FdTA 151Roles and Responsibilities

Day 3Teamwork / Self EsteemMarion Thorntonmarion.thornton@plymouth.ac.uk

Aims of the Teamwork session

To identify who TAs team work with To identify and understand key words used in

relation to team work To review current thinking on collaborative team

work from literature To look at the relationship between

communication and collaboration To use current thinking on collaborative working

practices to analyse their own work settings

Challenges

What are the main challenges you face in your role as a TA?

Different abilities of pupils? Retaining attention? Behaviour difficulties? Lack of specific subject knowledge? Difficult parents? Limited time? Motivating disaffected pupils? Rapport with teachers? Working with supply teachers?

Stresses

What are the stressors against your own practice? Lack of resources? Poor behaviour/manners? Lack of respect? Lack of parental support? Supply teachers? Playground duties? Short notice of lesson content? Lack of planning/collaboration? Lack of space?

Rewards

What are the most rewarding aspects of your role? Pupil achievement and progress? Appreciation from colleagues? Growth in confidence? Growth in knowledge of specific difficulties? Growth of self esteem amongst pupils? Growth of independence? Acceptance of your present role?

The Tower of Pegs

A team work challenge! In 2 teams 100 clothes pegs 5 minutes to build the tallest tower of

pegs

Challenge debrief What was easy? What was hard? What preconceptions did players have about

how they should construct the tower of pegs? How easy was it to be innovative? Did everyone in the team participate? How well did the team communicate? What roles did the players adopt within their

teams?

Activity

What is a team? When or where in your practice do you

engage in teamwork?

What is a team?

“… real teams can be identified by the ability of their members to take risks, to use conflict positively, to trust each other and to work interdependently, using mutual accountability to evaluate their practice.”

(Katzenbach and Smith, 1993, cited in Lacey, 1998)

Continued…

“ A team is a group of people that can effectively tackle any task which it has been set up to do.”

(Everard and Morris, 1990)

Continued…

“A team is a group in which the individuals have a common aim and in which the jobs and skills of each member fit in with those of others, as … in a jigsaw puzzle pieces fit together without distortion and together produce an overall pattern.”

(Babington et al., 1979, cited in Lacey, 2001)

Activity

In pairs define the following words:

Liaison

Cooperation

Coordination

Collaboration

(5 minutes)

Continuum of terms:(Lacey, P. 1995)

LIAISON:

Contact names and roles are known and

individuals are contacted when they are

needed.(least amount of contact possible between two people at

this stage)

Continued…

COOPERATION:

Individuals provide each other with information and carry out requested tasks independently of each other.

(little more contact between two people at this stage)

Continued…

COORDINATION:

Individuals meet to align their roles and tasks, thus preventing overlap and keeping each other informed. Tasks and roles are carried out separately.

(even more contact between groups of people at this stage)

Continued…

COLLABORATION:

Individuals plan and evaluate jointly. Sometimes they work jointly. At other timesThey work separately but report back for discussion.

(this indicates the area of the most developed jointness)

A Teamwork Activity

Consider the Teamwork elements that you and your group used in this activity.

Evaluate their effectiveness.

Would you change, modify or further develop any of these elements

If so how and why?

Activity

Handout - teamwork processes

Collaboration

Activity: ‘Alphabet challenge’ In groups of 3 2 minutes to list an item in the room for

each letter of the alphabet You must use a collaborative approach!

100 %

0 %

55%

37%

8%

Face-To-Face Communication

Non-Verbals Tone of Voice Words (Verbal)

Listening Skills

Stop talking. Engage in one conversation at a time. Empathise with the person speaking. Ask questions. Don't interrupt. Show interest. Concentrate on what is being said. Don't jump to conclusions. Control your anger. React to ideas, not to the speaker. Listen for what is not said. Ask questions. Share the responsibility for communication.

Activity

Identify what information you need in order to work effectively as a team member at differing school levels: Whole school Classroom Individual child

Whole school

Need… to know who everyone is e.g. support staff,

teachers, SMT, head, governors to know and understand individual/ group roles

and responsibilities e.g. child protection officer (CPO), SENCo, curriculum coordinators

to have a clear understanding of your own roles and responsibilities i.e. job description

At the classroom level…

Need to: have a clear understanding of your own and

others roles have a method of communication on a daily have a method of feeding back have a clear understanding of

expectations/learning objectives be involved in planning be involved with other members of staff/outside

agencies e.g. SENCo, Ed Psych.

Continued…

be given additional support with strategies (if necessary) e.g. behaviour management

be involved in decision making use a feedback mechanism understand how the learner learns “best” -

VAK model (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic)

Allow time for the learner to get to know you and vice versa

At the individual child level

Need to:

have mutual respect have an understanding of the needs of

the learner ensure that your expectations are fair

Self esteem

Aims of Self Esteem session

To understand the importance of self esteem

Links with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A consideration of our own behaviours Raising self esteem of pupils

Activity

How well do I support and relate to the pupils I work with?

How do my professional relationships make me feel about myself and my role?

What are the indicators that let me know I am valued?

Who are the people important to me within my role?

What is self esteem?

Activity

What does the term ‘self esteem’ mean to you?

How would you define it?

What is self esteem?

Self esteem is the respect and value of the self. It is the concept that there is real importance in what we do, think, feel and believe.

White, in Bovair et al., 1993, p.100

What is self esteem?

Self esteem is the ability to see oneself as capable and competent, loving, unique and valuable.

Berne and Savary, 1981, p.xiv

What is self esteem?

Self esteem arises from the discrepancy between the perceived self, or self concept (an objective view of the self) and the ideal self (what the person values, or wants to be like). A large discrepancy results in low self esteem, while a small discrepancy is usually indicative of high self esteem.

Pope et al., 1988, p.4

What is self esteem?

Self esteem is the individual’s evaluation of the discrepancy between self-image and ideal self. It is an affective process and is a measure of the extent to which the individual cares about this discrepancy.

Lawrence, 1966, p.5

What is self esteem?

the essence of self esteem is defined as a sense of:

• competence

• being valued

• being loved

Tyrer et al, 2004, p.76

Is there a definitive ‘low’ or ‘high’ to self esteem?

Self esteem as a continuum

Activity

Consider how a child assessed as having low self esteem may present in your class or school.

How would they: Behave? Respond to a task or instruction? Relate to others? Respond to change or new situations?

Model constructed by Lawrence (1996)

Self image: What the person thinks of himself / herself

Ideal self: What the person would like to be – their ‘ideal’

Combine to form: Self concept:

Our perception of who we are, our own identity

Self concept

Three elements:1. How we think and connect thoughts

2. How we feel and respond

3. What we do and how we behave

Why do you think it is difficult to intervene/change self concept?

Characteristics of self concept

Use the model in your handout to suggest strategies you might use for each case study child: Harry and Amber

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

(see handout)

How do you support these stages within your school setting? In your own practice?

Intersessional Task

Study Skills Chapter 2 “Learning as an Adult” – read chapter and complete activities on pages 20 and 21.

These relate to drawing out the positive and negative experiences you had as a learner at school, then analysing these as to whether they are issues which still concern you, issues which are no longer important or issues that you have learnt to deal with.

Bring your assignment plan and key questions for your tutorial on Day 4

References and further reading

Cremin, H., Thomas, G. and Vincett, K. (2003) ‘Learning zones: an evaluation of three models for improving learning through teacher/teaching assistant teamwork’ Support for Learning, 18(4), pp. 154-161

Everard, K. and Morris, G. (1995) Effective School Management, London : Paul Chapman

Lacey, P. (1998) ‘Multi-disciplinary Teamwork’ in Tilston, C., Florian, L. and Rose, R. (eds.) (1998) Promoting Inclusive Practice, London: Routledge