Working with other adults within the classroom.
Today in APD we looked at working with other adults in our classrooms and using them to best support children's learning and development.
We started by looking at academic texts to look at research that has taken place into the effectiveness of Teaching assistants (TA's) within the classroom.
From our reading, we have found that the most effective support given by TA’s is when they are involved in planning, supporting an appropriate group to the strengths of the TA and assessing the children’s needs. TA’s should also be offered further training to support the learning of children within the class, this has shown it positively affects the children’s outcomes. The TA’s should be deployed appropriately to the needs of the pupils and the strengths of the TA. The main findings were that the TA’s need clear communication form teachers to enable them to carry out their support role effectively.
We then highlighted possible barriers to making sure the role of the TA is effective:
Lack of subject knowledge
Lack of communicate
Incorrect deployment within the class.
Not being involved in planning.
Lack of preparation.
TA feeling valued.
Over use of supporting lower ability.
Ignoring strengths of TA.
Most effective practice occurs when…
there is collaborative planning between teachers and support staff
all staff have a clear understanding of their own roles and those of others.
there is a shared understanding of what constitutes good learning
there is direct involvement of support staff in assessing and recording pupils’ progress
How to reduce dependency.
Differentiate the learning objectives, if appropriate
Brief the teaching assistant on what pupils are to learn, as well as the task they have to complete
Modify/adjust aspects of the lesson to promote independence rather than using support from the teaching assistant
Find opportunities for pupils to work with other adults or peers
Ask the teaching assistant to model a task, answer pupils’ questions, then move away to allow them to work independently
References
ALBORZ, A.,PEARSON, D., FARRELL, P. and HOWES, A. 2009. The impact of adult support staff on pupils and mainstream schools. Technical Report. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
BLATCHFORD, P., P. BASSETT, P. BROWN, M. KOUTSOUBOU, C.MARTIN, A. RUSSELL, and R. WEBSTER, with C. RUBIE-DAVIES. 2009. The impact of support staff in schools. Results from the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) project. (Strand 2 Wave 2). London: Department for Children, Schools and Families.
BLATCHFORD, P., A. RUSSELL, l. and R. WEBSTER. 2012. Reassessing the impact of teaching assistants: How research challenges practice and policy. Abingdon: Routledge
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