Learn Practical Skills At Home

Your comprehensive lessons are clear and well-organized; easy to follow, yet challenging and engaging at the same time. Each lesson begins with an introductory note from your instructor, plus a preview outlining the subject matter and study objectives.

Next comes the reading assignment from your textbook, lesson book or supplemental references. Practice exercises help you check and review the key concepts you've learned. Then, turn in your open-book exam (available online) for the lesson, whenever YOU are ready.

Enroll online or call 1-800-535-1613 to speak with an Admission Advisor!

Meet Your Instructor

Kathryn Jane Skelton, chief instructor and course author of The Professional Teacher Assistant Program, is a qualified expert in the dynamic field of teacher assisting. She welcomes the opportunity to share her love of education and her affinity for children in this fascinating training program. She wrote the textbook you'll be using, and looks forward to guiding you through your training toward a worthwhile and satisfying career field.

What You’ll Learn Lesson By Lesson in this Course

Lesson 1, A Day In The Life Of A Teacher Assistant

What it's like to be a professional teacher assistant; challenges and joys; teacher assistant duties and ethical responsibilities; professional conduct; helpful personal traits; pay.

Lesson 2, Learning About Child Development

Mental, emotional, physical, moral, and language development; patterns of normal growth and development; how children interact; appropriate behavior patterns.

Lesson 3, Preparing For New Challenges

Fostering a cooperative working relationship with teachers; organizing and decorating the classroom; safety precautions; communicating with children of all ages.

Lesson 4, Infants, Toddlers & Preschoolers

Promoting health, safety, and security for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers; toilet training; working and playing with young children; developmentally appropriate activities; the preschool curriculum.

Lesson 5, Learning Activities

Identifying child interests; activity resources; factors to consider in activity planning; writing plans; subject-specific projects.

Lesson 6, Games & Learning Centers

Reasons for games; preparing games; controlling the noise level; making it fun, game materials; developing children's creative learning skills games that teach language arts, math, social studies, sciences, and more; commercial games; ideas for developing creative learning centers; activity games; game control; enjoying yourself in the process.

Lesson 7, Children With Special Needs, Part 1

Laws that help meet the needs of special children; identifying children with special needs; categories of special needs, including mental retardation, learning disabilities, behavior disorders; attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders; children of drug abusers; commonly used tests.

Lesson 8, Children With Special Needs, Part 2

Individual education programs for children with special needs; procedures for working effectively with special-needs children; communicating with the parents; non-English proficient children; future trends for teacher assistants.

Lesson 9, Promoting Good Behavior, Part 1

Knowing your students; how to motivate compliant behavior; anticipating and preventing improper behavior; consequences of unacceptable behavior.

Lesson 10, Promoting Good Behavior Part 2

Controlling disruptive behavior; handling confrontations; strategies for maintaining order; positive reinforcement; making the right decisions on discipline.

Lesson 11, Classroom Organization

The physical room; filing and record keeping; how to manage your time effectively; room arrangement; communications and chain of command; automated equipment.

Lesson 12, Learning The Ways of Your Workplace

Resources for teacher assistants; the employee handbook; common school rules and policies; personal record keeping; asking for a review; standards of conduct; you in your new career; forms you can use.