What makes a good lsa

Until the DISS study no one really appreciated the potentially negative impact of support. Just more so. This is the same story as in Synthetic Phonics and Dyslexia assessment. Remember the prevalence of pseudoscience in education is rather high. Took a risk with learning styles there. Blatchford is guilty of this in the DISS study though to his credit he has followed up on some of his hypothesis in later research. Incidentally have you read any of Blatchfords follow up studies?

Thank you for your comments, Michael. Critical is good, as it provides us all with the opportunity to pick apart our beliefs and consider alternative positions. Thanks so much for taking the time to read the post and for your valuable feedback. The transition records provided invaluable insight into how the students preferred to learn with input gleaned from students themselves, school teachers, SENCOs, parents and other agencies.

These notes offered the opportunity to think in advance about things such as assistive or learning technologies and suggest possible strategies to teachers — many of whom were not familiar with options available in-house or platforms such as android, iOS or Windows. In addition to technology, strategies also included techniques for areas such as behaviour management, literacy and numeracy or employability.

As an LSA, I was able to let lecturers know how students progressed in non-vocational subjects such as Functional Skills, GCSE English and maths resits or let those lecturers know how students were doing in vocational subjects. Underpinning all of this was close and ongoing dialogue between lecturer and LSA.

Regarding the formal targets, line management required that every student had at least one Learning Support target and one EHCP target where applicable as these were conditions of funding by the local authority — targets which were rigoursly reviewed in regular Borough audits. Outcomes from each and every session needed to be recorded on a student progress form which evaluated support strategies used, effectiveness of strategies, level of learner independence, behaviour levels, student mood, session content and many other things.

Students were also required whenever possible how support had help them achieve session aims and objectives, These records were stored in the learner file and taken to class by any LSA who supported the learner. My own experience began as a support worker from an agency in then permanently a year later before moving into teaching in a Foundation department in FE.

My college has similar structures to yours and our additional learning support is largely structured to meet funding requirements with evidence linked to justify this. Our ALS team has no plans to change this approach. These plans are not designed to prioritise teaching and learning and no acknowledgement of the DISS study is made. I consider this institutional myopia. Back to my previous post. My critique was in general that your ideas are conceptual plasters trying to work around your inherited structures.

Believe it or not some schools I know schools have used radically different approaches including spending ALS funding on extra teachers instead of support in one case. This point is important because I believe if we explore fundamentally different approaches to ALS we will find more effective solutions. I realise that it is my job to give you some examples to back this up and I intend to offer an alternative set of guidance next week focused on the experience of myself and colleagues.

We have observations to prepare for this week. It will be illuminating to contrast. If I may briefly discuss your point about differences in FE to schools.

This is a familiar argument to me I acknowledge DISS was school based but I am going to argue that it is for the most part a red herring. As a side note I came to this conclusion only after reading Reassessing the Impact of Teaching Assistants carefully. I had not appreciated how their conclusion had been drawn from very specific differences in behavior between teachers and support. Mainly in regards to non-contact tasks. My college does not use TAs in this way.

I suspect your employer is the same. If other colleges do use support like this it would affect my viewpoint. They found a negative relationship between the amount of TA support received and the progress made by pupils in mainstream primary and secondary schools.

I argue that this makes us more rather than less vulnerable to this effect. The DISS study did not tell me what I expected to hear but convinced me by eerily describing both the behavior of many of the TAs that I worked with as well as my own priorities when I worked as support. Again, if other college use support differently it would affect my viewpoint. Blatchfords has lots of ideas untested in DISS though followed up elsewhere of what to do about this. Using TAs trained to deliver very specific additional coaching outside of class is one.

This is the response to intervention idea. Likely used to focus on core gateway skills, reading, money, time etc. His goal is to research more effective approaches then the models we currently use. The trips enable them to learn through being active and experiencing things for themselves.

In the weeks after the trip to Belgium there was a noticeable positive change in the educational and behavioral performance of most of the students. The residential trip had also strengthened the relationship between the staff and students, which for me has impacted on the support I am able to give the students within the classroom. A typical day for me at Gosforth High School am — As I arrive in the department I am greeted pleasantly by a group of students who have gathered on the soft chairs.

While I get organized, some of them approach to involve me in their conversation, before the bell goes and they go off to registration. I then catch up with my colleagues on the plans for the day ahead. The teacher and I split our time between students, answering questions and prompting them in developing their ideas.

It is very much a team effort to get around the whole class and ensure that everyone is on task. They are continuing with algebra and I work through the first few questions with them. Once they have gained confidence, I move to work with other students but check back on their progress throughout the lesson. The teacher has the differentiated work ready and talks me through what she hopes will be achieved.

I ask the student informally to explain to me what he has been asked to do and then assist him in breaking down the task. Once he has attempted the task, he offers it to me to have a read over. I praise him for his understanding and individual ideas and ask leading questions to help him develop his thoughts. He prefers to give his answers verbally, so I jot down key words he uses in his book, which he later uses to help him structure his written answer. After each demonstration by the teacher, I move around the classroom and ensure that everyone is following the instructions correctly, working at the correct pace and most importantly!

She is very capable but lacks confidence. I encourage her to attempt the work and praise her appropriately. I reassure her that she is better at maths than I am and we are able to make a joke of this fact. This has helped her to learn that we are all only human and it is OK to make mistakes. Continually rewarding Many LSAs are known by their first names, relationships are less formal and sometimes, as a consequence, the students really open up.

First time away For many students, this was not only their first independent trip, ie. Related posts:. A teaching assistant TA is usually assigned to a class or year group and help a range of children to achieve their potential.

Learning support Assistants LSA work with one or two specific children with special educational needs and support them in class using different strategies. Your annual pay is split into 12 and so you get paid every month. Classroom assistants provide support for teachers whilst they perform their daily tasks in the classroom. They are responsible for making the teaching environment ready for teaching prior to the beginning of each lesson and helping the teacher whilst the lesson is in progress.

A teacher assistant supports the teacher in planning and presenting lessons, and helps students learn. Teacher assistants may work part-time or full-time.

Certificate Programs You can typically complete a teacher aide or teacher assistant certificate program in less than one year, sometimes in just two semesters. A new role.

As a TA, you get a daily look at how teachers work. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home What are the qualities of a good teaching assistant?

Ben Davis May 23, What are the qualities of a good teaching assistant? What do Ofsted look for in teaching assistants? What are the expectations relevant to your role as a teaching assistant? How do you deploy a teaching assistant effectively?