Teacher aide interaction that supports student learning Module 11 presentation

Introducing Alice Our narrator is Alice, who brings lived experience as both a recipient and provider of teacher aide support. You can read about Alice on the Teachers and Teacher Aides Working Together website.

Introducing the module This module is about the type of talk that helps students to develop as active and engaged learners. It is for both teachers and teacher aides Please take your time to think and reflect.

Alice’s story . Photo What does this story tell you about what needs to happen for all students to be included in classroom learning conversations?

Why this module? We want all students to be engage actively in their learning. Actively engaged learners feel ownership of their learning and take an active part in the classroom community. Language is the foundation of all learning. How would you describe an ‘active learner’? Why do you think purposeful talk is so important to learning?

Why this module? . Research shows that often: adults dominate classroom talk and oversimplify questions and tasks teacher aides do most of the talking with the students who need the most support. Who does the most talking in your classroom? How do you help students to think through problems?

Why this module? This module helps teachers and teacher aides understand how they can use purposeful classroom talk to support student learning.

What is purposeful learning talk? is focused on the intended learning requires teachers and teacher aides to prompt students to explore new ideas results in the creation of classroom communities of learners where student talk dominates. Think about an example of purposeful learning talk. What happened for the students? What did the teacher or teacher aide do to facilitate this conversation?

Purposeful waiting Wait time: is a period of silence between a question and a response gives students time to think shows that we expect a response. Research shows that: it’s best to wait at least three seconds we usually don’t wait that long.

Asking purposeful questions Purposeful questions have specific purposes that vary throughout a lesson, for example: Beginning: helping students remember what they already know that can help with the learning During: Helping students clarify their thinking and compare it to other people’s ideas At the end: Helping students reflect on what they have learned. Brainstorm some questions that could be used for these different purposes. Then review your questions. Are they likely to open up learning conversations?

Working together Purposeful classroom talk requires partnership, communication, and planning! Teacher aides need to plan what they will say and the questions they will ask to get students talking about the intended learning. Working together, teachers and teacher aides can support all students to engage actively in learning.

Next steps The workbook and other materials for this module are located on the Teachers and Teacher Aides Working Together website. We wish you well in your learning!