Supporting Learning Professionally Series – serie

'The clear intention of the authors is to motivate, persuade and give confidence to those who might otherwise think that research can only be carried out by teams of university staff' - ESCalate

Most Teaching Assistants (TAs) studying for Foundation Degrees need to do Action Research projects.

This book acts as an introduction to research methods, and will be especially useful if you are doing such work for the first time. It:

"introduces the basic principles and practice of research methods;

"provides an overview of the processes involved in Action Research;

"shows you how to identify an issue, design and carry out a course of action and evaluate the impact of this action;

"uses real case studies from practising TAs.

The content of the book relates to both Early Years and Primary settings, and there are case studies from a variety of settings.

Anyone studying for a Foundation Degree, or working towards HLTA status, will find this book meets their needs.

Claire Taylor is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln. Min Wilkie is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree in Educational Studies for Teaching Assistants at the University of Leicester. Judith Baser has worked in a wide range of educational settings, including 5 years as a teaching assistant. More recently, she has run training courses for teaching assistants in ways to support children's learning and development.

'The clear intention of the authors is to motivate, persuade and give confidence to those who might otherwise think that research can only be carried out by teams of university staff' - ESCalate

Most Teaching Assistants (TAs) studying for Foundation Degrees need to do Action Research projects.

This book acts as an introduction to research methods, and will be especially useful if you are doing such work for the first time. It:

"introduces the basic principles and practice of research methods;

"provides an overview of the processes involved in Action Research;

"shows you how to identify an issue, design and carry out a course of action and evaluate the impact of this action;

"uses real case studies from practising TAs.

The content of the book relates to both Early Years and Primary settings, and there are case studies from a variety of settings.

Anyone studying for a Foundation Degree, or working towards HLTA status, will find this book meets their needs.

Claire Taylor is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln. Min Wilkie is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree in Educational Studies for Teaching Assistants at the University of Leicester. Judith Baser has worked in a wide range of educational settings, including 5 years as a teaching assistant. More recently, she has run training courses for teaching assistants in ways to support children's learning and development.

'This is a readable book that has a lot of content at a level that teaches the reader about Language and Communication while at the same time guiding him/her to develop professionally by providing frequent activities....It is a very good resource for frequent referral and consultation' - Naplic

Anyone working with children knows about the current debate surrounding the need for development of effective communication skills. This book examines aspects of communication, and considers how a positive learning environment can nurture a good understanding of communication.

Teaching Assistants will find this book helps them to acquire a portfolio of skills and strategies that they can call on to provide optimum support when working with children in a variety of situations. Contents include:

-an exploration of current issues, such as the difference between home and school language

-how to communicate material and information effectively to pupils so that learning is optimised

-a consideration of the needs of particular groups of speakers

-what might be the consequences of poor communication skills, and how to address these difficulties

The content of the book relates to both Early Years and Primary, and there are case studies from a variety of settings.

Anyone studying for a Foundation Degree, or working towards Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status, will find this book meets their needs.

Rosemary SAGE is Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester, and is also the director of the Centre for Innovation in Research for Educational Achievement. She runs a variety of LEA course for teaching assistants around the country. She has published extensively, mostly with a focus on communication. Min Wilkie is Programme Leader for the Foundation Degree in Educational Studies for Teaching Assistants at the University of Leicester.