Teaching assistants are essential members of the educational team. Their ability to support instruction, build positive relationships, reinforce appropriate behavior, and encourage student independence directly impacts student learning, engagement, and success. Effective teaching assistants collaborate with teachers and provide meaningful support that helps students develop confidence, independence, and academic skills.

This 10-hour CTLE course provides participants with practical, research-informed strategies to support classroom instruction, build positive student relationships, promote inclusive learning environments, manage challenging behaviors, communicate effectively with educational teams, maintain professionalism, and foster student independence. Participants will explore the responsibilities of the teaching assistant role while developing classroom-ready tools and practical strategies for immediate implementation in educational settings.

Throughout the course, participants will examine:

• The professional responsibilities of the teaching assistant

• Building positive and supportive student relationships

• Supporting classroom instruction and small-group learning

• Strategies for supporting diverse learners and inclusive classrooms

• Positive behavior supports and classroom engagement

• De-escalation strategies for responding to challenging behaviors

• Effective communication with teachers, staff, service providers, and families

• Professionalism, ethics, and confidentiality

• Encouraging student independence, accountability, and self-advocacy

• Developing practical classroom tools and implementation plans

Participants will reflect on their own educational practices while developing practical tools, communication strategies, and instructional supports that can be implemented immediately in their classrooms and schools. Assignments are designed to be manageable, practice-focused, and directly connected to the daily responsibilities of teaching assistants. Special attention is given to helping teaching assistants build confidence, strengthen collaboration with educational teams, support diverse learners, and foster positive learning environments that promote student success.