FdTA 151 Roles and Responsibilities Day 3 Teamwork / Self Esteem Marion Thornton

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 times They 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-VerbalsTone of VoiceWords (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 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