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Andrea Aldrich Communication Assignment Task One In my setting I establish respectful and professional relationships by, speaking clearly, using correct tone of voice to the situations and professionally with the children in my setting. I make sure when I’m speaking to the children I give them my full attention, if another child requires my assistance at the same time, I kindly advise them that I’m currently working with this child, but I will be with them once I am finished and to try and see If they can have a think how to solve their problem.
I continually make sure that I am a friendly and trustworthy towards the children, but make sure that they see me more as a professional adult rather than one of the children whom they can mess about with. The children In my setting see me In school as a professional Teaching Assistant, I have maintained a professional role In school, the Teacher whom I am currently working with also see’s these qualities in myself, as her current T. A is off sick she has got trust in myself to give extra tuition to the nurture groups.
While doing so I maintain a professional mutual respect for each there to which the pupils in my class see this, by doing this I am setting myself up as a great role model. When I am in my setting I make sure that I dress Correctly, speak clearly and professionally and make sure I address all staff in a correct manor I. E. Sir, Mr.. Mrs., Miss. I make sure I do not interrupt the Teachers or T. As while they are in the middle of a lesson, I wait patiently until they are finished.
I make sure I turn up to school early to find out what we are doing in class for the day, what is required from me, gather appropriate equipment for the tasks in hand and who I will need to support extra that day. Our class Teaching Assistant has been off sick for a number of months now, so I have used my initiative to step up and I am covering what the class T. As actually does. I actively listen to instructions and ask questions to enable me to do the Job well. I have asked her if I could sit in with another Teaching Assistant whilst she held her “Nurture Groups”.
As I have learnt what Is to be done In the groups and how I assist the children in class, the Teacher has seen qualities In me and has asked me to run her “nurture group” to help assist the children to learn In more detail, what Is errantly being taught in the class. My support consists from one to one talon or by taking a group out Into another classroom. I behave appropriately when working in my setting by, making sure I use the correct tone of voice, being approachable, having a great attitude, being patient and to make sure I praise the pupils.
I listen to instructions from the teacher or other teaching assistants. If I do not understand I will ask them again, I also repeat my understanding by confirming so I can clarify what has been asked. Depending on the child’s stages of development, I adapt how I speak to the children; praise them and y teaching methods. There is a boy in my class with S. E. N (Special Educational Needs). The boy is seven years old, when I work with him I explain to him using clear, simple and short sentence’s using key words what I require him to do for the task in hand.
I use phonics, sound words out by blending them (s-a-t, sat) and use picture aids sometimes to assist him, under no circumstances do I make him feel that I have spoken to him in a way that is undermining him, I also praise him every few steps to keep him on track which spurs him on. When I am working with the groups of eight year olds, who are classed as being on he higher ability tables, I still speak with a responsible, professional voice, but my tone will change.
I speak very clearly, but more of an adult conversational voice, as I can tell them what I expect them to do, this is how we find the answer now over to you and let them get on with the task in hand, but I am still on hand if they need more clarification. It is important that when I am in school I come across approachable and responsible, to become a good role model in my school setting. How I act around the children on a day to day basis when teaching them, or how I react to certain situations, all count on e behaving appropriately as children and young people see us adults as role models, so it is imperative that I act accordingly.
Managing disagreements is on next printed out worksheet. AY My own behavior when interacting with the children in my setting to promote effective interaction is that, I use a correct tone of voice when talking to the children. I must be approachable and have a good attitude towards them at all times. I make sure I am patient when speaking to them and try to make sure I never Jump the gun and finish off their sentences for them, so I allow them to express themselves and not to feel undermined.
I always try to praise each child when they have achieved a task or had a good attempt at it. I make sure I use pauses when talking to allow them to come up with their own ideas of learning which allows them to interact with me and shows me they are listening and communicating effectively. My Behavior could have a negative impact on children when interacting with them if, I became unapproachable, if I was discriminative towards the children’s race, sex, culture etc.
If I had a bad attitude and was shouting at the children all the time, this would have a detrimental effect on the children’s learning, as they for one wouldn’t ask me for my alp or, they wouldn’t come to me if they had any learning problems or even personal problems that was worrying them from home. Task Two How communication with children differs across different age ranges and stages of development. Age Ranges O to 3 YEARS Stages of Development Between the ages of 0-3 months a baby will make a cooing sound. Between the ages of 0-6 months babies will make eye contact and will start to babble and imitate and repeat sounds.
Between the ages of 6-18 months a child will begin making their first words, they start to point at objects trying to word out the names of things and start espousing to picture books and animals they may come across. By time the child gets to 18 months they will be using around 15 words and can point out the object for that word. By time the child is around 2 years old they should have a vocabulary of around 200 words and start forming simple small sentences. By the time the child reaches the age of 3 years they are still increasing their vocabulary.
Communication to this age range can be of a soft tone and often in a high pitch voice from the adult for instance when we say “Oh have you”. We communicate to young people of this age ere differently and over exaggerate their telling us of something. 4 to 8 YEARS From the age of 4 years children start school and become more sociable around peers, they are beginning their Journeys of reading, writing and innumeracy. At this age the child is starting to find their likes and dislikes and can very vocal about this, they ask why allot and start questioning request to do things.
By time the child is 5-6 years they can start to understand rules set by adults, start to decode the use of familiar words, their using around 3000 words now and begin to use complex sentences and questioning. They are able to understand and tell simple Jokes, are enjoying stories and are now able to read, write and use innumeracy skills. Between 6-7 years children can hold verbal arguments and responding well to responsibilities given. By time the child is 8 years old they can start using different languages in many different ways to socialist, express their needs, to recount and to predict events.
We as adults communicate to this age range with allot less of the over surprised exaggerated voices and start speaking to them in a normal tone, however we still feel the need to higher the pitch when we show how pleased we are with them. At this age children will still communicate by drawing out their words, especially when they are telling you that someone else has done something wrong… “Away I’m telling” always seems to be the favorite of this age bracket. 9 to 12 YEARS Between this age range children are now starting to become fluent users of languages, they can even start to use it to their own advantages.
They begin to pester adults and start arguing back. They can start making their own Jokes up and are vastly learning to read and write stories. They are also starting to stabilize friendships, Enjoy chatting, Start taking turns, making up games, and are fully aware f consequences. When communicating with this age range as I do in school children can be very vocal in their body language of communication. They will huff or sulk quite allot if they find requests by myself or teachers, then can go to the other extreme and can be over affectionate wanting to hug you when you have helped will question to clarify or vocally ask for help. 3 to 16 YEARS Around this age children are now clear what they like and what they dislike, they are very clear to communicate this throughout their tone and body language. They will now be selecting their subject in high school, the ones they dislike doing becomes ere apparent and will try to shy away from making an effort. They will be learning more about the curriculum and will be using proper grammar and innumeracy skills. The children will be continuously developing their skills towards their exams for when they leave high school at the age of around 16 years to go onto college, sixth form or to seek employment.
Communication with a Teenager can be quite difficult; they want to be spoken to as an adult but are still sometimes very immature. Teenagers can also pick up on body language communication, so it is important especially when working with them in school environments to be aware of your body engage as well as your tone of voice, they will respond to you better if you communicate to them as if you are holding a chatting tone of voice, treating them as an individual.
Boys of this age their voices can start to break so will sometimes shy away from holding certain communications with you. The main differences between communicating with adults and communicating with children are, when I communicate with adults in my setting I communicate by speaking in a respectful and professional manor. I always make sure when and where possible I use eye to eye contact and can use numerous other ways of annotating or communication (non verbal) for instance, sending a text, email or letter.
I use language that will be understood between me and the adult I was communicating with, I always never try to assume or make assumptions about another adult. I maintain my professionalism by respecting the other adult’s ideas always clarify by confirming by repeating or repeating some words spoken and using k or yes. When I communicate with children or young people I speak to them by using clear concise words that are appropriate to the age, needs and abilities by also using words or phrases that they will be able to understand.
I make sure I communicate by giving children lots of praise and encouragement and, that I give support them while communicating by asking questions and taking breathes in conversations to encourage the children to talk back to me, enabling them to have a say as this supports the child’s conversational skills along with encouraging them to engage in conversational skills. I make sure that when communicating with a young person I actively listen by concentrating on what they are saying, using non verbal communication skills like, smiling, nodding and making eye contact.
I respond positively and I check understanding by asking the child questions. Barriers that exist of communication are: Hard of hearing, ELL – English second language, dialect of voice, having a loud and noisy setting for example background noises like traffic or telephones ringing, visual impairments having short or long distance and being seated in the wrong place for that individuals needs, Disruptive behavior can lead to others not being able to listen or that individual unable to fully concentrate.
Problems at home so that the child could be sleepy in class and so in turn unable to concentrate in class, speech faculties like having a lisp, having a strong accent/ mother tongue and also a lack of communication can be a barrier also especially when they are in a non verbal way, sending emails or text that can be misconstrued. In my setting we adapt our communication to meet a variety of communication needs, the ones I personally am responsible for is when I work with a child who is hard of hearing.
When we are in class as she is deaf in her left ear myself and the teacher make sure she is sat on the opposite side so her good is aiming more towards us. I always make sure that after the teacher has given out the instructions, I dress the whole table that she is on but purposely to clarify that she has also heard and understood the teacher’s instructions. I will go over and say “k this group did we all understand what Miss has said”. I do this so I am not directing any unwanted attention on her as she is quiet sensitive about her disability.
When I work with a small group of six that she is also in, I put the books on the desk first then I will ask the children to find their book and sit down where it is, Just so I know the child will be next to me but on her good side of hearing, specially more so as their is quite allot of building work being carried out on our school grounds so their is quite allot of back ground noise that is not usually a problem. I also work with a couple of ELL children ( English second language), so when I am teaching them sometimes on a one to one basis I have quite allot of picture aid cards to help assist me.
I also do allot of one to one reading sessions with the group and the level they are on is quite low at the moment but I have noticed the use of picture books and Reception/ Year one level they are making good progress. If a child was visually impaired I would make sure that I sat them in a prime position If there was a disagreement between myself and a child in my setting I would, remain calm and stay professional. I would advise the child that they were certain boundaries and rules in school to which they were currently breaking, also that having a confrontation with an adult is against the school rules.
I would ask the pupil or student calmly, to try and calm them selves down, that we would discuss the issue further with them in the Head’s or Deputy Heads office, also that I would meet them here I would do this so that I did not put myself in a position where, I would be alone with the child Just in case they said something like I hurt them or caused them harm. I would speak calmly but with an authority for them to follow my instructions, depending on the situation would depend on my tone of voice and body language, but avoiding getting into an argument with the child.
If the disagreement was with another adult, be it another member of staff or a parent I would, remind myself to stay calm and remain professional, listen to what they were saying, nod when required but make sure I put my hands behind my back and held y hands together, so I would look impartial to the other person and that they did not feel threatened by me waving my arms around while I was speaking to them. I would make sure that I took the disagreement away from the children, staff or other parents hearing as this can cause unwanted gossip around the school also.
Sometimes asking the adult to go to a more appropriate place to discuss a matter can usually give you a breather to gather your thought, and usually gives them a chance to calm down from the heat of the moment. Andrea Aldrich Task Three In my setting before the Christmas holidays, three girls who are usually really good rinds had a disagreement in the school play ground, this happened the day before I was in as I was in college.
The disagreement had lead to two of the girls to have a fight outside of school. Child As parents came in on the Friday and asked to speak to just exploded in to conversation, but was very upset and angry. I listened to what had gone on also and after she went, the teacher said my presents there had made her feel at ease and less threatened. The teacher spoken to girl B, who lashed out and started the fight against girl A, to get her side of the story before she went on and poke girl A, who was harmed.
The teacher explained rules do’s and don’t and that she was very disappointed etc, but because it was allot of she said this and that, the third child C who was also involved, the teacher asked me to look after girl B for a moment while she went to get girl C. As I was alone with girl B who was really upset, I placed myself at the open door so not to be alone with the girl in the room. She was inconsolably crying so I asked her to sit at the table nearest the door facing me.
I explained to her that instead of listening to idle gossip, especially when they were including her close friends, that girls say silly things to get a reaction or that if someone is feeling left out of the group, they can get Jealous and that is how sometimes fights and arguments start, that it was best not to take things to heart and it would be best to take a minute to gather her thoughts, then speak to whoever was involved later on to avoid a nasty unnecessary argument. I asked girl B to put herself in girls As position while we were waiting and think about how she would feel if it was the other way round.
I told girl B that sometimes thinking how the other person ill feel firstly helps to make the right choices for her, so that she wouldn’t be in this position she has got herself in currently. In my setting on Friday 31st January, the Teaching Assistant has been of sick, so I have been helping out running “nurture group” sessions. On this day I had eight children to take out of class to go into another room, to see if they were able to tell the time questions set out on a work sheet, using paper plate clocks I made with them last week.
In my lesson I asked the children as a group, to show me the time I asked them so they could show me on the paper clock plate as a group before they ere on the clock diagram on the work sheet. Andrea Aldrich Task Three Communication Assignment I asked to group to come to a group decision as well as using their individual plates, to look and see if they got the answer correct or that they thought someone else might have the correct answer.
The children agreed that some were right and noticed a couple had got this wrong, there were a few giggles however, I said that everyone has the right to their own opinion but they can help each other learn to get the right answer. I then asked my group to try again and one of them that got it rang on the first go was a bit reluctant to do it for them selves and was looking what the person next to them put, I advised the group that it was k to make mistakes but it was not k not to try.
I advised my group that we were working in a group and that we all need to respect each others answers whether they were right or wrong so they could all learn together. After addressing the class in this way the group were very supportive of each other and even though a few still got the times on the clock wrong one of the children said “everybody is different, it doesn’t matter if it’s wrong I’ll help you”.