Research Study Registration

SOUTH COLLEGE

Title of Study: Evaluating the Usability and Instructional Impact of a Web-Based Lesson Planning Application

Principal Investigator: Amber Peneguy, South College

Faculty Advisor: TEST Advisor, South College

1. Purpose of the Study

You are being invited to participate in a doctoral capstone research study evaluating a web-based software application designed to streamline the lesson planning process for educators. The goal of this research is to evaluate how user-friendly the software is, determine its impact on planning efficiency, and gather teacher feedback to improve instructional design tools.

2. What You Will Be Asked To Do

If you choose to participate, your involvement will consist of the following activities over a 2- to 3-week period:

• Pre-Survey (10 minutes): Complete a baseline survey about your current teaching context, planning tools, and average time spent on lesson planning.
• Software Testing (Authentic Field Use): Use the lesson planning application to create 2 to 4 classroom lesson plans (or 1 weekly unit) in your normal workflow.
• Post-Survey (15 minutes): Complete an exit survey measuring system usability (System Usability Scale) and your experience using the tool.
• Optional Interview (15 minutes): You may be invited to participate in a brief follow-up discussion regarding your feedback on specific app features.

3. Time Commitment

Your total participation time across the entire study is estimated at 45 to 60 minutes (excluding the time you would normally spend designing your lesson plans).

4. Potential Risks and Discomforts

There are no anticipated physical, legal, or psychological risks associated with this study beyond routine computer use and standard professional duties. Participation is low-risk.

5. Potential Benefits

While there may be no direct financial benefit to you, participating gives you early access to a streamlined planning tool designed to reduce workload. The insights gained will contribute to the broader body of research on educational technology and teacher workload management.

6. Confidentiality and Data Security

All data collected during this study will be kept strictly confidential.

• Your survey responses, system logs, and feedback will be anonymized.
• In any public reports or dissertation publications, you will be assigned a pseudonymous ID (e.g., "Participant A" or "Teacher 1").
• All data will be stored on secure, password-protected cloud servers and deleted after the required academic retention period.

7. Voluntary Participation and Right to Withdraw

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You are free to withdraw your consent and discontinue participation at any time without penalty, loss of benefits, or negative impact on your professional standing or employment.

8. Contact Information

If you have questions about this research study, please contact:

• Principal Investigator: dpeneguy@gmail.com
• South College Institutional Review Board (IRB): dpeneguy

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Electronic Consent and Agreement

By selecting "I Agree" below, you acknowledge that:

1. You are at least 18 years of age.
2. You have read and understood the information provided above.
3. You voluntarily agree to participate in this research study.
4. You may print or save a copy of this form for your records using the link below.

Consent form version 1.0 — 2026-08-07