What Works?
Developing evidence-based
approaches
to the Pupil Premium
Maximising Support for Learning
Workshop
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
TOOLKIT OF STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE LEARNING
SUMMARY FOR SCHOOLS SPENDING
THE PUPIL PREMIUM
• Teaching assistants - no added value - very low/no
impact for moderate cost
• If teaching assistants are used with the intention of
improving learning of ‘pupils’, they should not undertake
the tasks they are routinely assigned
(Higgins et al, 2011)
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
TRUE OR FALSE?
Higgins (2011):
• Very small or no effects on attainment
• Greater impact when given a particular pedagogical role,
particularly with training and support
• ‘Pupils’ and teachers tend to suggest positive effects
from teaching assistant support
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
A CASE STUDY OF THE DEPLOYMENT OF
TEACHING ASSISTANTS IN SECONDARY
SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT LEARNING
My Research Questions:
• In what ways are teaching assistants deployed to
support learning?
• How does the model of deployment support
learning?
Conceptual Framework:
• Factors Shaping the Deployment of Teaching
Assistants
• Social Constructivist Teaching and Learning
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
FACTORS SHAPING THE DEPLOYMENT OF
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Structural Factors - Government
•
no statutory baseline qualifications required
• No specific job description - schools adapt the role to
their own requirements
• No career development or access to specific career
paths
• Finance for HLTA training cut - specialist training for
conditions such as Autism and Dyslexia usually selffinanced
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
FACTORS SHAPING THE DEPLOYMENT OF
TEACHING ASSISTANTS (continued)
• Out of hours work is often unpaid. Low pay
• Teachers are not trained to manage teaching assistants
Institutional Factors: Schools
• Location - Subject Department/Learning Support - in
class/withdrawal/team teach/teach alone
• Training - teaching and learning strategies/ monitoring
and assessment/specialist knowledge
• Formal planning time
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
FACTORS SHAPING THE DEPLOYMENT OF TEACHING
ASSISTANTS (continued)
Teacher Factors:
• Professional relationships
• Opportunities for joint planning - strategies (voluntary)
• Opportunities for ‘on-the-job’ training - modelling
teaching and learning strategies
• Behaviour management
• Formative assessment and targets
• Provision of open ended tasks - encouraging
independent learning
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
FACTORS SHAPING THE DEPLOYMENT OF TEACHING
ASSISTANTS (continued)
Teaching Assistant Factors:
• Being proactive in using training, observations and joint
planning opportunities to support teachers and learners
• Being careful not to over-support or to encourage overdependence
• Avoiding task completion for learners
• Providing pastoral, emotional and social support for
learners
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
RESEARCH DESIGN
Nested Case Study involving:
• Three Schools, Seven Lessons, Six Teachers, Seven
TAs and Fourteen Learners
WIDER CASE
THE DEPLOYMENT OF TEACHING ASSISTANTS TO SUPPORT LEARNING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
NESTED
WINDIHURST SCHOOL
NESTED
MISTFELL SCHOOL
NESTED
RUSHLEIGH SCHOOL
LESSON
LESSON
LESSON
LESSON
LESSON
LESSON
LESSON
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Adapted from a diagram by G Thomas (2011)
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Qualitative Data obtained sequentially from:
Initial Joint Interviews
with Teachers and Teaching Assistants
Lesson Observations
Individual Interviews
with Teachers
Individual Interviews
with Teaching Assistants
Individual/Paired or
Group Interviews
with Learners
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
A CASE STUDY OF THE DEPLOYMENT OF TEACHING
ASSISTANTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT
LEARNING
Questions Raised:
• How do teaching assistants support learners in lessons
(tasks)?
• What approaches are they able (or given the
opportunity) to use to support learning ?
• In what locations do teaching assistants support
learning?
• Which learners are supported by teaching assistants?
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
They....
are VERSATILE
ADAPTABLE
RESOURCEFUL
FINDINGS (Slater 2014)
SHOW THAT:
They....
provide pastoral,
emotional and social
support for needy learners
and support for teachers
TEACHING
ASSISTANTS
They....
provide learning support,
usually (but not always) under
the direction of a teacher
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
They....
provide learning support
for SEN and other
learners with a range of
learning needs
They....
work in a variety of locations
and scenarios
E Slater 14th July 2014
MODELS OF DEPLOYMENT
Research (Blatchford et al 2009) highlights different ways in which
Teaching Assistants are deployed. Four dominant models
emerge:
• Model 1 - the typical model of the three-pronged, hierarchical
relationships between the teacher who delivers the lesson, the
teaching assistant and learners
TEACHER AND TEACHING ASSISTANT IN HIERARCHICAL
TRIPARTITE RELATIONSHIP
MODEL 1
LEARNING SUPPORT
TEACHER
TEACHING ASSISTANT
LEARNERS
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
• Model 2 - the teaching assistant supporting a small group of
learners away from the classroom but under the teacher’s direction
WITHDRAWAL GROUP
MODEL 2
LEARNING SUPPORT
TEACHER
CLASS
TEACHING ASSISTANT
LEARNERS
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
• Model 3 - A higher level teaching assistant and teacher sharing and
team teaching a class:
TEACHER AND TEACHING ASSISTANT DIVIDE
CLASS BETWEEN THEM
MODEL 3
LEARNING
SUPPORT
TEACHER
TEACHING ASSISTANT
LEARNERS
• Model 4 - A teaching assistant independently running a lesson for
learners:
LEARNING SUPPORT
TEACHING ASSISTANT INDEPENDENTLY
TEACHING OPTIONS GROUP
(SEPARATE LOCATION)
MODEL 4
TEACHING ASSISTANT
SATELLITE
TEACHERS
LEARNERS
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
MODELS OF DEPLOYMENT
Across the three schools:
• This study found examples of each model of deployment
LESSON
SUB-UNIT
SCHOOL
MODEL
1
WINDIHURST
MODEL 1A (i) (PAIRED IN-CLASS SUPPORT)
2
WINDIHURST
MODEL 1B (INDIVIDUAL IN-CLASS SUPPORT)
3
WINDIHURST
MODEL 2 (WITHDRAWAL GROUP)
4
MISTFELL
MODEL 1C (GROUP IN-CLASS SUPPORT)
5
MISTFELL
MODEL 3 (TEAM TEACHING - HALF EACH, IN-CLASS)
6
RUSHLEIGH
MODEL 4 (SATELLITE, TA WITH CLASS ALONE)
7
RUSHLEIGH
MODEL 1D (INDIVIDUAL IN-CLASS SUPPORT/ICT SUITE)
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
IDENTICAL SCENARIOS – DIFFERENT OUTCOMES
MODEL 1A
MODEL 1B
Model 1A - Teaching Assistant and learners work in isolation within the
class - they complete closed task. Teacher - focuses exclusively on rest of
class - Learners - make no contribution in plenary feedback .
Model 1B - Teaching Assistant works with learner as a pair - other learners
work in pairs - complete open-ended task -Teacher fully inclusive of TA and
learner - learner hypothesises, and completes written task with assistance contributes to plenary feedback
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
MODEL 2 - WITHDRAWAL GROUP
(Year 8 - bottom set)
• Teaching assistant and assigned group were present in
class whilst teacher presented lesson content,
objectives and outcomes
• Learners chosen for group to complete an introduction to
a novel using a writing frame. Included a close focus on
literacy skills
• Task could be ‘open’ or ‘closed’ depending on the
approach taken
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
MODEL 2 - YEAR 8 WITHDRAWAL GROUP
(continued)
• Move to separate location - teaching assistant is ‘the
more knowledgeable other’ (Vygotsky, 1978)
• Skilful use of a range of questioning strategies (Bloom 1956).
Recall - ‘do you remember..?’ statements followed by
questions - ‘the character is a caring person - why? and
open-ended - ‘what happened next?’ followed by focus on
task - ‘how are we going to write this?
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
MODEL 2 - YEAR 8 WITHDRAWAL GROUP
(continued)
• Questioning on literacy skills - encouragement to use
phonetics where appropriate - ‘massive’ and ‘what does
‘evil’ begin with?’
•
Provision of ‘thinking time’ for learners to formulate
answers to open-ended questions
• Scaffolding the learning - working at the learner’s level of
competence, withdrawal of support (fading) when
appropriate and final transference of responsibility for
learning to the learner (Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976)
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
MODEL 2 - YEAR 8 WITHDRAWAL GROUP
(continued)
• Encouraged independent learning - for example, spelling
phonetically and questioning techniques
• Discouraged over-dependence - creating of a step-bystep guide - ‘what to do when stuck with the work’
• Monitored progress throughout the lesson
• Verbal feedback and independent writing from learners
gave a positive indication of learning having taken place
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
MY RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT TEACHERS
CAN CONTRIBUTE TO TEACHING ASSISTANTS’
EFFECTIVENESS BY:
• Finding time for discussion and/or voluntary planning
• Providing ‘open’ tasks, and modelling (social
constructivist) teaching strategies to support the
outcomes
• Fully integrating teaching assistants and learners into
lessons
• Helping teaching assistants to understand target setting
how to monitor assessment
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
RESEARCH FOUND THAT TEACHING ASSISTANTS CAN
CONTRIBUTE TO SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT
LEARNING BY:
• Providing support as the more knowledgeable adult
(Vygotsky, 1978)
• Supporting peer interaction
• Scaffolding the work - knowing when to withdraw
support (Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976)
• Using a range of questioning techniques (Bloom, 1956) providing thinking time for answers
• Not completing tasks for the learner
• Providing pastoral, emotional and social support to
promote confidence
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014
QUESTIONS
Discuss:
• How do these findings resonate with your own
experiences of working with Teaching Assistants?
• What practical implications do they suggest for your
work in respect of the Pupil Premium - for example, how
can you ensure that Teaching Assistants are able,
enabled or allowed to maximise learning?
• What kind of evidence might you look for to assess their
success in deploying Teaching Assistants around the
Pupil Premium agenda?
Maximising Support for Learning Workshop
E Slater 14th July 2014