Teaching_Assistant_Level_3_Assignment_1

Describe how you might contribute to a lesson given to a group of seven year old children learning to play percussion instruments. As a teaching assistant my main contribution to this lesson would be to support the teacher with their work in the classroom, so that they can concentrate on teaching. This could include helping to research and plan the lesson. In this scenario I could be asked to research some appropriate musical activities using the library or internet, and make a sufficient number of copies, either by printing directly from the computer or making photocopies. I would research how to use the instruments so I could fully participate and show the pupils how to use them. Prior to the lesson I would prepare the classroom by arranging the tables and chairs and set out any instruments we would be using. I would check each instrument was clean, safe and in good working order and make an inventory incase any get misplaced or damaged. During the lesson I would concentrate on helping children who need extra support to complete tasks and supervising group activities, encouraging all children to join in and learn. I might be asked to make an audio or visual record of the lesson using a camera, tape or video recorder, both of which I might have to source myself from a different part of the school before the lesson. I may have to make individual or group assessments of the pupils learning and progression to report back to the teacher. This helps to identify whether the learning outcomes have been met during the lesson and that the curriculum has been followed. As the lesson comes to the end, I would encourage the children to help tidy the classroom, checking all instruments are still working and accounted for, moving the tables and chairs back to their usual places and give it a general clean and tidy. Any photographs taken during the lesson could be used to make a display at a later date. What might your role be in organising, using and maintaining the learning resources, material equipment for this percussion lesson' I would assist the teacher in organising the lesson by deciding which instruments are easiest to attain and use. I would calculate how many instruments were needed and made sure they were available at the time of the lesson. It is important for a teaching assistant to familiarise themselves with the schools procedures for loaning equipment for certain lessons, if there is a booking system in place and who deals with it. I would also organise any sheet music needed, making the correct number of copies for the pupils, or copying any material onto acetate if the teacher wished to use an overhead projector. I would consult with the teacher on how they would like the classroom organised for the lesson, perhaps moving the tables to one side and arranging the chairs in a large circle. Prior to the lesson I would familiarise myself with the instruments and how to use them, so I could effectively contribute to the lesson and show the pupils how to use them. It is important to make an inventory of any equipment used in the lesson, this can be then checked at the end to make sure every instrument is accounted for and isn’t broken or damaged. A spare copy of any learning material should be kept and filed away appropriately to be used in future lessons Describe how you act in class in order to be an effective role model for the standards of behaviour expected in pupils' It is important to act confidently in front of pupils if you are seen to be confident in dealing with poor behavior this will communicate itself to the children and make them feel more secure about working with you. I would aim to stay calm when managing children’s behavior as well as their learning, refusing to get angry will deal with behavior issues much more effectively, it will also encourage the children to stay calm .An assertive and positive manner demonstrates that you are a confident and decent role model to the pupils. When in the classroom it is essential to be constantly aware of how they will perceive your behavior and attitude .Good modulation is very important, especially with young children. For instance being able to move between a happy and disappointed tone and using appropriate language at all times. To be a good role model I would make sure I followed the same classroom rules as the pupils at all times for example never being late or eating in the classroom etc. How I act towards the teacher is also very important to setting standards of behavior, I must speak to the teacher in an appropriate formal manner with respect, and listen and obey at all times. This gives the pupils a good relationship they can refer to and mirror themselves with the teacher and each other. What strategies might you employ to encourage pupils to behave appropriately' Describe how you might react to incidents of bullying and violence. A good strategy in my opinion is instead of focusing on punishment try giving rewards to those children who are doing what you want. Praise to a well-behaved pupil can refocus the rest of the class very easily. Positive reinforcement is not just rewarding behaviours. It is providing positive feedback. A reward chart would be a good strategy to encourage good behaviour Children need to know what is expected of them, to be told where they stand and what they can and can’t get away with, you need to be consistent with your expectations of their behavior. This would mean having a clear set of rules displayed in the classroom, something that the children can be involved in making themselves. If I observed or was notified of an incident of bullying I would react to it as quickly as possible Firstly as a teaching assistant I would hope to be friendly and approachable so that all pupils felt confident they could report such incidents to me. .. I would deal with the incident with guidance from the class teacher and show all pupils that bullying is very serious and would not be tolerated on any level. I would assess the particular incident, check with the class teacher that I had chosen appropriate consequences and follow them through. Consistency is important when dealing with behaviour as it serves as a warning of what consequences to expect to the whole class. Situations of bullying need to be dealt with calmly and monitored after they have been dealt with. It is also of equal importance to provide as much support to the child/children who are doing the bullying to get to the root of the behaviour and stop a pattern occurring. Describe how you might appropriately observe the physical abilities and skills of a nine year old boy. There are a few different ways to observe individual or groups of pupils, for a nine year old boy I would adopt one or more of the following methods. In my opinion a structured observation would best suit an observation of physical ability and skills as you can set tasks which would require the pupil to display particular skills that you need to observe This would involve me setting up an activity or situation specifically to observe how the pupil copes. To get the most out of this type of observation it is important the task set for the child is something they enjoy and are familiar with. Prior to this type of observation I would decide with the teacher what questions I would ask the pupil, if I would show them how to do the particular task first and how much prompting and suggesting I would be allowed to give. This needs to be planned in advance; as if the task is too tightly structured it can skew the results of the observation. The opposite of a structured is a naturalistic observation. This would involve me observing the boy throughout his usual routine. I would observe what he was achieving throughout the day, what they need help with what they say and how they get on with their peers. His type of observation would be better to use if I was looking to observe the child’s overall ability in general. Participative observation is another method I could use in this situation. This would involve getting the pupil involved in an activity with me; this could be playing a game together, reading a story or participating in a role play together. This type of observation isn’t the most accurate method, as notes are often made after the activity; personally I think I would need experience of observing through other methods before attempting this. Whichever method I chose, would require me making detailed notes of what I have witnessed. Any report should firstly contain a time and date of observation. Notes should be as detailed as possible and clear to read. Observations don’t need to be interpreted at the time, my effort would be concentrated on recording everything I see and hear. My observations for every pupil should be of a consistent style, it should not be judgemental or intrusive. Observations sometimes need to be repeated before an accurate assessment can be made, to make sure anything observed isn’t a one-off. My observations would be converted from my rough notes to a report for the teacher; this could be in the form of a checklist, a list of answered questions or an unstructured description. Feedback from an observation can be written or verbal and could need to be relayed to a parent, head teacher or social worker. This makes it important that your feedback is accurate, constructive and completely none biased. Lastly any information about pupils or staff at the school you work for should remain strictly confidential at all times, this involves storing reports in secure files and cabinets or computers with encrypted files. If feedback is required verbally it should be done at an appropriate arranged time, in private and with only those concerned present.