To ensure all students make maximum progress in a lesson , teachers must deploy teaching assistants effectively . A good working relationship must be established and maintained . It is important to remember that the teacher is responsible for planning of lessons and directing learning , while the teaching assistant provides support to the teacher and the students throughout .
This table below , kindly shared by Emma Burge , gives some ideas for how teachers and teaching assistants can ensure all students achieve during the lesson .
Teacher Before the Lesson
Teaching Assistant
• Tell your Teaching Assistant what the lesson is about and what you expect them to do .
• Perhaps give them a lesson plan , A1 or try using the Teaching Assistant Guidance sheet so they know exactly what you expect .
• Have they got suitable resources ?
During the lesson introduction
• Make sure you know what the lesson is going to be about .
• Be clear about what you will be expected to do during the lesson .
• Do you need any resources ?
• Is there a group who don ’ t need this • Reinforce the learning objective and success introduction – could the TA take a group criteria ( what are they learning and what do straight away and get them going sooner ? they need to do ?)
• Check they know how to get on .
• Get them going quickly
During “ Whole Class ” time
• Know where you want the Teaching Assistant to • Concentrate on the students , not the teacher . be .
You already know what the lesson is about .
• Place students who might need support so that • Sit next to the student / s who find it hard to the Teaching Assistant can get to them easily . listen or concentrate .
• Don ’ t expect a TA to keep students focussed • Focus students , don ’ t distract them . when the time is too long or the activity • Model the behaviour you expect from the inappropriate . students . Working with a Student or Small Group
• Make sure the TA knows where to work with the student or group and what resources they will need .
• Ensure that the TA knows why they are working with a student or group and what support to give .
Helping students with their work
• Know where you will be working with the student or group and what resources you will need .
• Know why you are working with the student or group – what support are you giving and why ?
• Communicate the learning objective with the • Ask questions to check the student TA ( this is not the same as completing the understands . task )
• Encourage students to answer rather than
• Communicate the success criteria with the TA – answering for them . what will show that the students have learned • Make sure the student does the work , rather something ? than you .
• Make sure the TA knows that learning takes • Don ’ t worry about the student finishing the precedence over completion of task . task – it is more important that they
• Have ‘ next steps ’ for learning available to the understand the bit they have done . TA – they might need them .
• Ask questions to move students on . Go onto next steps if learning is secure .
During plenaries or a summing up
• Is there a group whose needs are different – could the TA give a differentiated level of plenary to a group ?
• Let the students tell you what they have learned or the problems they encountered .
• Use difficulties or misunderstandings as an opportunity to learn even more .
• Introduce next steps for learning .