Nvq_L2_Stal_Unit_K6,7,9,11,12

UNIT 1 – Provide Support for learning activities K6 the importance of planning and evaluation of learning activities Planning and evaluation are important because they form the basis for teaching and learning. By planning in advance with the teacher or receiving plans in advance from the teacher you can make sure you are prepared for the activities you will be required to do in that lesson. It also enables you to ensure that you have the necessary learning resources in place and to hand ready for the lesson. It is important to evaluate the learning activities because if a lesson hasn’t achieved it’s objective then this could impact on future lessons. The learning objective may be fundamental to an entire topic so the teacher may have to amend future plans until the basics have been achieved. This is how planning, teaching and evaluating form a cycle, you plan, to teach, then evaluate and then work out what the next plan will be for the following lesson and so on. K7 the basic principles underlying child development and learning; the factors that promote effective learning; and the barriers to effective learning Most educationalists believe that children learn best in a range of different ways. Some believe children learn what they observe from other people, in particular adults. Another theory is that children learn through different ways as they get older, because learning is based on experience and as they experience more, their beliefs change. There is also theory that children will repeat enjoyable experiences and avoid those that weren’t. Therefore praise and encouragement is essential. This is known as positive reinforcement. One other theory is that children cannot leanr as much without adults and others helping them. Factors that promote effective learning are: · Positive Learning Environment · Praise and Encouragement · Good Quality teaching and learning · Positive support of parents and carers · Motivation If any of these are missing in a childs education then it could provide a barrier to effective learning. Other barriers could be the absence of leaning materials or an inability to participate in some learning activities. The attitudes of staff, parents and other children could also act as a barrier to a childs learning, particularly if they have been labelled as something, it could be difficult for them move away from this ‘label’. A child could cause their own barriers because of a lack of self confidence and self-belief. K9 school policy on the use of praise, assistance, rewards and sanctions Verbal praise and encouragement is encouraged. As are the use of stickers, for example during a particular SEAL theme the teachers and TA’s were given special stickers to reward good manners that they noticed walking through the school. There are also smiley faces and housepoints and as a child reaches a certain number of housepoints they are given a certificate in assemble. There is also the rainbow book, that is given out each fortnight and the teachers nominate two children from their class to receive a rainbow certificate in assembly for something positive they have achieved, e.g good effort, good behaviour and good reading/writing skills. Each teacher also has a set of stamps to use in the children’s learning logs when they hand homework in to encourage plenty of effort. K11 the importance of working within the boundaries of your role and competence and when you should refer to others As a teaching assistant you do have some responsibility but you also have to expect that there will be times when you may need to consult the class teacher or another more senior member of staff. Some examples of when you might consult another member of staff are; · a situation which you cannot resolve on your own · When a minority of pupils in a group are affecting the learning of the other children in the group · If a pupil still doesn’t understand the learning objective after the teacher has explained it and you have re-explained it several different ways · If a pupil is working at a higher level than others in the group · If a pupil is putting other people in danger · If there are issues that need to be reported higher up such as child protection concerns K12 how to give feedback in a constructive manner and in a way that ensures that working relationships are maintained It is essential to give feedback to the teacher about how well you feel a pupil or group of pupils or the class got on with the lesson and whether or not they achieved the learning objective and how much support was required to help them achieve this. You should always remember that your feelings and opinions are just that’s – yours – and the teacher may feel differently and you should always respect this. If a lesson has gone badly or not quite as desired then giving bad feedback may be more difficult but if you try to give suggestions on how you think it might have gone better rather than being negative about what happened, then this is often more constructive and less negative.