Formation of Professional Competence of Assistant Teacher of Inclusive Education in Secondary Education Institutions

The research is devoted to the theoretical and experimental study of forming the professional competence of a would-be teacher assistant of inclusive education through pedagogic modeling. The authors specify the notions of “a tutor” (teacher assistant), “inclusive education”, “persons with special needs”, “individual development program”, and “modeling”. The essence of “pedagogical modeling” is defined, as well as the groups of its objects within the professional competence of the would-be teacher assistants in the inclusive education; the implementation of the psychological-pedagogic modeling of an individual development program for persons with special needs is substantiated. It is proved that any model has a sign nature, thus, the psychological bases of the research are the theory of content-based summarization and the “sign” concept of the educational process. The study reflects the methodological system of forming the professional competence of the would-be teacher assistants of inclusive education through pedagogic modeling and substantiates the content component of the model, implemented in the individual development program of persons with special needs and through applying the relevant methods, forms and means of education. It is proved that the efficiency of forming the professional competence of the teacher assistants of inclusive education by the means of pedagogic modeling depends on introduction of an experimental technique, which provides support and increase of the qualitative indicators of both the teaching and the personal properties of the persons with special needs receiving educational services. Due to the synergetic impact of professional knowledge, the would-be teacher assistants of inclusive education develop an increased motivation to forming the professional skills and competences when working with persons with special needs.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Work with Teacher Assistants: A Systematic Literature Review

With the number of teacher assistants (TAs) employed in schools steadily increasing, most teachers are likely to work with a TA at various times throughout their career. International research indicates there is scope for teachers to enhance their work with TAs. This systematic review examines teachers’ perceptions of their work with TAs. Twenty-six studies were reviewed to gain insight into teachers’ thoughts, beliefs and/or impressions of their work with TAs. Ten perceptions of teachers relating to the manner in which they work with TAs were identified and further categorised into four key themes of roles and responsibilities, planning and pedagogy, leadership, and interpersonal relationships. Implications from the review highlight a need for schools and universities to reconsider teacher preparation and ongoing training with respect to teachers’ work with TAs.

AI-Based Virtual Teacher Assistants

Современное образование находится на рубеже цифровой эпохи в преподавании, когда повсеместно внедряются новые методы обучения с использованием передовых информационно-коммуникационных технологий для дистанционных форм общения между педагогом и слушателями, автоматизации образовательного процесса с применением нейронных сетей и машинного обучения. Разрабатываемые цифровые образовательные среды и платформы не только позволяют учителю готовить и предоставлять школьникам и студентам учебный материал в удобной цифровой форме, которые доступны им в любом месте земного шара через сеть Интернет, но и существенно увеличивают нагрузку на преподавателя ростом объема необходимого для подготовки занятий образовательного контента. При этом преподаватель на дистанционной форме обучения фактически вынужден находиться круглые сутки на связи со своими слушателями. Использование цифровых образовательных сред с автоматизированной проверкой заданий позволяет освободить педагога от части рутинной работы. Другая возможность состоит в использовании в курсах виртуальных ассистентов преподавателя чат-ботов, обученных с помощью нейросетевых технологий отвечать на широкий круг вопросов студентов, без участия педагога. В статье излагаются результаты исследования и разработки подобных виртуальных помощников педагога. Одновременно указывается, что собранный материал диалогов бота со студентами позволяет использовать результаты для косвенного анализа успеваемости студента и формирования персональных образовательных траекторий. Today the education is on the verge of the digital age as new learning approaches with advanced information and communication distant learning technologies, and academic process digitalization with neural networks and machine learning. The new digital learning environments and platforms help the teacher to develop and deliver digital learning content for high school and university students making it available globally over the Internet. However, the teacher efforts are multiplied, as more and more content is to be developed. Even more, an elearning teacher is expected to be available 24/7. Digital learning environments with a computerassisted assessment feature remove some of the burdens from the educator. Another option is using virtual teacher assistants or chatbots based on trained neural networks. they can answer a wide range of student questions without the teacher’s intervention. We studied the development of such virtual teacher assistants. The recorded student/chatbot scripts can be used to indirectly estimate the student’s academic performance, and to offer a customized learning path.

Do Teacher Assistants Improve Student Outcomes? Evidence From School Funding Cutbacks in North Carolina

This article examines the influence of teacher assistants and other personnel on outcomes for elementary school students during a period of recession-induced cutbacks in teacher assistants. Using panel data from North Carolina, we exploit the state’s unique system of financing its local public schools to identify the causal effects of teacher assistants, controlling for other staff, on measures of student achievement. We find consistent evidence of positive effects of teacher assistants, an understudied staffing category, on student performance in reading and math. We also find larger positive effects of teacher assistants on achievement outcomes for students of color and students in high-poverty schools than for White students and students in more affluent schools. We conclude that teacher assistants are a cost-effective means of raising student achievement, especially in reading.

Netradiční studenti pedagogických oborů na českých vysokých školách

This publication is devoted to the topic of non-traditional students in tertiary education. The key criteria for our definition of this group are age and a break in the formal educational trajectory after high school. From among all the non-traditional students in Czech higher education, we selected those who chose university studies in study programs that qualify them for work in education (e.g., teachers, counsellors, youth workers, teacher assistants, social educators, and adult educators). The book is divided into 11 interconnected chapters presenting theoretical background, methodology and results of mixed design research conducted by the team of authors.

Inclusion in Kindergarten, with An Aspect on Social Disadvantage

Social disadvantage is a construct that captures various dimensions of social position, such as economic status, educational attainment, as well as ethnicity. There is considerable evidence that social disadvantage is associated with emotional and behavioural problems in children (Bergin & Bergin, 2015). Nowadays, the theme of inclusion is accurate hence the issue of social disadvantages is not topic just for the pedagogy and pedagogical workers. At the same level, the authors focus on social disadvantages children in kindergartens. A challenge for intervention includes that social disadvantage is often structural in nature and, as a result, is largely impervious to change. It has been found that much of the association of low family income with adverse child development is indirect, through more proximal processes such as parental mental health and the home environment, rather than direct. Therefore, it is crucial for pedagogical workers such as teacher, teacher assistants etc., to acknowledge the sensitivity of social disadvantages which a family can face to. This chapter aims to highlights the issue of social disadvantages which can occur in kindergarten, with an emphasis on inclusion. By using the case studies the authors have found out how a status of a social disadvantage child influence a child and its family. Also, how this problematic is seen by pedagogical workers in chosen kindergarten.

A description of New Horizons Band assistants’ perceptions and experiences

The purpose of the current study was to describe the perceptions and experiences of New Horizons Band assistants in terms of learning, skill transfer and pedagogical preparation. The participant population for this study was 35 past student teacher-assistants from three New Horizons bands, one in Texas, one in Florida and one in Virginia. There were ten open-ended items on the questionnaire that asked about student assistant perceptions and experiences. Participants noted the growth they experienced from serving as a band teaching assistant in a New Horizons programme, describing their appreciation for lifelong learning, exposure to the complexity of how to teach to a variety of learners, and experience with the challenges of pacing with adults and blunt feedback from programme participants. The article concludes with a discussion of possible collegiate preparatory experiences that could broaden the teacher training experience for college programmes.

Ethics and the Special Education Assistant

The need for and responsibilities of Special Education Assistants (also known as Teacher Assistants, Teacher Aides, and Education Assistants) in British Columbia are increasing; yet time to consult, plan and receive direction is decreasing due to teachers’ burgeoning workloads and time constraints. Coupled with the fact that SEA’s often have more specific knowledge of the student’s label and educational interventions, these dynamics sometimes create a climate of misunderstanding and confusion of the roles and responsibilities of teachers and their assistants. At times, SEA’s feel unsupported and forced to take on responsibility without authority as they navigate through the ethics of what is the best inclusive practice for the student with special needs. By using an ethical approach to analyze an example of a) the Special Education Assistant’s working life and b) one extreme experience of that life, insight into the varied nature of this world is illuminated.