The Role Of The Learning Support Practitioner In The Assessment Of Learner's Achievement

|The initial assessment pin-points the learners individual needs. This can lead to additional support being

A practitioner’s role in meeting children’s learning needs are to understand and work with each and every child’s learning needs. They can do this by providing different opportunities to individual children because each child is unique and learns differently. The practitioners’ role would therefore be to plan and resource an environment that is challenging and helps children learn in many different areas of their learning.

Having discussed what activities we would be doing in the classroom it is then my responsibility to prepare the classroom ready for the lesson, this would be done either before the children arrive or when the class teacher gathers the children on to the carpet area where she will discuss the activity with them, what it involves and what is expected of them.

Significant reforms have been made to the education system due to the demands of a fast changing and increasingly competitive global economy. The need to provide quality education that maximizes the potential of every child and raise standards of pupil performance has increased the demand for education assistants and broadened the range of responsibilities they perform. In the past, an education assistant’s role involved preparing materials for the classroom, childcare and pastoral care. However in today’s teaching environment, an education assistant is also required to support students with special needs, implement lesson plans, assess pupil progress, manage challenging behaviours and much more. It is important to note that many of these

A child will be assessed by an educational psychologist if there are concerns about their intellectual, communication and behavioural development. Assessments can be arranged by the SENCO or independently. The aim of the assessments is to find out why the child is not progressing and what support is needed in order for them to progress. Specific learning difficulties are often identified in this way such as Dyslexia, AHAD, Dyspraxia. Support and targets for the child are then set to help them achieve. The outcome of the assessments may involve the child referred to other professionals e.g. occupational therapist, optometrist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist. The psychologist will advise the school on how to promote development for example, keeping verbal instructions simple. Keep stories and group activities short to match attention span.

Teaching Assistant’s goal is to work with classroom teachers and support them and their responsibilities for the development and education of pupils, including pupils with special needs (physical, emotional, educational). Teaching assistant should be involved in the planning cycle and might contribute to it by providing ideas, materials and learning strategies for lessons, organising and managing learning experiences, recording the achievements and more. Teaching assistant should always make sure that she/he understands what the learning objectives of activities are and how the success of the activities is going to be measured. If teaching assistant has any concerns regarding the planning, he/she should share it with the teacher by giving constructive

Assessments are used to track not only learner but tutor progress. Below I have documented some utilised in my everyday teaching life:

1.1 Describe how a learning support practitioner may contribute to the planning, delivery and review of learning activities

Compare and contrast the roles of the teacher and the learning support practitioner in assessment of learners’ achievements

In the role of a teaching assistant, you will be contributing to planning, delivery and reviewing of learning activities alongside teachers. When planning takes place there should be some opportunity to discuss and review pupils’ work with teachers. Panning, teaching and reviewing follow a cycle which gives structure to the learning process.

1.1 Compare and contrast the roles of the teacher and the learning support practitioner in assessment of learners’ achievements.

3.4 In order to support pupils using formative assessment it is necessary to ensure all pupils are clear of the learning intentions of the lesson. They also need to know the reason that they are learning it and the assessment that will take place. A discussion with them will make sure that all this is clear. Success

There are many reasons why we assess learners. Assessments enable tutors to measure learner’s progress towards their goal. And feedback can be given to help them such as outlining their strengths and weaknesses. Feedback is used to help learners learn and improve, and is the most important aspect of formative assessment. This can be given in various ways such as written, oral, in the form of graded/marked assignment etc. When giving feedback it is good practice to bear in mind the following points. It is important to give immediate feedback if possible; turn negative comment into constructive comments such as what to improve on before the next assessment; make assessment criteria clear, accurate and available; feedback to be clear, accurate and recorded; praise learner on achievement; encourage positive attitudes and make further suggestions. Learners can be encouraged through communication of how well they are doing and what skills and knowledge they are developing.

Before I organise trips, rewards, and incentives I will need to consider everybody’s individual needs and plan things that everybody can be included in as this will promote equality too. A good example of this is (Gravells A, 2008). A group of leaners wish to go out for dinner. One is vegetarian, another is dairy intolerant and a third does not eat fish. They all want to eat at the same restaurant and choose from the same menu and be treated equally, enabling them to choose a different option from the menu.

In this evidence you will need to explain your understanding of the principles and requirements of your assessment practices. 1. Explain how peer and self assessment can be used to promote effective learner involvement in the assessment process, what are the benefits of learners taking ownership and responsibility for their learning journey:It is important to involve learners