4 ways to upskill your technical teaching assistants

In my first year of taking over as head of department, one of our science technicians announced she wanted to go into teaching. She had been a science technician for a few years and was ready to “take the plunge”.

During my time as a classroom teacher without additional responsibility, we had had many discussions about what teaching was like. The responsibilities, workload and of course the rewards. So, this was not a surprise at all. In fact, I was super excited.

She was about to make the journey from technician to teacher. While we were losing a science technician, so to speak, we were (hopefully) gaining a great science teacher…both of which, anyone involved with the science department will know, are like gold dust.

So how could I support her? What would she need from me, the department, and herself, to ensure she was as prepared as she could be going into her training year?

1. Provide your technician with lots of opportunities to teach

As we know, science technicians have a wealth of knowledge and expertise within their field of study and often lots of experience, which should be utilised both in and out of the classroom.

Technicians often know things we don’t, and this can be passed on first-hand to our students. Our technician would often go into lessons and deliver part of the lesson, give practical demos, and sometimes lead on practical work.

2. Provide opportunities for relationship building with students

Both out of interest, and in preparation for the training year, our technician would commonly take part in rewarding students in science.

For example, science project poster presentation days would be judged by myself, department teachers and our technician. This was a great way to become more involved and gain a presence with the students.

She also took the unique opportunity to become a form tutor, which meant she developed pastoral relationships with students and parents alike. She was also a regular on science trips. She both supported and led on trips, so she was able to get to know many of our students outside of the classroom.

3. Lead on an area within the department, that is not just health and safety

Our technician decided to take over the key stage 3 science club. This was not at the request of our then HOD, or because no one else wanted to do it. Rather it was because she was proactive and wanted to deliver some provision of teaching that would be less daunting but extremely meaningful.

Alongside prepping for weekly enrichment, she would lead on it, too. Students enjoyed the activities as well as her presence and regarded her as both a teacher and technician. Again, this was another opportunity to build relationships with students.

4. Include them in the department’s teaching and learning CPD

Although much of the CPD offered to technicians is centred around health and safety, there is no need to exclude from pedagogical development.

For example, our whole department, technicians included, have taken part in developing (and updating) our curriculum intent. Equally, we have all taken part in CPD focused on how students engage and learn in science.

Additionally, during our line management meetings, we scheduled time to discuss the KS3 and KS4 science curriculum - new developments, teaching ideas (which she could implement) and areas where she could improve her subject knowledge ahead of her training year.