If you are planning on becoming a teaching assistant you may be wondering what skills you will require. Below we have compiled a list of the necessary skills and attributes that help make a great teaching assistant.
Numeracy & Literacy
As a teaching assistant you will be responsible for assisting the main class teacher with pupils who are struggling with certain subjects. Numeracy and literacy are very important skills that will stand a child in good stead for their future once mastered.
However many students fail to cope with these subjects and this fact combined with their importance in later life means that as a teaching assistant you will spend a lot of your time aiding pupils who are struggling with both numeracy and literacy. As a result you will need to be competent with both your mathematical and English skills.
Communication
Being able to communicate effectively is vitally important to the role of the teaching assistant. As previously mentioned you will spend a great deal of time working with students who are not coping as well as other pupils with their studies. As such it is imperative that you can express your thoughts on the subject at hand in a clear and precise way to the pupils.
Patience
Teaching can sometimes be a frustrating profession. Sometimes no matter how clearly you express yourself some pupils will either not listen or will act is an unruly manner. In these situations it is important that you are able to keep your cool and persevere with your instructions. Loosing your patience will more often than not only encourage the unruly pupils to continue with their bad behaviour safe in the knowledge that you will provide a reaction.
Organisation
Being organised will help make you a better class room assistant. Not only will being organised help you set a good example to the students, but it will in addition help make your role as assistant easier. Having a clear plan of what you wish to achieve from each lesson will mean that the precious time you do have is maximised enabling your students to gain the most from their sessions with you. Organisation and self discipline will also come in handy when it comes to things like marking homework and helping organise out of school activities.
Dedication
To be a teaching assistant you need to be dedicated to your work. At all times you need to keep focused on your goal, which is to help the under achieving students realise their full potential and enable them to rejoin their peers and work on a level basis with students they once couldn’t keep up with. When you achieve this goal through your dedication you will certainly experience an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction.
The skills and traits mentioned above are just a few that are required to make a good class room assistant. If you wish to become a teaching assistant and feel that you have the afore mentioned skills then you should seriously consider enrolling in a suitable training course and commencing on your way to becoming a fully qualified teaching assistant.