Education Assistant Professional Learning Day

About Education Assistant Professional Learning Day

This Education Assistant Professional Learning Day offers a diverse range of presenters and sessions to support mainstream and special needs education assistants. 

With a focus on wellbeing and best practice, education assistants will receive valuable resources and information to assist themselves and students.

SCHEDULE:
8.20am – 8.40am: Registration and Official Welcome
8.45am – 10.15am: Session 1 - (1 ½ hours)
10.15am – 10.35am: Morning Tea
10.35am – 12.35pm: Session 2 – (2 hours)
12.35pm – 1.05pm: Lunch
1.05pm – 2.05pm: Session 3 (1 hour)
2.10pm to 3.10pm: Session 4 (1 hour)
3.10pm – 3.20pm: Farewell and Feedback

SESSION DETAILS:

Session 1: 8:45am - 10:15am

FULLY BOOKED OUT. Rich Play Creates Rich Learning - Leanne Sharp and Sue Charlick, Little Ones Early Learning
This session will be practical and full of real-life situations that will excite Education Assistants to offer rich learning experiences to their students in an Early Childhood setting, how to extend play in the classroom but also challenge students in a play format at the same time.  Tips on setting up and simple quick ideas will also be demonstrated.
Learning intentions will be clear and suggestions offered on how to meet the needs of the students. We will also be touching on how to incorporate Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes to maximise learning.  Practical applications of setting up and creating sessions that will encourage rich learning in a fun way.  How to make the best use of time with the students and have rich intentional play happening will be outlined.

Building Strong Teacher Relationships – Sally Dowinton – Heal, Lead and Teach
“Building strong teacher relationships” sounds easy, but sometimes it is complex. EAs have an often unrecognised super power: they pick up on the emotions and energies in the room.  Together we will explore the importance of understanding how people feel and acknowledge there are different beliefs that affect our interactions with others.  Once we know what people are seeking, we can understand their behaviours and this can positively influence our relationships. 
In this session, I will share a visualisation technique to provide a different perspective on how to make a colleague feel valued and (therefore) build a strong relationship in the workplace.  Participants will be provided with an understanding that our beliefs give us our identity. By understanding what people seek and the strategies they use to reaffirm their beliefs, changes can be made to the way we interact with those around us. I will invite participants to consider a person’s needs for 30 days to provide a different perspective to building strong teacher relationships.

Strategies for Working with Students with Dyslexia – Kylie Bice – Growing Up Greatness
Students with Dyslexia are capable of academic success but are often frustrated in the classroom and need support. This workshop will provide an overview of Dyslexia and how it impacts upon students, as well as offering strategies for Education Assistant to support their learning in the classroom.  Participants will gain an increased understanding of the characteristics of Dyslexia and the support students with Dyslexia need in classrooms.

United Workers Union Session – Naomie Treloar
Education Assistants will have an opportunity to learn about the history of unions, what the United Workers Union can offer, understand conditions of employment and benefits of union membership.  There will be an opportunity for a Q and A session.

Session 2: 10:35am - 12:35pm

Application Writing and Interview Skills – Jackie Watt, Jackie Watt Consultancy
In this sessions participants will learn how to create a professional resume and the information to include and develop their selection criteria based on SAO (situation, action, outcome) and how to tailor your cover letter to the role and school.  This session will assist you in developing your skills and understanding of what is involved during the interview process.  As a group we will also review interview questions, develop an understanding on how you can respond to these and discuss ways in which you can promote yourself into the role and within the context of the school.

Restorative Practices – Gabrielle Lawlor
This session will give an overview of what restorative practice is, and how it can be used in schools to assist staff in working in a relational way with others. When things go wrong, relationships are damaged. How can we have a different conversation with our students and colleagues to help navigate through the conflict.  Participants will learn how to use the principles of restorative practice to strengthen their relationships with students and colleagues.

Strategies for Managing Difficult or Aggressive Student Behaviour – Kylie Bice, Growing up Greatness
Their chaos, my calm.......this workshop will explore how Education Assistants can maintain wellbeing when student behaviour is a challenge, as well as how to implement effective strategies to manage difficult student behaviours. This workshop will explore the causes of disruptive or negative behaviour, how to recognise and predict difficult behaviours, and how to manage our responses so we can teach appropriate behaviours and support students to regulate their emotions and feel safe.  Participants will develop an increased understanding of the causes of difficult student behaviour, strategies to manage student behaviour and our own responses and wellbeing.

Developing responsive practices for working with Aboriginal students – Mikayla King & Preston Culbong, Aboriginal Education Solutions
Education Assistants will be guided through a safe self-reflection on their views of an Aboriginal learner and be supported to understand their role when facilitating small group curriculum learning experiences and participating in engagements with Aboriginal learners.  This session will support Education Assistants in shifting their mindsets about their views of an Aboriginal learner. Education Assistants will be provided with practical ways to support and engage Aboriginal students.

Session 3: 1:05pm - 2:05pm

FULLY BOOKED OUT. Happy and Connected – Ensuring the Wellbeing of Students with ADHD – Chantalle Chapman, ADHD WA
Emotional dysregulation can be the most impairing aspect of ADHD at any age. As children with attentional and behavioural problems struggle with low frustration tolerance, impatience and excitability, their self-esteem can suffer.  ADHD students can be excluded by their peers which can worsen their symptoms and be a predictor of later problems in life. This workshop will provide educators with the latest research and strategies to help these vulnerable children to manage their behaviour, increase self-esteem and build social connections - making school a safe and nurturing space for them.  Attendees will learn how to build a positive relationship with ADHD students to enhance their self-esteem.  Participants will learn how to develop social interactions between ADHD students and their non-ADHD peers.  Behaviour management strategies that maintain students’ confidence will be discussed, as well as techniques to assist ADHD students to regulate their behaviour. 

Strategies for Working with Students with Dyslexia – Kylie Bice – Growing Up Greatness
Students with Dyslexia are capable of academic success but are often frustrated in the classroom and need support. This workshop will provide an overview of Dyslexia and how it impacts upon students, as well as offering strategies for Education Assistant to support their learning in the classroom. Participants will gain an increased understanding of the characteristics of Dyslexia and the support students with Dyslexia need in classrooms.<

FULLY BOOKED OUT. Challenging Behaviours – Supporting Students with Special Needs - Jenny Cole – Beam Consulting
Please note: This session finishes at 3.10pm. Attendees who choose this session do not need to choose a session for Session 4. 
The key to managing challenging behaviour is to understand the function or purpose of the behaviour for the child and then choose the right strategy. Let us help you make that enormous task slightly easier!  In this workshop, assistants will be asked the following questions.
- When and where does the behaviour occur?
- What happens before and after the behaviour?
- What is the child communicating with their behaviour?
Now…… what strategies do we already have that might address the challenge? Making sure the right strategy is matched with the right function.  ** This workshop is for students with extreme, challenging behaviours. It is not intended to address low level or whole class behaviour strategies.  Participants will gain a greater understanding of what behaviour actually is, that all behaviour has a function and meets a need for the student and the reason why many of your best strategies fail for some kids.

Understanding and Managing Boys – Dr Ian Lillico
Please note: This session finishes at 3.10pm. Attendees who choose this session do not need to choose a session for Session 4. 
This session will look at current strategies that are successful in engaging and motivating boys. Ian will discuss strategies from within Australia and overseas that have shown to be successful in engaging boys in the presence of girls. He will expand on some of his Churchill Fellowship recommendations and give participants some insights into research on boys over the last 20 years.  Ian will also explore reasons for boys’ underachievement and misbehaviour and will concentrate on strategies to assist with functional literacy. He will also discuss boys’ behaviour in class and in the yard and provide a host of contemporary strategies to curb some inappropriate behaviours.
Ian will then explore further strategies that engage boys in class as well as investigating classroom and yard functionality, grouping, the use of visuals and other variables that impact on the learning of young males.  Participants will take away a better understanding of boys, their learning needs and behaviour. They will have some practical strategies to deal with boys better at home and in school. They will also understand the reasons why boys underachieve and get a better grasp of successful methods for managing their behaviour.

Session 4: 2:10pm - 3:10pm

Easy Reset to Maintaining Your Emotional Wellbeing – Fiona Heart, Elevate6
The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate how to measure your own wellbeing and how to add quick and easy tools into your life that can raise your vibration and ensure your emotional wellbeing is being taken care of.
The workshop will give participants an opportunity to create their own methods and tools to assist them in bringing a fresh energy to their roles.  Participants will have an understanding of how to self-check their emotional wellbeing and how to easily identify where they need to focus their attention for improvement.  Participants will have a takeaway action to create a wellness opportunity in their daily/weekly routine.

Interview Skills – Jackie Watt
This session will assist you in developing your skills and understanding of what is involved during the interview process.  As a group we will review interview questions, develop an understanding on how you can respond to these and discuss ways in which you can promote yourself into the role and within the context of the school. 

For more information please contact Jackie on 0429 166 897 or jackie.watt@bigpond.com