It is official! We are out in our participating schools for our first round of pilot data collection. Children from Grade 2 and Grade 5 with parental consent participate in two sessions. One session includes activities like answering questions on brief passages or deciding if a sentence is true or false. In a second session, children's gaze is monitored as they name numbers, pictures, and words or read out loud brief stories.
This phase of data collection will inform us about materials that we should keep or improve, as we prepare for the intervention phase of our project.
At the end of both sessions, children receive stickers and a diploma for participation.
One of the team's priorities is to stay safe during Covid-19. Our team has safety measures in place, such as PCR testing and use of face masks from our researchers in schools, and frequent disinfection of work surfaces and items. As this is an evolving situation, we follow closely any updates with respect to the municipality’s regulations and ensure we comply with all relevant mandates and recommendations.