Learning and Teaching

The Essential Guide for Higher Level Teaching Assistants

Anne Watkinson

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136606854
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Learning and Teaching concentrates on the practical teaching skills that an HLTA needs to be able to use in the classroom. It offers guidance and support on fulfilling the standards and succeeding in the classroom role.

This book includes:

• real-life case studies that put the theory behind the standards into a whole-school context
• practical activities that convey how the standards can be used in the classroom
• guidance on the school-based aspects of the training and assessment
• advice on the difference between the learning and teaching standards for newly qualified teachers and HLTAs.

This book is complemented by a companion volume, Professional Values and Practice which underpins the philosophy, values and practice of support at this level.

Background

This book is the second of a pair written to support the acquisition of the Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) standards (www.hlta.gov.uk). The introduction of HLTAs is part of the reform of the school workforce set out in a National Agreement on raising standards and tackling teachers' workload made in January 2003 (DfES 2003a). The books cover the generic issues which underpin all that you do as an HLTA, whether specialising in a particular subject or in special educational needs (SEN), at any Key Stage.

The first book dealt with the set of standards about the values and principles which underpin the practice of learning and teaching. They will hold whatever the subject matter, or whoever is being taught or is teaching. This second one covers the putting of those principles into practice, again in a generic way whatever the age group or the particular needs of pupils with whom you are working. The books are not courses in themselves, nor do they pretend to provide the last word in the area. Whatever stage you are at in your career path as a teaching assistant (TA), you have continuing professional development (CPD) needs. Reading and reflection are part of this process. You need to meet, exchange views and see examples of good practice, find out about the latest resources and keep abreast of new ideas in education, teaching and learning and about children and young people themselves. Above all, you need to be working in a school, preferably where all the staff take part in in-service education for teachers (INSET) activities, where you will feel able to ask questions and find support of various kinds.

These HLTA books will not provide the detailed information you need for curriculum subject knowledge and understanding, nor are they intended to help you with understanding the specific SEN of individual pupils. They do not, therefore, cover all the standards. Standards 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8 will all require more detailed study than either of these books will provide. To gain HLTA status you have to show that you fulfil all of the standards. They are to be seen as a holistic set, not a set from which you can pick and choose as with the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). Also, you should remember that HLTA status, if awarded, is not a qualification; it is a recognition of your competence and ability to do the job.

The previous three books in the TA series were to help TAs develop their thoughts at various stages before the higher level. One of the books, Assisting Learning and SupportingTeaching, was written to give some background after the introduction of the induction training materials (Watkinson 2002). The other two were written to support those TAs undertaking qualifications or wanting background reading when working at levels 2 and 3 of the National Occupational Standards (NOS). These were called The Essential Guide for Competent Teaching Assistants and The Essential Guide for Experienced Teaching Assistants (Watkinson 2003a; 2003b). They contain useful materials for those of you considering HLTA status without going through each of the earlier levels, particularly about finding your way round a school, the education system and developing your own skills, and will be referred to on occasions in this book.

Hopefully, if you are participating in any formal course or assessment briefing for HLTA status, you will have a mentor. It is important for an HLTA that this be a teaching staff member, as you will need to learn about and watch many of the activities of the teachers; you will be teaching classes, not acting as a cover supervisor. If you go for HLTA assessment, you will need a spokesperson teacher to talk with the assessor. It is possible that a more senior TA could be a suitable mentor for the lower levels of TA. No book or course can provide you with all you need to work as an HLTA; actual practice in schools must be both observed and experienced by you alongside discussion with relevant staff about what and how things are done. All schools are different; they have their own policies and procedures, both written and understood.

The structure of the book

The prevailing philosophy at the time of writing is that, given what to teach and how and when to teach, the pupils will learn and achieve certain levels of attainment appropriate to their age. Given the emphasis over the last 30 years on helping those with SEN achieve their potential, there is clear recognition that some children will take longer or need special help in order to achieve the age-related 'norms’. This centrally directed strategy has introduced a much-needed structure into many schools, which has resulted in some excellent teaching materials, and has challenged poor expectations. However, it has stifled creativity and imagination, restricted teachers from using their imagination and provided a ‘one system fits all' approach. This has resulted in pupils being unable to generalise the skills learnt and a lack of opportunity for pupils to achieve in more artistic or physical avenues. It is tempting for an aspiring HLTA to assume that all he or she has to do is understand and practise the appropriate bit of the curriculum or national strategy and 'deliver' it. This book will not help you succeed via that route. All of us are learners; we were when younger and we will continue learning into old age, if only how to cope with having to wear glasses or sneak a nap after lunch! We all have differing learning needs and styles, but understanding these is not sufficient for us to learn; we also need appropriate instruction. Teaching and learning have to go together in order to maximise the time spent in school. This book is to help you make sense of that combination, so that with the materials you can access in school you will become an understanding, reflective and successful practitioner, not just an automaton.

Chapter 2 sets the scene discussing the relationship of teaching to learning, setting it in the current climate. Chapter 3 will look more closely at the current theories of how we learn, a complex and intriguing field which is developing fast with new medical technology. However, learning is not a straightforward and linear physical or psychological process, so Chapter 4 looks more closely at factors that can influence it. Chapter 5, recognising the complexity of the learning process, gives some general strategies that can be employed by teachers and HLTAs to support different learning styles and needs. This book, however, will not cover the specific learning needs of individual children with SEN or whose English is an additional language (EAL). However well a teacher or HLTA understands all this theory, when it comes to the interface between adult and pupils the context in which you work will alter the situation. You have to take account of the requirements of the curriculum for your school and the kinds of pupils with whom you will be working. Chapter 6 looks at ways of considering the curriculum to maximise learning and strategies of behaviour management. Chapters 7, 8 and 9 will take you through the process of teaching from the identification of what is to be taught, planning and preparation, and the kind of face-to-face strategies that are of use in the classroom with pupils, to the ways in which you can assess what has been taught and then tell others, including the pupils themselves, about it. Chapter 10 brings the whole book to a conclusion.

As with the level 2 and level 3 NOS, many of the HLTA standards need to be cross-referenced; for instance, professional values and practice must hold through all the teaching and learning activities or they are pointless. Factors like relationships, which underpin all of teaching and learning, were dealt with in the first book (Watkinson 2005). Thus they will only be mentioned in passing but their crucial role must be kept in mind at all times. In trying to link learning and teaching so closely together, I have a more holistic and apparently mixed approach than the standards can indicate. By their nature they have to be a list. Table 1.1, below, gives you a rough guide as to where to find individual standards as they are referred to in this book.

Using the book

It is possible to read the book straight through, but hopefully you will be reading passages between work sessions and possibly even course sessions. You will therefore be able to relate the text to your own experience. As you are aiming to be a thinking, reflective practitioner, you also need to read more widely than this book. Each chapter will give some recommended reading for you to dip into. Some of the books referred to may seem rather theoretical and possibly difficult to read, but you are now expected to be working at second year degree level equivalent for the HLTA status. You should be able to dip into the books and seek out relevant passages or chapters fairly easily and hopefully will have a good grasp of most of the educational jargon. To follow the references to the standards made in this book - either direct references or the numbers in square brackets - you will need both a copy of the standards (DfES and TTA 2003) and the most recent copy of the TTA Guidance to the Standards (TTA 2005).

There are some examples of practice given in the book, but you should be able to add some of your own. If you are undertaking any kind of study for accreditation you will have to write assignments or accounts of your practice to exemplify your understanding of the standards. I suggest you keep a diary notebook; not a day-by-day diary, just an exercise book or looseleaf pad with a ring binder to keep the notes in. Make notes of events or lessons that went particularly well, or interactions with pupils, or things that went wrong and how you would do them differently. Always date such accounts. These need not be long, just a couple of paragraphs. Then, when you come to write up your tasks or assignments you will have a source of material on which to draw, and you can then relate the event to a standard as indicated by your tutor. Always remember that when writing such accounts you are writing about other people or other people’s children, so you should keep such notes safely, and if you use them in any essay or report you must change the names to anonymise the account.

Table 1.1 The general areas of this text relating to the HLTA standards

Finally, there are some reflective activities that you can undertake or discuss with a colleague. The intention is that you use the book actively, not passively.

Essential reading

DfES and TTA (2003) Professional Standards for Higher Level Teaching Assistants. London: Department for Education and Skills and Teacher Training Agency.

TTA (2005) Guidance to the Standards: Meeting the Professional Standards for the Award of Higher Level Teaching Assistants. London: Teacher Training Agency.

Some further reading

Watkinson, A. (2003b) The Essential Guide for Experienced Teaching Assistants: Meeting the National Occupational Standards at Level 3. London: David Fulton Publishers.

Watkinson, A. (2005) Professional Values and Practice: The Essential Guide for Higher Level Teaching Assistants. London: David Fulton Publishers.

Useful websites

www.hlta.gov.uk

www.tta.gov.uk/hlta

Defining teaching

Teaching should be seen as enabling learning. The word itself has caused problems, particularly in relation to the establishment of HLTAs. Some teachers, that is those with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), are concerned that by allowing HLTAs to teach, and teach whole classes as well, it is undermining the hard work they had to undertake in order to obtain their QTS. They feel that only those with QTS can and should teach Suggestions that teachers might be able to take groups of 60 pupils or more have not helped. These ideas are considered by some to be detrimental to pupils' learning and causing possible teacher redundancies, yet they have not recognised that talks, plays, assemblies, film shows and informal times already regularly take place with only a few people present who have QTS.

Also, we all teach each other: parents teach their children, children teach each other. I have watched TAs, formally and informally, in nearly 300 schools, and it is obvious that TAs are teaching, even though they do not have all the attributes of a qualified teacher. As a TA or HLTA you must still act under the direction of qualified teachers at all times, and these teachers take responsibility for the learning of the pupils in their class, including anything you do. This responsibility covers:

• (a) planning and preparing lessons and courses for pupils;
• (b) delivering lessons for pupils;
• (c) assessing the development, progress and attainment of pupils;
• (d) reporting on the development, progress and attainment of pupils; and
• (e) marking the work of pupils.

(DfES 2003b: 7)

The recognition of the proper use of teachers and TAs, HLTAs and other support staff is possibly the most important or difficult challenge facing schools in the immediate future. The premise is that qualified teachers are too precious a resource to spend on doing tasks which other people can do as well if not better. Also, the principle is maintained that teachers, including head teachers, should have a workload that matches their job description. Talents and qualifications other than QTS should be recognised and utilised to their best purpose.

You can try your dictionary or a thesaurus to clarify the meaning of words. Most dictionary definitions of teaching can be applied to the work of TAs, but they could also be used about many other categories of people interacting with children. We need to look at educational definitions. Ask your TA and teacher colleagues, 'what do you mean by teaching?'; they may use the word pedagogy, the art or study of teaching. The definition I like best is that pedagogy or teaching is 'any conscious activity by one person designed to enhance the learning in another' (Watkins and Mortimore 1999:3). This again is a general definition which could fit many people, and ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Teaching and learning
• 3 Learning development
• 4 Influences on learning
• 5 Strategies to support learning
• 6 Context of learning: the curriculum and pupil behaviour
• 7 Planning and preparation
• 8 Performance
• 9 Assessment, monitoring, feedback and recording
• 10 In conclusion
• Refrences
• Useful websites
• Index