Unit of competency details

Descriptor 

This unit is focuses on the role of the education support worker in providing assistance to students who need additional support with their reading

Application 

This unit applies to education support work in a variety of contexts and work is to be undertaken with appropriate guidance, support and supervision by a nominated teacher or other education professional

Employability Skills 

This unit contains Employability Skills

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1. Identify what readers do when they read

1.1 Identify general skills and knowledge required by readers to make meaning of texts 

1.2 Identify various genres  that may be read

1.3 Identify reading process  according to teacher-specified guidelines and the level of student abilities

1.4 Identify the purposes for which readers read 

2. Select appropriate texts for student readers

2.1 Select texts  for specific purposes according to criteria developed by teachers

2.2 Select texts under teacher direction according to students' ability

3. Implement a reading support program

3.1 Implement a reading program as directed by the teacher

3.2 Use running records  or other agreed systems to record students' reading as directed by the teacher

3.3 Maintain student confidentiality at all times

4. Support student reading program

4.1 Develop reading support strategies  to meet individual student needs in consultation with teachers

4.2 Implement support procedures  for readers in accordance with reading program and teacher guidelines

4.3 Support students' reading ability according to program guidelines and report progress regularly to teachers

4.4 Use support procedures to encourage the development of self reliance in students

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge :

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include knowledge of:

• Policy, procedure and legislative issues affecting performance as education support workers
• Understanding of the support required by developing readers and a range of strategies that can be used to encourage independent reading
• Roles and responsibilities to education support workers and teachers in providing reading support to students
• A range of effective communication strategies for use with students and teachers

Essential skills :

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Be empathic and culturally sensitive when responding to students
• Use literacy of a level that supports the identification and collation of reading materials as directed by teaches
• Complete a sequence of tasks with direction and support from the teacher
• Interpret information from written and/or verbal directions
• Undertake simple research to identify appropriate texts and record information as appropriate
• Problem solve with respect to choosing an appropriate response, identifying problems, selecting an effective solution
• Communicate with active listening skills, give clear directions and/or instructions, frame questions to elicit thoughtful responses, express an opinion, suggest improvements to strategy/methods for assisting/supporting students and teachers
• Manage time to provide support to learners as guided by teachers
• Work in a team (e.g. consultation with the teaching team and other education support workers on workplace procedures and new approaches to accommodate individual student requirements)

In addition, the candidate must be able to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include the ability to:

• Identify what readers do when they read
• Select texts appropriate to teacher and student needs
• Implement a reading support program as directed by the teacher
• Maintain and complete required records accurately

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency :

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
• This unit could be assessed either on the job or off the job through an appropriate workplace simulation for a range of age groups and a range of conditions over a number of assessment situations

Access and equity considerations :

• All workers in community services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In recognition of particular issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities

Context of and specific resources for assessment :

• This unit can be assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other community services units of competency is encouraged
• Assessment requires access to a range of opportunities defined in the Range Statement, including:

• appropriate workplace where assessment can take place
• simulation of realistic workplace environment for assessment
• relevant school/centre policy, protocols and procedures
• educational materials

Method of assessment :

• In cases where the learner does not have the opportunity to cover all relevant aspects in the work environment, the remainder should be assessed through realistic simulations, projects, previous relevant experience or oral questioning on 'What if?' scenarios
• Assessment of this unit of competence will usually include observation of processes and procedures, oral and/or written questioning on Essential knowledge and skills and consideration of required attitudes
• Where performance is not directly observed and/or is required to be demonstrated over a 'period of time' and/or in a 'number of locations', any evidence should be authenticated by colleagues, supervisors, clients or other appropriate persons

RANGE STATEMENT 

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

General skills and knowledge required by readers to make meaning of texts may include :

• Ability to comprehend and use the language systems of the texts
• Ability to access the text (visually, physically, Braille etc.)
• Knowledge that specific texts types have their own generic structure
• Understanding that all texts convey information
• Understanding that texts are created and read for specific personal, social, scientific, cultural and aesthetic purposes
• Ability to understand the purposes of reading:

• to enjoy
• to appreciate
• to critically evaluate
• to reflect on texts to develop greater understanding
• for research
• to gain information
• to compare ideas and/or theories
• to obtain instructions/directions

Genres of texts may include :

• Literary texts - characterised by the aesthetic use of language and the imagination to explore understandings about human experience though real and imagined (including virtual) worlds

Examples of literary texts include:

• narrative picture books
• novels/e-books/sort stories
• poems (ballads, lyrics, sonnets)
• plays/drama
• song lyrics
• biographies/autobiographies
• feature films

• Everyday texts - those associated with education, leisure, work, family, and daily life:

• factual texts/reference books/dictionaries
• DVDs (feature films)
• web-linked computer games
• personal email/on-line discussions/SMS messages
• letters/reports
• catalogues/advertising

• Mass-media texts - those produced in a variety of paper and electronic media for a mass audience:

• television programs
• newspaper stories
• magazine features
• radio talkback
• television news
• feature films
• web pages

Reading process may include :

• Using cues - we get cues from:

• Within ourselves:

• our language abilities
• our knowledge and attitudes
• within the text
• knowing what makes sense (meaning - semantics)
• knowing the way things are said (grammar - syntax)

• Within the words:

• knowing the word by sight
• working out how to day the word
• phonics -sounding it out
• structural analysis - breaking it up into parts

• Non-visual information:

• knowledge of words - e.g. meanings and correct usage
• knowledge of language - e.g. sentence structure, grammar

• Visual information:

• print/starting point/direction of reading
• illustrations/diagrams/tables/photographs

• Predicting - meaning; selecting cues
• Checking - sampling text
• Confirming - if the reading makes sense
• Correcting - if the reading does not make sense by:

• rethinking
• rereading
• integrating - (fitting the new knowledge with prior knowledge to confirm understanding)

Purposes for which readers read may include :

• To access information
• To enjoy a specific use of words (poetry, description)
• To appreciate new perspective
• To confirm understanding
• To obtain instructions/directions
• To enjoy
• To fire the imagination
• To be able to discuss the texts with others
• For social purposes e.g. signs, invitations, advertisements

Running records refer to :

• Running records are a means by which a record of a student's reading may be captured through the use of a specific set of symbols that can be quickly noted by the listener
• The use of running records by education support workers may not be desired by all teachers
• Education support workers would need to learn the system of symbols, practice until their use is automatic and determine with the teacher/s how this record-keeping tool should be used
• Teachers undertake evaluation of students' reading of the texts and may use a running record made by an education support worker to inform the evaluation

Support strategies for use by those listening to reading should be used in the following order and may include :

1. Encouraging self-correction

2. Use of context clues

3. Reading on

4. Re-reading

5. Sounding out

Procedures for supporting beginning and developing readers  (determined by ability , not age ) may include :

• Introduce the text:

• student chooses from a range of teacher-selected texts, made available for reading and re-reading with support and independently

• The first reading:

• education support worker reads the text
• education support worker and student share responses to the text

• The second reading:

• education support worker and student read together
• student may 'take off' on his/her own

• Supported reading:

• student attempts to read independently
• education support worker becomes a listener
• education support worker waits and observes
• education support worker gives clues and supports the student's use of strategies such as re-reading, self-correction, reading on, using phonetic elements

Procedures for supporting developing readers may include :

Stage 1 

• Introduction:

• student chooses from a range of teacher-selected texts, made available for reading and re-reading with support and independently
• discussion of subject matter, author, type of text

• Setting the scene:

• education support worker and student read together
• discussion of vocabulary, characters, setting and relevant facts to confirm understanding

• Shared reading:

• education support worker and student read together
• education support worker and student read alternate pages or alternate paragraphs

• Independent reading:

• supported reading (using support strategies detailed above)
• frequent discussion of text

Stage 2 

• Silent reading:

• education support worker and student read section of text silently
• education support worker and student discuss their understanding of the passage

Suitable texts for beginning readers may include the following attributes :

• Both fiction and factual texts
• Topics within the experience and culture of the student
• Uncluttered page layout with consistent placement of text -helps focus on print
• Diagrams/illustrations support the text - aids prediction
• Familiar signs and/or advertisements
• Rhythmical language and repetitive structure
• Short time-line required to finish

Texts for beginning /developing readers may include the following attributes :

• More complex vocabulary and sentence pattern
• Topics cover wider field - sometimes outside the student's experience

• real life and imaginative books, articles and digital texts, traditional tales from other cultures and non fiction
• longer timeline
• direct speech
• illustrations support text but don't carry story and diagrams/photographs support factual text
• text encourages the learner too use all cue systems - graphophonic (letter/sound relationships), semantic (meaning) and syntactic (sentence structure)

• Increased sentence length; more text per page; paragraphs

Factual texts and picture books for older beginning readers may include the following attributes :

• Strong relationship between text and illustrations/diagrams/graphics
• Amount of text on each page suitable for reader
• Topics of interest relate to students chronological age
• Amount of text in whole book allowing frequent re-reading supporting the practice required to build confidence, knowledge of core words and feeling of success
• Vocabulary familiar through own use or discussion, thus aiding prediction