Within the role as a teaching assistant you are required to assist the learning of pupils and support their needs as individuals and to reinforce knowledge as well as supporting the teacher. The role of a teaching assistant will vary hugely between different schools and there’s often a large variation within schools.
The teaching assistant will contribute in many ways to assist and aid the learning of the pupil/pupils by firstly planning, for this I would begin with an informal discussion with the teacher to determine what the learning objectives are for the day/topic and what is expected of the children and which children/group I will be sitting with to provide extra support to those that struggle the most. During the activities set to the children it is good practice for the teaching assistant to monitor and observe the children to provide efficient feedback to the teacher whilst encouraging the children with praise and motivation and to prepare what is necessary for the lesson beforehand such as photocopying, weighing out ingredients, turning on the computers and rearranging furniture making sure that crayons,paper,pens and whiteboards are available for the children, check and set out equipment,check the classroom is tidy,check that fire exits are clear all this contributes to a safe and happy learning environment.
The delivery of your support to the children should be consistent, knowledge of the pupils that you are supporting,good listening skills, be able to adapt resources i.e. for a child with visual impairment, you should be approachable and understanding,enthusiastic, authoritative (firm yet fair),knowledge of the subjects, and to support the pupil emotionally. Sometimes teaching assistants are asked to generally support either by 'floating' or acting as additional support during class activities,being observant at all times as to give feedback to the teacher, it is vital that classrooms are kept in good order to ensure optimal teaching and learning for all. All in all the teaching assistant is responsible for organising the classroom so when class arrives they can get on with learning as quickly as possible.
During lessons the teaching assistant needs to be listening,