Today is National Teacher Day in the US! Where would we be without teachers and the lasting contribution they make in our lives?
To mark this special day, we want to highlight the team aspect of teaching.
There are many studies that suggest teachers think highly of collaborative teaching and consider it a valuable and effective use of their time.
As the teaching profession evolves, there are new roles created that focus on a single specialty or help manage a number of different activities.
All of such roles ultimately have an unified purpose of providing the maximum benefit to the student.
The goal is always to raise student success and ensure student well being.
Despite all the challenges commonly faced by teachers, they are committed to the teaching profession to help students.
It takes an enormous amount of effort and dedication to teach preschoolers, kindergarteners and students in the early elementary grades. That’s why Sprig Learning supports the teaching cause by designing holistic early learning programs for Pre-K to Grade 3.
For this year’s National Teacher Day, let’s take time to understand each teaching role to truly appreciate them!
The Most Essential Early Childhood Teacher Roles in Pre-K to Grade 3
The foundational years are absolutely critical to a child’s long-term educational success. Listed below are the customary and indispensable roles in early childhood education.
All early childhood teachers contribute tremendously to the assessing, teaching and evaluation of early learners.
Pre-K Teacher
Preschool or Pre-K teachers both instruct and care for children typically aged two to four years old. They have to prepare their young students for kindergarten.
At this stage, it’s crucial that all early development milestones are reached.
Kindergarten Teacher
Kindergarten is considered to be the start of formal education. It is the starting grade level for the majority of elementary schools in North America.
Kindergarten teachers have to plan and implement lessons for children generally aged five years old. They have to supervise their students, keep them motivated, and guide their development as they develop the foundational early learning skills.
For many school systems, assessments also start at this level. There are best practices to design assessments for early childhood education.
Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 Teachers
Early primary teachers (namely in Grades 1, 2 and 3) help children transition into the elementary grades. They ensure learning progress in all the core subjects: language, math, science and social studies.
Teacher Aide/ Teacher Assistant
The teacher aide assists preschool teachers in their work. They perform a variety of tasks such as preparing classroom materials and completing administrative tasks. There are teacher aides in preschool, kindergarten and the early elementary grades.
Remediation Teacher/Intervention Specialist
Remediation teachers help children who are struggling with early reading and/or math. They work alongside the student’s regular teacher, and work one-on-one with those students who require the most help.
Reading Specialist/Literacy Specialist/ Elementary Math Specialist
Reading specialists teach kids that are struggling with reading and/or writing. They work with students in small groups, and like homeroom teachers, they also plan, teach and evaluate instruction.
Reading specialists have advanced training and experience in teaching reading. They assess literacy performance of readers in general, and struggling readers in particular.
Literacy Coach/Literary Coordinator
Literacy coaches work with educators and students to improve literacy scores. They help to develop lesson plans, conduct lesson demonstrations and evaluations, and analyze student literacy achievement data. The coach can also observe the teachers as they present lessons and make suggestions for improvement.
Sometimes the role can also include leading professional development and collaborating with all teachers to improve literacy for an entire grade or the whole school.
Director of Elementary Education
The Director of Elementary Education formulates and implements a vision for the district’s instructional programs from Pre-K to Grade 6.
Don’t Forget The Home
Parents/Caregivers
Learning happens both in the school and at home. Parental involvement is critical for student success. Parents and other caregivers are able to support the learning journey of the child as they go to school everyday and come back home.
The Need For Collaboration in Early Childhood Education
At a school level, the administrators always want to understand the role of each educator in creating a successful learning program. It’s important for them to understand the relationship between the members of the team.
In kindergarten classrooms that have an educator team consisting of more than one role, it’s seen that the team members have complementary skills that allow them to address individual student’s needs and ensure meaningful learning opportunities.
In its full-day kindergarten programs, Ontario pairs teachers with early childhood educators, who are trained in child development, observation and play-based learning.
There has been a lot of research done on the positive influence of teacher collaboration on student achievement. While teacher quality alone is a big factor in determining student performance, working collaboratively enhances teacher effectiveness and expertise.
In light of all the emerging evidence that advocates for teacher collaboration, there is a rise in early childhood educator teams where collaborative planning is a part of the agenda.
By respecting the unique skill sets each teacher brings to the table, it’s possible to optimize high-quality early learning for every child.
All for One. One for All.
Early Learning Dream Team
Sprig Learning is a purpose-built company that provides early learners, educators and parents with access to the tools needed to build a foundation for lifelong learning.
We produce early learning programs that are culturally relevant, teacher developed, and curriculum aligned.
Any teacher can quickly be set up with an account on Sprig Language or Sprig Math. They can begin managing their class in no time at all.
They can access holistic assessments, personalized activities targeting learning areas, and surveys from others to get a better perspective of the student.
When every teacher onboards on the platform, the teaching experience transforms into something even more magical!
The homeroom teacher, or main classroom teacher in preschool, kindergarten and the early primary grades, can keep track of all students from one platform. They can assign activities that work on all the different learning outcomes outlined in the curriculum.
The reading specialist or elementary mathematics specialist can closely monitor performance in the different learning domains in language and math. They can group students accordingly to deliver differentiated instruction.
Those students who need even more support can be looked at by the remediation or intervention specialist. They can formulate a one-on-one learning strategy, and take help from classroom resources available in the program, or look at survey results from caregivers for more insight into the early learner’s educational environment.
The director of elementary education, or any assessment director at the elementary level, can compare classroom performances to see what is working and identify teacher collaborative planning strategies.
Team work really does make the dream work, especially in early learning! To learn more about how Sprig Learning can facilitate team work to raise student achievement, simply reach out!
Again, let’s take this time to celebrate all the different teachers working every day for our early learners.
To show our gratitude, we have slashed prices at the Sprig Store by 20% for all products. Simply use the promo code Sprigforteachers at the checkout cart.