MODULE 4: WORKING WITH NON-INDIGENOUS STAFF

Teacher Aide project

Working with Non-Indigenous Staff

INTRODUCTION:

“You and me, we’re going to be partners.”

“We learn together.”

“We are a team.”

“Module 4: Working with Non-Indigenous Staff” goes to the heart of the working relationship that you will develop with your teacher. You bring special skills and knowledge as an Indigenous Teacher Aide to the teacher/teacher aide partnership; skills and knowledge which are critical to successful learning outcomes for the children.

Module 4 provides extensive opportunity to explore this teacher/teacher aide partnership, but it is its focus on the partnership in action as it leads to the exploration of classroom management techniques and child-centred strategies for enhancing student learning, that should prove most beneficial.

AIMS:

This module aims to explore the nature of the teacher/teacher aide partnership in action with critical regard to working with non-indigenous staff.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the conclusion of this module the participant should be able to:

Identify the steps in forming and developing a teacher/teacher aide partnership with regard to the non-indigenous background of the teacher.

Outline the research related to the benefits for student learning through selected classroom management techniques and child-centred learning strategies.

Appreciate the dynamic nature of the teacher/teacher aide partnership in action and the vital contribution that the indigenous teacher aide brings to its success.

Forming the Partnership: Understanding Non-Indigenous Staff

As a member of an Indigenous community you have a culture of welcoming and helping visitors. You can draw upon this culture as you form your partnership with the teacher.

Non-indigenous teachers are generally young and starting out as teachers. They have studied hard and are anxious to do well. You can be of great help to them here. Share your knowledge with them and try to give them the best advice you can. That is the Indigenous Way.

REFLECTION: HANDS UP FOR SOME HELPFUL HINTS.

Imagine you are partnering a newly graduated non-indigenous teacher this year. Using your local knowledge and experience, make a list of helpful hints that you feel may support them in school/community life, as they are starting out.

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Federal grants help Native teacher aides become certified teachers - See more at: http://wyofile.com/ron_feemster/federal-grants-help-native-teacher-aides/#sthash.0rAb7rWI.dpuf

May 14 2013

Daniel Fee discusses a final exam essay with (left to right) Benni Roberts, 31, a paraprofessional at Fort Washakie School, and Rory Tendore, 34, after-school program coordinator and administrative assistant to the principal at Fort Washakie School. (Ron Feemster/WyoFile — click to view) - See more at: http://wyofile.com/ron_feemster/federal-grants-help-native-teacher-aides/#sthash.AmcXVw5e.dpuf

REFLECTION: WHERE IS FORT WASHAKIE SCHOOL?

With a partner, or in a small group, try to find out a little more about the Fort Washakie School which is pictured in the slide.

Jot down your findings in the space below.

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Mrs Tracey Firth - Teacher Aide, Ms Dot Rush - Teacher Aide and Mrs Cheryl Ward - Teacher Aide

http://www.stpatscollege.qld.edu.au/why_st_patrick__s/learning_enrichment_program.php.

St Patrick’s College Townsville

BUILDING THE PARTNERSHIP: LIAISING

Liaising with the teacher before lessons is vital. As Teacher Aide you will then know what is expected of you. You will also know what is going to be taught in the lesson. You will know what the teacher will do, what the students will do and what you will do.

As Teacher Aide you will need to work with your teacher partner to set up a communication structure that keeps you informed. You can only do your best work as a teacher aide if you are well-informed by the teacher and you form a partnership whereby she helps you to understand the skills and knowledge she wants the students to develop both in the short and long term.

REFLECTION: IT TAKES A LITTLE KNOW-HOW.

“You can only do your best work as Teacher Aide if you are well-informed.”

In the space below, outline some of the formal/informal routines you have set up with your teachers that help keep you informed of your classroom tasks/responsibilities.

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REFLECTION: AND THE BENEFITS ARE………

Choose one of the benefits as listed in the slide that fits with your classroom experiences. Provide examples in the space below that show evidence of that benefit for your students/teacher/self.

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An “A” school in an unlikely placewww.observernews.net - 400 × 300 - Search by image Juanita Santana, a teacher aide at Wimauma Academy, demonstrates a maraca to her pre-kindergarten students. From left, they are: Rosalinda Segoviano, Alexis Navaro, Daisy Lopez, Anahi Morales, Jesus Sanchez 1st October 2009

http://www.observernews.net/artman2/publish/Top_Stories/An_A_school_in_an_unlikely_place.shtml

WIMAUMA, Florida. — Typically, these students spend their nights in poverty, with hard-laboring parents who can’t speak English and can’t read any language at all. The children begin their education the same way. Juanita Santana, a teacher aide at Wimauma Academy, demonstrates a maraca to her pre-kindergarten students. From left, they are: Rosalinda Segoviano, Alexis Navaro, Daisy Lopez, Anahi Morales, Jesus Sanchez.

Some arrive late each school year — and leave early — heeding the rhythms of the farms. Some live life in the shadows, because their parents lack proper papers.These are the kids who earned an “A” on the FCAT this year for RCMA Wimauma Academy

REFLECTION: IT’S HARD WORK…………………..

The text that accompanies the slide mentions factors such as poverty, citizenship status, language barriers, seasonal considerations as impacting on student attendance and engagement in Wimauma Academy. List some of the features of school/community life for your school that give support to the notion that Indigenous Teacher Aides work in difficult circumstances.

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As Teacher Aide you pay attention to how the student is learning. It is not just about completing the task. Understanding and growth of knowledge are also very important.

Tempting as it is sometimes, you should not try to do the work for your student. As you aim to produce confident independent learners you’ll need to go easy on the spoon feeding. Be prepared to prompt but also to keep silent and wait.

We all learn by having a go, making a mistake and correcting it. No one can throw a dummy like Johnathan Thurston at first. It takes practice, practice, practice. So watch carefully while the student tries to learn. Sometimes a little nudge is all it takes.

As Teacher Aide you can also help the student articulate the learning process. When the student gets something correct after a struggle, get the student to talk about how they went about the task. Learning about how we learn is very important.

When you are asked a question think about how you can use the moment to teach something. Don’t just give the answer. For example, if you are asked to spell a word, help the student by getting them to work out what letter it would begin with. This gets them using their knowledge of phonics. Or if asked the meaning of a word, encourage the child to guess from the context of the story.

REFLECTION: JUST A SPOONFUL…………..

A child you are working with is very despondent over a list of ten spelling words that the teacher has given him to correct. “I’m no good at spelling and I’ve got TEN of them to do!” is his appeal to you.

List some strategies that you could employ to encourage and assist him with his task, in the space below.

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In their research into the approaches (detailed on the slide above), Cremin et al found that they all made a marked difference, with Room Management being the most effective. Their research then began to investigate how the teachers and teacher aides could adapt these three approaches to their particular school.

REFLECTION: WE’RE ON A WINNING TEAM.

Examine the three approaches as outlined in the “Winning Teams Approach” slide.

Jot down some examples of how these approaches (or perhaps similarly styled approaches) may be employed in your classroom.

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The Forbush School, Hunt Valley, Maryland U.S.A

Colour image shows a spacious, well lit classroom. A row of students are facing the front of the room to the teacher at a whiteboard, while a student sits off to the side with a Teacher Aide.

Zoned kindergarten school

http://smithsystem.com/designs/arc-desks-circles-4/

REFLECTION: IN THE ZONE

Take a moment to focus on the well-lit and spacious classroom on the left of the slide, and the layout of the kindergarten classroom on the right. Thinking about your own classroom layout and facilities, make a list of the factors that might help or hinder the setting up a “Zoned Classroom “ approach to teaching and learning in your classroom.

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Questions are a crucial part of teaching and learning. As Teacher Aide you can often have more time than the teacher to pose a question. Try not to always ask questions to which you know the answer. Also look to questions which require the student to think and to which there is not only one correct answer.

REFLECTION: PUTTING THE QUESTION IN THE FRAME.

Think of some simple closed questions. Try rephrasing the questions into open questions. Here’s one to get you started.

Closed Question : “Do you like to dance?”

Open Question : …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Nutbrown(2012) argues that there is much the teacher aide and the teacher can learn about children if they observe how children go about learning. What skills have they mastered? What are they struggling with? Are they ready to move onto another task?

She also argues for “respectful assessment and teaching”. Some people think that this is a controversial concept. But she says that for her respect is not about “being nice” but about being “clear, honest, courteous, diligent and consistent”. (Nutbrown, 2012, Ch.6.) She gives the following table outlining what she thinks a respectful approach is and what its opposite, a disrespectful approach, might be.

The Respectful Approach Disrespectful Approaches

Taking account of the learner- children as

participants

Ignoring the learner – children as recipients

Building on existing learning Disregarding/unaware of existing learning

Based on tuning into learners’ agendas Based on predetermined curriculum

Responsive to learners’ needs and interests Unresponsive to learners’ needs and

interests

Informed by children’s developmental needs Informed by targets/key stages/ages

Curriculum based on children’s identified

needs

Curriculum based on external definitions of

needs

Includes/embraces issues of children’s rights Ignores/disregards issues of children’s rights

Clarity for learner Lack of clarity for learner

Authentic assessment to inform teaching Inauthentic assessment used to track

progress of cohort

Challenge No Challenge

Opportunity for extension and diversity Closed to extension

Holistic Compartmentalised

Involves parents Excludes parents

Evaluation ‘It works’ – no evaluation

Revision in the light of experience Carrying on regardless

Recognizes all achievements Values achievements of specific prespecified

goals

Purposeful Lack of Purpose

Knowledgeable teachers Teachers with limited knowledge

Professional development for teachers and

other educators

Lack of professional development for teachrs

and other educators

Teachers and other educators with

appropriate initial training and qualifications

Teachers and other educators with

limited/inappropriate training qualifications

Each learner matters The cohort/group/majority matter

Equality for all children The ‘same’ for all

Includes all children Excludes some children

Sufficient and appropriate

equipment/resources

Insufficient and inappropriate

equipment/resources

Appropriate ratio of adults to children Too many children –too few adults

Sufficient/appropriate space and access to

learning areas/experiences

Insufficient/inappropriate space and limited

access to learning areas/experiences

The above table is a useful way of evaluating both the teacher and the teacher aide’s approach to the learner.

REFLECTION: THAT SUMS IT UP.

As you look back over the slides, texts, strategies and reflections in Module 4: Working with Non-Indigenous Staff, you may find yourself drawn again to the opening statement, “You and me, we’re going to be partners.”

It is the quality of your teacher/teacher aide partnership in action that directly translates into the quality of the learning outcomes for your students. A strong partnership delivers strong outcomes for your students, and empowers both you and your teaching partner to forge ahead as you learn together. As Indigenous Teacher-Aide you have special skills and knowledge that are of immense

value to your teacher; skills and knowledge which allow you to take the lead and which also allow you to follow. That is a true partnership.

REFERENCES:

Cremin, H.,Thomas,G., & Vincett,K. (2005). “Winning Teams.” In C. Cable (Ed.), Primary Teaching Assistants: Curriculum in Context. London: amazon.com.

Nutbrown, C. (2012). “Watching and learning: the tools of assessment.” In C. Cable and I. Eyres (Eds.), Primary Teaching Assistants: Curriculum in Context. London: amazon.com.