TA TALK

Issue 40

February 2019

Some pretty exciting things are happening for teacher aides at the moment, some great and some that are cause for concern.

 

Earlier this month, ATA represented our members at a Skills IQ workshop to present your feedback from our November webinar, 

Will the New Education Support Qualifications Match Your Job Role? 

 

It seems there is a lack of clarity about the work teacher aides do and we need your input to ensure the Education Support qualifications match the skills teacher aides need to perform their job in schools. Make sure you register for this webinar as it is the last chance to have your say! 

 

Last week, nearly 70 teacher aides and teachers participated in a number of case studies on inclusion. The Importance of Teacher Aides in Supporting Social Inclusion in Schools was presented by Professor Susan Balandin from Deakin University. Susan was thrilled with the wisdom and calibre of responses given by participants and this made us feel intensely proud of our TA community! 

 

Did you know that MyPLC is a professional learning community just for teacher aide members? Our community is an amazing source of knowledge and support with lots of sharing and discussions happening. If you are a member and haven't yet joined this group, make sure you do so soon.

 

Member schools are leading the way by using our resources to build Developing Performance Plans and facilitate in-house group PD for teacher aide teams. Word must be getting out as we have had huge growth in new school memberships. Please keep talking to your networks about ATA. 

 

Hope you have a great month ahead. That's it from us for now. 

 

Warm regards

 

Stella and Mandy

We want you to get the best value from your membership. Watch our New Member Orientation video to find out where to access our resources, how to register for live web events and more!

MEMBER WEBINAR: Homophones - Helping Students With Common Spelling Errors

In this tutorial on homophones, we explore practical strategies to help students with common spelling errors such as mixing up their and there.

COMMUNITY WEBINAR: The Importance of Teacher Aides in Supporting Social Inclusion in Schools

Teacher aides have a valuable role to play in supporting social inclusion for students with disability. Social inclusion takes place in class and in the playground, and students who are not included may feel lonely and lack a sense of belonging. 

 

In this webinar, Professor Susan Balandin, from Deakin University, draws on international research literature and their own recent research to highlight some of the challenges that students with disability encounter. 

BLOG: Horse or Hoarse?

There are hundreds of homophones in the English language, and they are some of the most commonly misspelled words!

 

To complicate matters, spell check doesn’t recognise homophone errors if the spelling is correct, but you have written the wrong word!

MEMBER WEBINAR: Sentence Structure - Helping Students Improve Their Writing Skills

- Tuesday 12th March 2019 @ 4:15pm AEST

Join us for this tutorial as we explore the grammatical features of sentences, and share practical strategies to help students improve their writing skills.

 

Again, we have a prize for one lucky participant :)

COMMUNITY WEBINAR: Help Shape The Future Of Teacher Aide Training

- Tuesday 19th March 2019 @ 4:15pm AEST

Are you aware that significant changes to Certificate III and IV in Education Support have already been proposed, such as removing behaviour and additional needs units, and shifting the focus to the administrative role of teacher aides.

 

Qualification reviews are an opportunity for industry to provide feedback about the skills required to perform a job now, and in the future.

 

If you work in an education department or school, this is your last chance to have your say.

 

Feedback closes at the end of March.

Ever used LEGO to explain mathematical concepts?

16,649 views

797 reactions, comments and shares

 

Many of you saw the benefits of this strategy and tagged others who might find it useful too. The virtues of LEGO seem endless!!

This idea is brilliant!

10,730 views
515 reactions, comments and shares

 

Ronald Dahl books are now being served with meals instead of toys in New Zealand and Australia. We loved this idea and so did you judging by the comments on this post!

*****    SPECIAL OFFER    *****

Our practical literacy tutorials are packed with activities you can do with students.

For just $97, you can learn how to help students with common spelling errors, and improve their writing skills and vocabulary. 

 

The first of the series, Homophones: Helping students with common spelling errors is available in the ATA professional development library now!

 

The next 2 live events in this series are:

 

• Sentence Structure: Helping students improve their writing skills - Tuesday 12th March

• Vocabulary: Helping students improve their vocabulary - Tuesday 9th April

 

Don't worry if you can't attend the live events; we record them all! For just $97, you get access to the 3 literacy resources, plus a 12-month membership to ATA. 

 

Take advantage of this membership offer or ask your school to take a school plan so that your colleagues can join in too!