Compare and Contrast the Roles of the Teacher and Teaching Assistan

Compare and contrast the roles of the teacher and teaching assistant in assessment of learners achievements.

Both the teachers and the teaching assistant main role is to monitor and assess pupils achievements in the class, but the main teacher has overall responsibility for recording and making the decisions that may be needed for example moving a child into a different group to match their ability levels. The teacher needs to be aware of the progression made by all the children in their class and be able to report back to parents and other members of staff.
As a teaching assitant my main role is to support the class teacher whilst the ongoing assessment of pupils takes place. The teacher can measure the progress of each pupil by carrying out lessons and setting the children clear learning objectives. At the beginning of the lesson the learning support practitioner will need to be aware ob the learning objective and need to know what they are going to be supporting, once they know this then they will be able to show the children what they are going to do and how to achieve it.
The day to day planning and lesson plans are the main responsibilities of the class teacher, but feedback and input from the teaching assistant can help the teacher structure the planned lessons. As well as the teacher having more responsibility in relation to their planning we both work together to ensure that all children achieve their targets and both carry out observations of the children in their class. By carrying out observations this gives factual feedback to the teacher to show exactly what stage each child is a, if they need extra support and how to get them to their targets.
The teachers role in assesment for learning is to look at the observations and feedback given to work out the different learning groups and move children about if necessary, regular reviews of these groups will ensure that the groups are more specific to their ability and the children will gain confidence from working in groups of pupils with the same ability. Both teacher and assistant need to be giving praise and encouragement and also be giving feedabck to the children on how they are doing this will encourage motivation from the pupils.

Summarise the difference between formative and summative assessment.

Formative assessment is a formal way of working on a lesson or target that needs to be learned, it is an ongoing process over time used to check that the pupils have learned and understood the lesson through observations and seeing how they work and what strategies are best for the pupils. It is a way of monitoring pupils to check their understanding and to clear up any problems that are observed. Any problems will need to be altered to suit the individual needs. It is also used so that the pupils can identify their own strengths and weaknesses.
Children should be involved in reviewing their own progress throughout the lesson and be encouraged to think about what they have learned and how it might help future lessons. Summative assessment is a fact based way of assessing, it can be done by end of week tests to see how the pupils are performing and whether they understand what they have learned. It will show whether the pupil has achieved or not and if it shows they havent planning will be taken into account to alter the way the child is taught, therfore constant review will take place to help to understand future lessons.
There are a number of ways formative assessment takes place in the classroom and a couple of examples Examples of formative assessment Observations- this will be done throughout the lesson to make sure the target for that lesson has been met. Feedback to the teacher- this will show if a child has understood the lesson or if extra support is needed. Feedback from the child- this will determine whther the child feels they have understood the lesson outcome. Examples of summative assessment End of week tests SATS End of unit tests
Although formative and summative assessments are different ways of assessing learning they are both used for assessing and following the national curriculum. Formative assessment is a more formal type of assessing where the focus is on monitoring pupils response to the lesson and any progress made. Summative is where the focus is on determing what the pupil has learned for example in a test at the end of term.

Explain the characteristics of assessment for learning.

When the teacher shares and explain the learning objective with the pupils they will be giving the pupils a clear understanding of what they are to learn, they can check the childs understanding by asking questions, the support learning practitioner will also need to be aware of the learning objective. It aims to help pupils gain a clear understanding of the standards they are aiming for an example of this could be providing an example of previous work. By allowing pupikls to do self and peer assessment it allows them to assess the progress they have made and identify how they can improve their work. Peer assessing allows others in the group to act as critical friends.
By providing feedback the pupils will see more clearly what they need to do next and how to improve on their work if needed, examples of feedback could be questions in a group or a through a whole class discussion. Promoting confidence that every child can improve will see the child gain satisfaction on their own progress and will give them a sense that they can continue to improve, a teacher or TA can do this by giving positive and constructive feedback, setting appropriate targets to their ability and then working out a learning objective which will challenge individuals.
Involving both teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting on assessment for learning it will allow the teacher to balance teacher assessment with peer and self assessment allowing the children to take responsibilty for their own learning and allows them to reflect on what they have learned. They will focus on learning objectives and sucess allowing them to make good progress.

Explain the importance and benefits of assessment for learning

Assessment for learning is an essential part of education as it defines whether or not the learning objectives are being met.Assessment for learning is a significant way to raise a pupils academic achievement. In order for the pupil to progress through the school they must understand the purpose of their learning, where they are in relation to this purpose and how they can achieve their set goals and targets.
Assessment will help a pupil reflect on their own development which in turn will help them recognise their own strengths, a benefit of this is if a pupilis given the opportunity to discuss their learning either with a teacher/TA or their peers they may develop a deeper understanding of their learning which can build confidence and motivate them as students.
Assessments can identify individual educational needs of all children as well as informing them about their performance and achievments this will then allow teachers to use different approaches personalised to each childs needs. Children who feel they are not part of the learning process are more likely to lose interest in the lesson. Assessment for learning is used so that the pupil is able to understand the objective/aimof the lesson, what they need to do to reach this and where they are in relation to this.

Explain how assessment for learning can contribute to planning for future learning carried out by- Teacher-

It will contribute to future planning for the teacher as the teacher will be able to differentiate different groups by ability and then levels they are at. They will be able to recognize if any child needs any additional support, whether it just be extra one to one support or whether and outside agency is required for example occupational therapists.
The teacher will decide through assessment for learning who the TA is to work with and will make sure they have all the correct resources ready. Doing reports throughout the year will allow any information to be passed on to supply teachers and end of year reports will be passed to the new teacher of the next year to show what stage the pupils are at and they will carry on where the last teacher left off. Pupil-It will contribute to future planning for the pupil as they will know what their targets are and how to achieve them.
Feedback to the teacher or TA on whether they understand the learning objective. They may even offer suggestions to simplify the explanations or may find and easier way of achieving. Self and peer assessment in which the children identify their own achievements and progress and think about what they need to do to improve this. They may learn better by using different learning techniques, for example, visual as opposed to kinastetic.
Just by asking the pupils questions will contribute for example “do you think your handwriting is neat” they will know if thet need to work on improving and should put it into practice on their next attempt. TA-By working alongside the teacher and pupils the TA will be able to recognise any areas of learning that need revisiting, they will do this by asking the pupils questions on how they feel the lesson went, is there any learning styles that would have made them understand it better.
They will feedback to the teacher to help prepare for future lessons and gather any resources that will be needed. A teaching assistant may also feedback to the teacher via feedback forms and the teacher may decide that a child in a certain group needs to move to another group. A TA will give extra assistance if a child needs it and give less able pupils the opportunity to revisit areas they are unsure of.