. A protocol will be used in order to document the observations within the educational setting. A video recorder will be utilized for this portion of the study for further detailed descriptions.
> 
>  Thank you Cait for taking the time to read my research project. All feedback is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Yvette Kalapp
> 
> 562-896-1163
> 
> hartnelly at hotmail.com
> 
>