Working with adults other than teachers
Learning support
Papers & recommended reading | Editorial reviews | Task for trainees
Focus
In order to comply with the general teaching requirement of catering for
individual needs, the MFL teacher needs to make effective use of the learning
support assistants variously delegated to his/her classroom. To meet this
target, the ITT / ITE programme learning objectives might include: consideration
of the principles of inclusion, general and specific study of Special Educational
Needs, pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL), effective differentiation,
obtaining a working knowledge of teachers' general management responsibilities
and the role and extent of the responsibilities of the SENCo, Inclusion
Co-ordinator and learning support staff, and planning in teams. By learning
to maximise the potential this group of adults offers, the student teacher
should achieve the required levels of benefit to the pupil learning experience.
Study of this topic has the potential to address aspects of the following range of QTS standards, depending on the trainer’s particular emphases:
| Professional attributes | |
| Relationships with children and young
people |
Q1 |
| Frameworks |
Q3 (b) |
| Communicating
and working with others |
Q4, Q5, Q6 |
| Personal professional development | Q7, Q8, Q9 |
| Professional knowledge and understanding | |
| Teaching and learning |
Q10 |
| Subjects and curriculum |
Q15 |
| Achievement
and diversity |
Q18, Q19, Q20 |
| Health and well-being | Q21 (a) (b) |
| Professional skills | |
| Planning | Q22 |
| Teaching | Q25 (a) (d) |
| Reviewing teaching and learning | Q29 |
| Learning environment | Q30 |
| Team work and collaboration | Q32, Q33 |
Task for trainees
Group discussion
List your expectations of learning support assistants in your classes. What
do they need from you in return, do you think?
Observation focus
If there is a learning support unit in the school in which some pupils you
teach are temporarily separated from the mainstream, it is useful to observe
how these pupils' learning needs are met within such a unit in order better
to inform your working relationship with the pupils when they are sent back
to your classes.
You should also arrange to observe experienced colleagues working with learning
support assistants within MFL classrooms, noting at which phases of the
lesson the support is made most use of.
Check your planning
Arrange to spend time with learning support assistants on a regular basis,
to consult with them as to how to make the most of their help in individual
lessons, and to check their opinion on the level of support required for
individuals.
