Issue link: https://takingitglobal.uberflip.com/i/1542824
R. Adeboye, C. Flewelling,V. Ogbole, E. O'Sullivan 59 Teachers As discussed in the section on Connected North's alignment with curriculum and customizability, 91% of surveyed teachers reported that they extended or connected a Connected North session to other learning activities in their classroom; and teacher interviews and write-in survey responses suggested that teachers generally took a strategic approach to choosing sessions, with the joint goal of supporting prescribed curriculum and student interests and abilities. With respect to preparation, some teachers described how they mentally prepared students to maximally benefit from the sessions 30 , including through providing advance notice to manage sensitivity to change; advance learning on the subject, or practice in the case of hands-on activities to assuage performance anxiety and support success; advance preparation of questions; and other techniques to promote engagement. Not all teachers reported doing this advance preparation, however, and one specifically noted that it was not part of their practice. All teachers who discussed their role during sessions described themselves as playing a very active role. This included technical and logistical support, such as managing the audiovisuals and ensuring students had adequate supplies for hand-on activities. This also included co- instruction with the Content Provider where, for example, they would repeat instructions for a struggling student or provide feedback on their progress. Facilitation of communication between the students and Content Providers was also a theme, for example because of aforementioned equipment limitations (e.g., poor sound quality requiring teachers to repeat student statements) or language barriers (e.g., where teachers had to interpret questions and comments for students for whom English was a second language), or simply shyness on the part of students. One teacher described how they used Connected North sessions as an opportunity to assess students and refine their learning goals: "I am able to observe all the students in their interaction; and see which ones are independent, or which ones are confident, which ones are actively engaged, or need a little more support to get engaged. And what I take from that is, then, after the sessions, we talk about that and make those our learning goals for the next session." Based on the premise that Connected North sessions are most effective when they complement the curriculum and are integrated into broader lesson planning, teachers were asked whether— 30 The value of advance planning on the part of teachers was highlighted in the Content Provider survey, for example, "For us, it has been essential to have a teacher in the community/school helping to promote and organize the students in time for the virtual lessons each week;" "In our opinion, when the teachers are able to help define what they need to deliver their classroom goals, and then prepare the students, the workshops doubled in effectiveness." "So, I always do like a pre- teach. Then we have the session. Then we have at least one day of post. Yep, in English it looks different every time…sometimes it's small group discussions, sometimes it's a writing reflection piece." -Teacher Survey Respondent "We have had lots of topics in all areas incorporated into our classes at different grade levels. Teachers did the spadework and had everything ready for the Connected North sessions." -Teachers' Survey Respondent