Teaching Assistant
Become a Teaching Assistant
A teaching assistant is a person that helps the regular classroom teacher with performing his or her duties. The exact duties of a teaching assistant can vary greatly from one school to the next. In addition, the type of position the teaching assistant takes on will play a large role in determining the job duties he or she will be assigned. For example, a teaching assistant that works with a special education teacher will have different duties from one that works with an art teacher.
The primary role of the teaching assistant is to help the classroom teacher perform his or duties. At the same time, the regular classroom teacher is the one that is ultimately responsible for the actions of the teaching assistant. Therefore, the classroom teacher is the direct supervisor of the teaching assistant and the teaching assistant is expected to perform duties as assigned by the classroom teacher. These duties may include making copies or grading papers, but may also include working directly with the students in the classroom.
A teaching assistant that works with a special education teacher may be assigned to work with just one student. If a student has physical or mental handicaps that prevent him or her from getting around independently, the teaching assistant may be responsible for taking the student to different classes where he or she can still be involved with the general education population. Similarly, a student with severe behavioral problems that are related to a disability may receive one-on-one assistance from a teaching assistant that accompanies him or her from class to class.
Generally, a teaching assistant is not called upon to actually teach a class, though the regular classroom teacher may call upon the teaching assistant to engage in team teaching strategies. In addition, the teaching assistant may circle through the classroom as the teacher provides instruction in order to make sure all students are on task and in order to provide additional assistance as necessary. The teaching assistant may also remove one or a few students from the classroom in order to provide them with more individualized instruction in order to meet their needs.
