ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book presents a case for a complementary and distinct role for teaching assistants, one that has the potential to add real value to teachers and contribute to schools' overall drive to raise standards and achievement. It provides guidance specifically for Teaching Assistants on how to develop their practice on the ground, in classrooms, with pupils. The book's principal mechanism for this has been a framework for effective scaffolding, underpinned by a theoretical grounding, which builds on, and is consistent with, the school improvement process set out in the companion books. A starting point for the book is the recognition that, while many TAs have a pedagogical role, there is often inconsistency in their approaches to scaffolding. It also focuses on how one can develop pupils' independence through the way one talk with them.
