Educational situations and contexts

¶ … working within a group or team.

A a) Different people have different work styles and there will usually be more than one "right" way to get something done.

A b) No one person should dominate. Everyone' ideas should be given consideration.

A c) When the meeting is done, everyone needs to be clear about what he or she is supposed to do and by when.

Identify and list 3 of the work requirement to fulfill your role as a teacher's aide in the workplace.

A a) Supervise students on the playground, helping students follow the rules in positive ways to minimize problems b) Supervise the classroom if the teacher has to be gone for a period of time.

A c) Have the ability to manage my time so I can complete duties assigned to me, such as sorting student work or making sure classroom supplies are maintained.

Give 2 examples of organization policies and procedures relative to your workplace.

A a) Organization Policy: Teacher aides are responsible for turning in a completed time card every week.

Procedure: Time cards for the teacher's aide are put in the teacher's mailbox. The aide must fill it out completely and have the teacher sign it, and return it to the main office by 4PM on Friday.

A b) Organizational Policy: All staff at the school must make a written record for significant behavioral infractions.

Procedure: Teacher aides are responsible for making sure the classroom has the needed forms, which are filled out in duplicate. If the teacher aide observes the infraction, he or she must fill the form out completely, including date, time, nature of the problem, any other children involved, and any other adults present. This form must be given to the principal or vice-principal.

4. List 4 examples of acceptable workplace conduct (standards).

A a) Arrive at work on time and ready to work.

A b) In the case of absence, call the Absence Hot Line as soon as possible so a substitute can be found.

A c) Dress appropriately for the job, such as no halter tops.

A d) Refrain from talking about individual students to parents or others for whom such information would be a violation of privacy policies.

5. Write down what you would need to consider in managing your own workload (e.g., meeting deadlines, time constraints etc.)

Teacher aides need to know exactly what their responsibilities are. For instance, if the TA provides playground supervision, there must be time in the day for lunch. When work is assigned, the TA needs to know when the work must be completed. If there seems to be more work than the teacher aide can do, he or she should talk with the classroom teacher to prioritize the tasks and adjust work load if necessary. Teacher aides should keep a personal calendar or planner so they can track projects as necessary.

6. Explain in your own words what being aware and sensitive to diversity means in your workplace.

Element 1 Participate in the work/group process.

Performance Criteria 1-7)

Being aware and sensitive to diversity means that work assignments are made without regard to race, sex or origin, and that one does one's job as member of a group using language and actions that do not discriminate against any race, ethnicity or sex. It means that one works within groups in a courteous and respectful way to all people in a gender and culturally-neutral way. It means that work is distributed fairly with no one singled out for more unpleasant tasks because that person belongs to some minority group. It means that the school and district policies are followed fairly by all people. It means that one recognizes that belonging to a particular subculture may result in language patterns or beliefs different than one's own but that this does not mean that one way is better than another. In particular, it means recognizing that working in a multi-cultural setting means increased opportunities for new ideas and that such opportunities should be welcomed and capitalized on.

7. Attach an example (template) of one of the procedures you listed in question 3.

Identified work requirement

My role

Procedure followed

Reflection

We needed to set a lunchroom and playground schedule for teacher assistants was the fifth grade teacher aide. I had to make sure that the final schedule fit the fifth grade lunch and recess schedule, and that the schedule was as compatible as possible for the fifth grade teachers.

We used a white board and made a chart of all the lunch and recess times. We put the teacher aide names on 3 x 5 cards and stuck them in the spots to make sure everyone got lunch and all needed time slots were supervised.

It worked well. Everyone recognized that all the teacher aides needed to help with the task but also get some time for lunch. The bad part was that it was not possible for TA's to have lunch as the same time as the teachers they work with but we could not find a solution for that.

8. Sharing ideas and information with the others requires consultation and collaboration from all team members. Provide one example of how you can effectively communicate your ideas and information with others.

Teachers are very busy people and already have many demands on their time. When I need to collaborate with the other teachers, I talk to each of them, suggesting several times we might sit down and talk. When we meet, I go with notes so I can make sure I cover my important notes while being able to listen to what the teachers have to say.

9. Information needs to be recorded in required detail and in a specified format. Briefly explain why this is so important in your workplace.

Element 2 Performance criteria 1-5)

Our school uses a computer program to generate grades, and most of the teachers have the teacher aides enter the children's scores into the computer. This needs to be done on time, because the computer produces a mini-report on students whose grades drop significantly or who are in danger of getting a D. Or F. In any subject. If this job isn't done promptly, teachers will not always realize a student is struggling to the point that he or she should contact the child's parents. It's very important that the teacher aide seek help promptly if he or she is having any difficulty using this program, because the school's computer specialist is available for any training needed. In the fifth grade classrooms, after grades are recorded, they are returned to the teacher. Each teacher has his or her own system for either keeping the papers for future reference or sending them home. Again, this makes it important to record the grades in a timely way so that work can be returned. In addition, we generate a grade sheet at least every other day for the teacher so he or she can see exactly how each student is doing.

10. Effective communication relies on a variety of techniques. list 4 techniques that would demonstrate "respecting others views and opinions." a) It is very important to hear the person out completely without interrupting.

A b) If what the other person says is complex, or you're not sure you understood, you should paraphrase it back to make sure you understand.

A c) If you must disagree with someone, it is helpful to say positive as well as negative things and end your comments with a way to find consensus or agreement.

A d) Everyone will have to be willing to compromise, and no one's ideas are so important that that person does not have to compromise. There are almost always more than one solution to a problem and it's unlikely that one person will always have all the answers.

11. It is important to identify potential problems and issues as soon as possible to avoid conflict. However, if conflict does arise you will need to draw on effective techniques. List 4 conflict resolution techniques to assist you in generating solutions in your group workplace.

A a) Actively look for points of agreement.

A b) Use brainstorming, where everyone's ideas are accepted without comment, to generate fresh ideas. There should be no censorship; even ideas that seem silly at first may lead to something that wouldn't have been thought of otherwise.

A c) Help the group prioritize concerns. It may be that some of the areas of disagreement won't really affect the outcome of the project.

A d) After discussion, have everyone restate their concerns so that the discussion remains focused on the important issues.

12. Appropriate action can be taken when potential problems / issues in the workplace can be identified early. How can understanding diversity and identifying any issues associated with diversity assist in avoiding conflict? Briefly explain your understanding.

Element 3 Performance criteria 1-5)

First it's important to make sure there's really a problem. It might be that someone was just blowing off steam, and people in different cultures can do that differently. It may not mean that anyone is really angry upset with a situation or person. If there is a conflict, it should be discussed by the people involved in a problem-solving way without assigning blame. The actual areas of conflict should be identified as clearly as possible and in language that is culturally and sex-neutral. If the individuals involved cannot resolve the differences, the individuals should take the issue to the supervisory level in a problem-solving way. All should agree that then they come to resolution, all will work hard to implement it. Throughout the process all involved must be treated with respect and with the understanding that with different cultural backgrounds, individuals may see situations quite differently.

13.Identify a process within the classroom that involves gathering and distributing information. For example: hearing individual students reading and changing of reading books or individual reading recovery sessions. Observe how the information is gathered and made available to relevant stakeholders such as Teachers, other teacher aides or parents. For example: Are there checklists for tracking progress, individual students folders, or a central folder? Write down your observations so that the reader can fully understand the process. Are there any suggestions that you could make to increase the effectiveness of the process?

Element 2. Contribute to the flow of information and ideas. Performance Criteria 1-5).

Our teachers score projects using a matrix. In the "down" column, the teacher lists all the elements required in a project. For instance, for an oral report, the teacher may require an introduction, a discussion, a conclusion, some kind of visual aid, and for the student to answer questions from classmates. Across the top, the teacher might list "absent," "minimal," and "detailed." In each box, the teacher notes supporting evidence. He or she might note that the student, who was talking about volcanoes, simply held up the word "volcanoes" for a visual, while another student found a picture on the internet and printed it out, and another student constructed a cut-away model. The students are given the matrix ahead of time with clear instructions about what needs to be present to rate "absent," "minimal" or "detailed." This way as they make choices about their project, they understand the effect it will have on their grade.

14. You have to Identify a conflicting issue in the workplace, then write down:

Appropriate action needed

The steps you would take to assist in planning to take action

To whom you would refer the issue if necessary

How to reach a mutual agreement

How to recognize a potential conflict

Element 3. Deal effectively with issues, problems and conflict. Performance Criteria 1-5)

Teacher aides are not in a supervisory position, but one conflict that sometimes arises is when one teacher wants to change the aide's schedule to a time that conflicts with another teacher's need or established schedule. The first appropriate action would be for the teacher's aide to ask the requesting teacher to talk to the teacher whose schedule it would change. If the school does not have a policy for how to handle such schedule change requests and the two teachers can't work it out, the teacher aide might ask the school management (principal, etc.) to set a policy on schedule changes so the teacher assistant is not caught in the middle of a disagreement between teachers.

15.You are to keep an ongoing journal for 1 week on what you identify as your role in the work place. Set out your journal in the same format as you did last time but with 4 columns and include comments on your duties and consultation and collaboration necessary with others for you to effectively fulfill your role. Ensure each of the 7 performance criteria are answered at least once within your journal entries.

Identified work requirement

My role

Procedure followed

Reflection

To manage Ss while T. attended to parent query after lunch. Settled them back into class ready for T. instruction when T. returned.

Supervised Ss lining up quietly.

Implemented a classroom management skill.

Through previous T. observation I learned the technique of using a clapping pattern (T/S) to gain Ss attention.

It was important that I maintained consistency with previous classroom management.

I was able to do this through my previous observations of T.

To ensure that the task at hand was completed on time and in the correct format.