Tda 2.6 Help Improve Own and Team Practice in Schools

Teaching Assistants support classroom management and assist with general administration. They help manage pupil behaviour and support pupils’ health, safety and emotional/social development. Teaching assistants establish relationships with learners and help pupils to access the curriculum. They support the development and effectiveness of work teams, work with other professionals and liaise effectively with parents.

Furthermore HLTAS should have good team work skills so that they can share planning teaching and evaluating themselves and other within the team also for support within the school environment.

Schools employ and have teaching assistants, to again, create the best possible learning environment for the pupils. As a teaching assistant I will work as part of a team working to make the pupils learning journey, a successful one. I will attend staff meetings and continue to develop my skills through in-house training and other relevant courses. I will maintain and contribute to school policies and procedures, and work in partnership with parents and carers on behalf of the school.

During the lesson the teaching assistant should assist and be a role model for the children and throughout the lesson the teaching assistant should do what the teacher asks and requires.

As a teacher they need to be motivated, showing passion for what they are teaching with a good knowledge of the chosen subject. The session would be planned which would allow the teacher to be confident in delivering what is required in the time allocated.

The teacher's role is to plan lessons, direct and assess pupils learning. The role of the teaching assistant is to support the teacher in planning, delivering and evaluating learning activities and also, under the teacher's direction to give support to the class, whether it is the whole class, small groups or individuals.

Although the class teacher is primarily responsible to plan, deliver and review all learning activities for the class, a teaching assistant can work alongside the teacher and make contributions that can improve the teachers plan, alter the delivery to make it more effective for pupil attainment and extend the teachers initial review. “Planning, teaching and evaluation follow a cycle which gives structure to the learning process” (Baker, B., Burnham, L., 2010) and is vital in my role as a teaching assistant. I aim to describe how I aide the teacher to plan and deliver lessons and how I give feedback to the teacher about individual pupils, in order for the teacher make improvements in her planning and to be able to target individual

It helps to build a positive relationship with those that are within your team, as well as showing that there is support for one another within the structure. When there is team work, responsibilities and tasks are shared and are completed more effectively and also in a good time scale. Each member or person has their own skill and or expertise, communicating with them helps you to learn, build up your own knowledge and know your own responsibilities. Communication is an invaluable tool in team work; you can ask for advice or even give advice about certain subjects or topics, as well as sharing ideas on them too. When it comes to the pupils, communicating between each other is important as you will share information on the chid such as the child’s welfare, medical information or even their progress within the classroom. When adults are working effectively together and are working as part of a team, the children will see them as role models and will follow, copy and mimic what they see. Not only using it in and around school, but also when they are at home. To a parent this shows that the school are setting a good example to its pupils, which in turn will give the school respectively high standards and a great reputation.

As a teaching assistant/learning mentor, you are able to take more time with students to enable effective communication, whether this is one on one support or a small group. The students will benefit from this as they have been able to understand more comprehensively the task at hand, however if they do struggle with anything we can take the extra time with them to give them guidance which will help the student fulfil their learning potential.

As teammembers it is their responsibility to work together regardless and not let emotions hinder them from performing their responsibilities. Unfortunately there are time constraints such as different time zones and the inability for everyone to meet together at the same time in the classroom.

My task is to provide a support system, a welcoming climate and effective communication to ensure that the student has an increased level of cognitive responsibility to learn independently and continue to build on that knowledge to find their own answers; to study effectively and with efficiency. It also enables them to investigate their learning style and use that knowledge to their advantage. The meeting should not be rushed as I am attempting to connect with these students not just “hurry them out and grab the next

Before the groups were put together, all students were evaluated and given roles based on Belbins Team role theory. There are nine roles included in this theory, which are as follows: Plant, Resource Investigator, Co-ordinator, Shaper, Monitor evaluator, Team worker, Implementer, Complete Finisher and Specialist. All groups were put together with people who had a mixture of

Now you know where there may be team gaps you are able to make conscious efforts to bring in a team role if a situation requires it.

My next role is encouraging. The role of identity in encouraging is being friendly and warm in every situation. Always be responsive to other people and accepting the ideas they bring forward to the group. The role of perception in encouraging is that everything must be said in a calm collective way and to not create fights or arguments. To give everyone a chance to speak about their ideas or information based on the task. Also to encourage everyone in a nice way to get the work done and sorted with positivity and respect. The role of expectation in encouraging is that the group members

As a team player is where I work best and I regardless of role titles I see everyone as an equal, and everyone approachable; it is only the job titles alone that set us apart. It is important to build strong working relationships in order to thrive and develop as individuals and as a team; additionally it enables a vibrant working dynamic in which you can challenge, question and change working practices.