When you work with children as an education assistant, your days are never boring. Children, of course, can experience a wide range of emotions and they’re often not afraid to express them. As an education assistant, you’ll need to learn how to keep calm even when you may be surrounded by children who are anything but.

Stay calm and collected is not only good for your own mental health, but it also helps the children you work with understand the value of positivity. There are a number of strategies you can use to make sure the day goes smoothly. Here are some ways you can stay calm on the job after becoming an education assistant.

Get to Work Early, and Take Deep Breaths Before Class Starts

The period when you arrive at work but the school day hasn’t yet begun is ideal for finding a moment to practice some strategies and exercises for keeping calm. For example, you can sit down at a desk or other comfortable spot and perform breathing exercises, perhaps while listening to calming music. You can even practice mindfulness or meditation to help you stay calm and positive. However you choose to relax, do something at the beginning of the day so that you feel better prepared for whatever challenges may arise later on. That way you can approach the rest of the day with a sense of calmness and focus.

To Become an Educational Assistant, Have a Plan of Action with Students

If you love working with children, you’ll understand that every child is different and has their own distinct behavioural traits, learning styles, and challenges. In fact, taking an individualistic approach to each child is something you’ll learn the importance of in your training to become an educational assistant. Therefore, if for any reason students are disruptive or act out, make sure you work with the teacher to have a plan for how you’re going to manage the situation, and subscribe to it from that point onward. By planning beforehand you will feel like you’re in control of the situation when students do become emotional or disruptive.

Stay Positive Around Children and They’ll Stay Positive in Turn

In your education assistant training, you’ll learn how to use your communication skills effectively with children and how best to meet their individual needs. Speak in a friendly, relaxed tone at all times with students, and encourage them to succeed. Remaining positive tends to rub off on children and can be a subtle way of encouraging them to stay positive too. If they don’t immediately respond in kind to your calm demeanour, try not to become angry or emotional. Simply stay positive and talk to the children in a calm and soothing voice. By maintaining a positive attitude, eventually your rapport with the children will improve. Keep with your plan to remain measured at all times, and remember that this can sometimes be a marathon, not a race.

Do you want to take an educational assistant course?

Contact KLC College to find out more!

Working in special education means providing a supportive classroom, and that includes organization. Organization is more than making sure paper and pens are put away and everything is in order before the next day – it can also help prepare you to meet the individual learning needs of your students and provide a more structured classroom environment.

Whether you want to provide students with visual aids or reduce potential distractions, there are a variety of organizational methods you and your fellow educators can use to help your students learn and participate in and around the classroom.

If you’re interested in starting a career as an educational assistant, read on to find out how your training can help you and your classroom become more organized.

1. Positive Student Behaviour Support Begins with Good Organization

Supporting positive behaviour in the classroom is an important part of your work when you become an educational assistant. Although there may be days when positive behaviour seems to be the last thing on your students’ minds, staying organized can actually help you keep your class on the right track.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have trouble understanding how they are expected to act in the classroom. An organized room with physically defined spaces can help them better separate each setting, and even anticipate what a certain activity in that space means. Encouraging a deeper understanding of the current activity or lesson can cultivate a more positive response in students as they learn how to interact with and prepare for the context of each separate space.

2. Organization in the Classroom Can Reduce Student Distractibility

Many special education learners can be easily distracted. Educational assistant training emphasizes the important role that behaviour management plays in the special education classroom, and that includes reducing any auditory or visual distractions.

General clutter and even walls crowded end to end with posters or information can be a distraction to students with ASD because all of the unorganized elements are competing at once for their attention. Reducing excessive visual input can help minimize the stimulus students receive from their classroom environment, so it’s a good idea to only include the most relevant visual materials on the walls or desks, and put all the extra materials or supplies neatly away out of sight.

3. Educational Assistant Training Can Help You Organize Individual Learning Styles

Individualized learning is a core element of your educational assistant program and your classroom. Children with special needs often learn in very different styles, and organization can help you ensure they are learning in the best way possible.

Organization in the classroom can be as simple as labelling items with words and even pictures. Labelling each student’s materials, assigned seat, or personal items can help them tell which objects are theirs, and encourage them to have a more independent perspective of these items, as well as how they relate to themselves as individuals. “David’s chair,” for example, tells everyone in the room – David included – that this is his personal space to use during class.

4. Use Your Educational Assistant Training to Provide Visual Organization

Special education learners often rely on visual cues to better understand their classroom environment, and it’s important to make sure everything is organized in a way that provides plenty visual support.

If you choose to label areas of the classroom, you can also include pictures to help students understand where things are supposed to go as well as what they look like. This kind of visual cue gives them easily-accessible information that helps make abstract concepts more concrete. Visual aids such as a schedule or first-then board can provide students with a sense of structure, and encourages them to follow multi-step directions in order to achieve something they want.

Are you interested in starting a rewarding career in the classroom?

Contact KLC College for more information about our educational assistant course.

Young children and teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) require special attention in the classroom. To ensure these children get the help they need, it is vital that all newly trained education assistants are given a comprehensive grounding in the best practices for teaching autistic students.

ASD is commonly diagnosed between the ages of two and three years old, affecting one out of every 66 children in Canada. It is much more common in boys than girls, but the severity of the disorder can differ greatly from person to person. Around one third of people with ASD also develop an intellectual disability, so a dedicated skillset is needed to maximize the potential of these children in the classroom.

Read on for some useful insights on ASD that can help the next generation of education assistants to really make a difference in the lives of this often overlooked and underestimated demographic.

Autism can be Caused by Genetic and Non-Genetic Factors

ASD is an umbrella term that includes autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger’s Syndrome. These disorders are categorized across the spectrum, and some present milder symptoms than others.

There is no one root cause of autism, and it is believed to stem from both genetic and non-genetic factors. It takes effect during early brain development by altering how neurons communicate. Parents who have children later in life and extreme premature birth are considered risk factors for the onset of ASD.

The symptoms of ASD include difficulty developing social and communication skills. These boys and girls may avoid making eye contact, repeat words or phrases, and feel more comfortable on their own. Graduates of an education assistant training course will be notified when a child with autism is attending their workplace, because they will require specialized attention in the classroom.

Individual Support for ASD Students after Education Assistant Training

Children with ASD may not understand and follow instructions as easily as others, and it is often a good idea to write them out so they can have them at all times. You may also have to address them individually if you are failing to grab their attention, because they may otherwise think they’re not being spoken to. You should also keep language simple when speaking to children with ASD, and avoid using any jargon or sarcasm that they might find confusing.

Technology is a particularly worthwhile asset in this scenario, too. Children can experience difficulties with handwriting, so assess whether it’s possible for them to complete schoolwork on a laptop or tablet instead. Children with ASD may also work better if they are sometimes given a quiet space to finish their assignments.

Additionally, many young learners on the autism spectrum will often display more interest in specific topics than others, or be far more adept at certain subjects, such as mathematics or science, than they are in other areas. Tailor your teaching to their strengths and weaknesses, and try and find out what their interests are and see if it is possible to work them into their lessons. Overcoming these educational challenges and seeing the child thrive provides a sense of immense satisfaction for professionals, the child, and their parents.

How to Improve the Social Behaviour of Young People with ASD

Another common symptom of children with ASD is an inability to understand the feelings of others. This presents additional challenges for students in education assistant training, so be aware that you also have an important role in developing the social skills of these boys and girls.

This could mean reiterating to them the importance of staying in line in the canteen queue or staying quiet while other children are talking. Children on the spectrum can often feel uneasy in large crowds or noisy environments, too, and may require additional attention in the schoolyard or when walking to and from classes in busy corridors.

KLC’s educational assistant course focuses on developing the necessary ASD teaching skills.

Find out more about our comprehensive 37-week program.

 

Working in education can be overwhelming at times, and teachers often find that they could use an extra hand in the classroom. Fortunately, they can rely upon the help of an education assistant, who plays a vital support role for both students and the lead teacher.

Here are some tips on how students in education assistant courses can ensure a productive classroom once they begin their careers.

Utilize Lessons From Your Educational Assistant Course

The main duty of an education assistant is to collaborate with the teacher to provide an effective learning environment for students. In order to do that, graduates can build upon their education assistant training by focusing on child development, communication, and behavioural support.

Child development is an essential cornerstone in education. When students come to class, they are learning and developing new ideas and concepts, and it’s important to make sure they progress with comfort and confidence. Helping a student with one-on-one lessons or in a small group reinforces the material their teacher covers in class and provides a framework younger students can use to learn proper behaviour and reactions.

Communication is also a key aspect. When we communicate with each other, we are sharing our individual perspectives, and this is an important concept for children to understand. Many students see adults of any age as authority figures, and they take cues and behavioural patterns from the adults around them. An education assistant should keep this in mind, and communicate clearly and responsibly.

Be Flexible, Intuitive, and Responsive

An educational workplace is an environment which changes every day. Students enrolled in an educational assistant course learn how best to adapt and respond to these changes, but certain skills should be kept in mind to improve classroom performance.

For instance, patience is a common attribute of successful teachers and educational assistants. Most students will not learn something immediately, and every student learns and grasps new concepts differently. For assistants interested in special education, patience is an especially important skill, because some children require more attention and may have a more difficult time learning new material, and the teacher may need more support to address each student adequately.

Additionally, a good sense of intuition can help cut down on miscommunication and delays in the classroom. Teachers have an easier time managing their classes if they can rely on assistants to understand their duties and act rather than constantly needing instruction. By being flexible and patient with their daily tasks, as well as responding to situations and opportunities as they arise, assistants make sure the teacher and students can focus on the lessons at hand.

Foster a Professional Relationship With the Teacher

In order for students to feel comfortable in the classroom, there should be a professional working relationship between the teacher and educational assistant. Part of the educational assistant’s role is to help a teacher with their lesson plan, prepare materials, and ensure the classroom is set up to meet each day’s needs and demands.

By being clear and communicative with the teachers they are working with, assistants can clarify the expectations and context of their role in the classroom, which allows for more support and attention to be provided to the students.

Interested in becoming an educational assistant?

Contact KLC College for more information!

Education is a wonderful line of work which attracts compassionate, organized and friendly staff. It’s sometimes quite a demanding career, but it’s all worth it when you help children to achieve their potential. It’s even more rewarding when you work with children with special educational needs, a challenge which requires a dedicated skillset developed during education assistant courses.

There are a lot of transferrable skills and traits that can be carried over into this career, but first and foremost workers should be comfortable and excited about working with children, especially at an early age. During this crucial stage of their development, education assistants are excellent mentors who get their school years off to a great start.

Here are four ways of knowing whether or not you are suited to this career.

Education Assistants Communicate Effectively with Students and Co-workers

Children learn lots of new information every day, and strong communication skills allow educators to get their message across effectively. Students in education assistant training are comfortable speaking to people of all ages, and also listen carefully to questions or remarks from students or colleagues. Not all people retain these skills, so you can excel in this career if you are a ‘people person’.

Education assistants are part of a much wider team in schools which aim to ensure that students develop their knowledge and personal skills. Effective communication is also vital within this team, so that all educators can work together to overcome potential problems.

Take New Tasks in your Stride in this Exciting Career

Working with children can throw up lots of challenges every day, and education assistants must adapt quickly to resolve them. It’s difficult to follow a firm daily schedule of work, and flexibility is required to juggle each task.

This is therefore a career which suits comfortable multi-taskers, whether that means working with more than one child at a time or trying to get some paperwork done during the day. Some people are easily able to switch their focus from one task to another, and if that sounds like you, this could be the perfect career choice.

Show Patience and Compassion When Working with Children

Children are a joy to be around. Their enthusiasm and laughter are infectious and it’s heartwarming when you receive their gratitude. This makes working in education a career which suits friendly and compassionate individuals. It does, of course, throw up many challenges, but this can be overcome by patiently dealing with whatever issues children may experience.

Compassionate individuals are also particularly well-suited to a workplace in which students have special educational needs. These children have the same thirst for knowledge as others, and educational assistant course graduates are enthusiastic about helping them to achieve great results.

Enjoy Hands-on Learning in an Education Assistant Training Course

Some people prefer working with facts and figures in academia or a desk job, but others are much more excited about learning and thriving in a vibrant workplace. Students can experience this exciting environment from a very early stage by enrolling in education assistant programs like the one offered by KLC College.

We offer 600 hours of practical experience during the course, so you can develop your skills in the best way possible. This is a career suited to somebody who embraces challenges and wants to immerse themselves in a new career immediately.

Does an education assistant training course sound like the best career move for you?

Find out more about KLC College’s comprehensive program.