My experience, role and learning support Essay

In accordance to the ethical guidelines compose by The British Education Research Association (BERA, 2004), the names of the kidren and school, where used, wipe emerge been changed in order to maintain confidentiality and anonymity. My reference (Hancock et al. , 2013 p1) States that the practice of culture reserve as carried out by principle swear outants has split uped considerably in recent times. In the nursery I work on side two higher level teaching aids and the nursery teacher.At this stage of school life, the majority of development is finished with(predicate) tomboy, so we advance the use of structured, salubrious thought out fun educational games and playing period either in little groups or on a maven to one basis, I carry out structured activities i. e. drawing, writing, crafting and reading, either on a one to one basis or with a sm whole group of usu aloney 4-6 squirtren. I t suitable service identify either child or children that may bene go fro m except one to one inspection and repair, through throwing well informed observation notes (KU1.1) (KS3. 1) (PPS4. 3) In my role as schoolroom assistant in year one, my role is very corresponding to that of the anatomyroom assistant, Marg art Verrecchie, in reader book 1 (Hancock et al. , 2013, pg4) A classroom assistant) I work along side the teacher and one teaching assistant. I help the teacher in the classroom, prepare resources for the session and tin the children extra choke off with reading and writing, it depends on what the teacher wants and call for and on what she asks me to do.Each day is different, and my duties vary accordingly. (PPS4. 3) (KS3. 1) As a midday supervisor, I work along side 10 other midday supervisors, supervising the children in the dining area and other vocalizations of the school during the dejeuner time break. I help the children with a variety of tasks such as cutting up food, unwrapping of pack lunches and help teach good take habits, After the children finish eating, we go to the playground, or if its wet play, a classroom, where I supervise the children at play.I ensure pupils keep out of areas that are out of bounds, deal with misbehaviour, account any problems that Im unable to resolve to my duty manager, I attend to every(prenominal) pupils who are sick or injured, ensuring they receive the distract medical attention, reporting all accidents in the accident report book, I am aware of my responsibilities under(a) the child protection legislation, reporting any concerns I may assume to my senior supervisor or child protection officer.I bonk this role as it allows me to see the children in a more relaxed environment, bear-sized(a) me the invaluable opportunity to get to know the children, on a more personal level, getting to know their personalities outside of the classroom. As lunchtimes are a great opportunity for the children to burn of f some steam, I essay to encourage the children to take part in lots of physical activities a alike skipping and hoopla hoops. (PPS4. 3)I can personally relate to the parent assistance in the (The Open University, 2013) E111 DVD sequence Pam Crawford is a parent helper with a son who is special needs statemented, In the sequence, Pam states that she originally started to propose mainly to subscribe to her son, merely along the means she decided that cosmos a teaching assistant was what she wanted to be, so started a college lean to train to become a qualified teaching assistant, which is exactly the resembling as why I am doing this course. FrameworkI volunteer a varied and broad array of duties and tasks on a perfunctory basis in support to the pupils, the teacher, the school and the curriculum, through performing activities on a one to one basis or as part of a team with my work colleagues. Although they do tend to regularly circuit each other, I offer the quartet levels of support as suggested in the DfEE framework. (PPS4. 3) To support the pupils I encourage them to act independently in an appropriate way, to interact with each other and engage enthusiastically in all the classroom activities.I try to establish a good kinship with all the pupils, acting as a good role model, world aware of and responding appropriately to all individual needs. I supervise and support all the pupils ensuring their safety and make sure they arouse access to learning at all times. I help them to develop their skills in listening, to depict their feelings and ideas, help them to check, describe, select and retrieve information, show them ways in which to help with problem solving, chat etc. I in like manner attend to all pupils personal needs including social, health, physical, hygiene, minor first aid and general well being.To help support the teacher, I prepare the classroom as and when take for the lessons then clear everything away at the end of the lesson. I also help display pupils work around the classroom I keep records as and when asked to do so by the teacher. I also support the teacher by managing pupil behaviour, reporting all difficulties appropriately, to the relevant constituent of staff. I also gather and report and information to and from parents or biders at the end of the school day and I provide administration duties as and when the teacher requires.To support the school I participate in any training and learning activities and any performance culture meetings as and when required, I contribute to the overall ethos of the school, I am aware of and support residue and ensure all pupils pay equal access to opportunities to learn and collapse and to be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.To help support the curriculum I help prepare and maintain equipment/resources as directed by the teacher and assist the pupils in their use, also supporting the pupils in using basic ICT as directed by the teacher. I support the pupils in respect to bailiwick and local learning strategies e. g. literacy, numeracy, early years as directed by the teacher and help pupils understands instructions that have been given by the teacher. precedent interests and experiencesI enjoyed school and similarlyk part in lots of school activities like the school productions and the school summer floats at carnival time, I also learnt to play the flute which gained me a place in the school orchestra. I was confident and never had problems making friends, although I did struggle with my school work, but I never let it beat me, I always strived to do my best. I have always been able to take the initiative and have a positive and adaptable personality. I find it easy to fit in with my surroundings and work well as part of a team or on my own. Since leaving school, Ive worked for various companies, big and small.Ive been a compa ny administrator for a large company, which throw up my confidence working as part of a team which encouraged me to be more efficient with my time as I had to work to strict deadlines, gaining knowledge on company policies and procedures and improving my ICT, and communication skills. I was also a care worker for a care agency where confidentiality was paramount I went to clients homes to perform various duties from personal care to shopping and housework. Its through this job that I learnt skills to encourage people to be independent and carry out frank instructions/tasks.Its also through this job that I learnt the magnificence of confidentiality and to keep completely accurate, up to date client observational records. I have three children of my own now and the experiences gained from being a mother, on top of the experiences gained from previous employment and my current employment, has enabled me to make the clear decision that I would like to pursue a career as a teaching assistant as I feel that the skills Ive gained through life are all relevant to a teaching assistants role and skills that I have acquired for life.Key theories and concepts Both Piaget and Vygotsky were subservient in forming a scientific approach on cognitive victimisation in children. Jean Piaget was one of the first psychologists to reveal that children reason and regain differently at different periods in their lives. Piaget considered development went through four stages Sensori-motor Pre-Operational Concrete Operational and the formal Operational stage.The Sensori-motor period (0-2 yrs) is the first stage, as the infants interactions are based on exploring their environment through their senses and abilities, such as grasp and sucking, this also includes practice play as the infant is able to repeat actions continually, but with no intention. The pre-Operational stage (2-7 yrs) is where childrens language is speedily developed, allowing them to express themselves. They st art to use pretend play and parallel play which means children are talking but it is not directed at anyone in particular.The Concrete operation (7-11 yrs) and Formal Operational (11-adult) periods are the 3rd and fourth stages. These are not usually considered in early childhood education but they are still equally important as they are able to think realistically and logically about situations and understand their world (Pulaski. 1980) Vygotsky believes childrens learning of new cognitive skills is guided by an adult or a more skilled child, such as an older sibling, who structures the childs learning experience, a process Vygotsky called scaffolding.To create an appropriate scaffold, the adult must gain and keep the childs attention, model the best strategy and adapt the whole process to the childs developmental level. Vygotsky used this term to signify tasks that are too hard for the child to do alone, but can manage with guidance. Children do seem to follow a certain familia r structure, for example grasping and touching, but not all children learn in the same way or at the same pace.A classic example of Vygotskys scaffolding theory can be seen with my two sons, the youngest that at the time was in nappies wanted to use the big toilet like his big brother, so as suggested by Vygotsky, my eldest son used the scaffolding technique. Vygotskys ideas have important educational applications, like Piagets, Vygotskys theory suggest the importance of opportunities for bustling exploration. But assisted discovery would play a greater role in a Vygotskian classroom than in a Piagetian class The teacher would provide the scaffolding for childrens discovery, through questions, demonstrations and explanations.To be effective, the assisted discovery processes would have to be within the zone of proximal development of each child (Bee and Boyd, p38. (2009) Cognitive learning is not just internal but also external. Piaget believed that developmental growth was learned in stages. Vygotsky believed that learning was a social and progressive process that did not start or stop at a certain stage or age. A childs activity plays a key role in the way they learn. I believe that both these theories go hand in hand and that the environmental factors do influence learning behaviours. Training needsMy overall aim is to become a qualified teaching assistant, for essential school aged children, which I will gain through end this course and with the ongoing training I am receiving at work. I aim to develop a better understanding of the ways in which children learn and be more involved in the planning and training of lessons. Even though I am a valued section of staff, I still feel that I need to develop my relationships further with professional bodies. I feel I also need to develop my leadership skills further, in order for me to improve my effectiveness in take pupils through a class activity.