Teaching assistants: support in action

Teaching assistants are an important resource in education. This free course, Teaching assistants: support in action, looks at how the role has developed across the UK over time. It explores the skills and attributes that teaching assistants use to provide effective support and contribute to productive teamwork. This OpenLearn course introduces diverse roles and distinctive contributions of teaching assistants.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 The rise of assistants
• 1 The rise of assistants
• 1.1 Assistant workers in other public services
• 1.2 Supporting teachers
• 1.3 Professional and personal skills
• 1.4 Titles and duties
• 1.5 Ways of working and contributing
• 1.6 Growth of the teaching assistant workforce
• 1.7 Teaching assistants in Europe
• 1.8 Teaching assistants and The Open University
• 2 Contribution and roles
• 2 Contribution and roles
• 2.1 What is the value of teaching assistants?
• 2.2 Children’s and parents’ views
• 2.3 Distinctive contributions
• 2.4 The evolving role of the teacher
• 3 Support in action
• 3 Support in action
• 3.1 Focusing on practice
• 3.2 Assisting, supporting and teaching
• 4 Looking to the future
• 4 Looking to the future
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements