Here is a summary of how to establish an effective and efficient relationship with your Teaching Assistants. Obviously - as with all TM4T material - the focus is on time management and efficiency, and we are leaving educational theory to others.
The Big Questions
You should try to have a one-minute chat with each Teaching Assistant before your first lesson together (ideally) or during your first lesson together. 'Agenda' is too posh a word for it, but that is what you need for your first contact. Ask the big questions first, and then - based on the answers - decide what depth of further discussion is needed. Big Questions are:
a) What's your name? It is embarrassing and unprofessional if you can't tell your students a colleague's name. Ask for both friendly name (John) and formal name (Mr Smith).
b) How often will we be working together? Before you bombard your victim with paper, establish the pattern of work. If they are assigned to a group of your students throughout the year, it is really worth investing some time to maximise their contribution. If they are 'just popping in to help today', then use your common sense.
Get to Know Each Other
If you are going to work together regularly, your one minute meeting needs to be extended. Establish clearly:
a) Who you - you the teacher - are. If this is your NQT year and your class is a nightmare, then calmly make the TA aware of this.
b) What you are going to teach. Ideally offer a scheme of work and a series of lesson scripts, but any information is better than none. If you have set classroom and/or behaviour routines (I really hope you do) then offer to share them. Note the word 'offer'; this means you should ask your Teaching Assistant how much information and what information is helpful for them. You may believe strongly that 'you can't have too much information' but you may find that others don't agree with you, and prefer to play things by ear. Respect this.
c) What the TA's role is. If they are intended to support just one particular student, then you need to accept this. If they are only going to be present for part of the lesson, you need to know this.
d) Who you are going to teach. This means any Learning Difficulties, language challenges, or special talents in the class.
e) What the TA's abilities are. If you are an NQT, the TA may well be more experienced than you. If the TA is more experienced than you, don't hesitate to seek advice. Ensure you understand what knowledge - if any - your TA has in your subject specialism. If the Teaching Assistant has any special talents or interests to share, these may be useful.
Explain
- that you want to work as a team
- that you want the TA to tell you if you are getting things wrong
- that you are happy to change things if they're not working.
One final point: make sure you can reliably remember each Teaching Assistant's name. Sensible thing is to write them down, or even include the formal name on your seating plan...
Establish the Ground Rules
Be crystal clear on what you would like the TA to do - and not do - in each part of the lesson. 'Crystal clear' is not always easy to achieve. It is easy to baffle (by using pedagogic jargon), but equally easy to appear patronising. The only answer is to ask. Some Teaching Assistants will be unclear what a 'plenary' is; others will be able to define it better than you.
Wherever possible, a Teaching Assistant should be empowered to make decisions (consistent with your classroom routines), and encouraged to use their initiative (compatible with their role and experience). The onus should be on you to monitor how things go, and offer constructive feedback outside the lesson.
In terms of the students, a TA should expect to receive the same respect and professional regard as a teacher, and you should make sure every TA you work with understands this.
If you can agree a clearly worded (and jargon-free) description of the TA's specific role in your lessons, then this will make the next step easier.
Introductions
You should introduce each Teaching Assistant by name to every new class, and explain their role briefly.
Unless there are specific reasons to the contrary, you should NOT relay to students your expectations about respect and professional regard; you should assume that this routinely extends to all staff.
Do it
It is relatively easy to tick off the preparatory steps, much less easy to follow through what you have agreed in the heat of a chaotic lesson. This is particularly true if both teacher and teaching assistant are new in their roles. The key to success, and to a productive relationship, lies in reviewing briefly and honestly what worked and what didn't... and getting better next time.