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University of Reading

Supporting Successful Learning in Primary School

University of Reading via FutureLearn

Overview

Improve the support you provide for children’s learning in primary school

Giving children in primary school the right support is vital.

On this course you’ll hear from education experts, school staff and school children who provide insight into how children learn, the learning environment, and communicating in school.

You’ll explore some of the theories underlying people’s behaviour that could impact learning in school, and you’ll reflect on your own experiences in the classroom to help build on your confidence and working practices.

By the end of the course you’ll be better equipped to improve the support you provide in the education of children.

This course has been ranked as one of the best online courses of all time by online course aggregator class central.

This course is for teaching assistants and support staff in early years and primary school. It will also be of interest to teachers returning to work, newly qualified teachers, as well as providing a refresher for current teachers. Parents of children in schools may also find this course useful in helping them to support and encourage their children’s learning.

This course focusses on teaching and learning in primary schools. If you work in a secondary school, you may like to join: Supporting Successful Learning in Secondary Schools.

Syllabus

  • You and others
    • Welcome to Week 1
    • Your point of view
    • Bias in the classroom
    • Types of teachers
    • Review and reflect
  • How people learn
    • Welcome to Week 2
    • Doing things differently
    • More way than one way
    • Expectations and fulfilling them
    • Review and reflect
  • The environment for learning
    • Welcome to Week 3
    • Teaching in reality
    • Haydn scale
    • Behaviour in the classroom
    • Review and reflect
  • Communication and language
    • Welcome to Week 4
    • Communication
    • Listening
    • The right questions
    • Review and reflect

Taught by

Helen Bilton

Reviews

4.8 rating, based on 76 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Supporting Successful Learning in Primary School

  • Anonymous
    A first class course informative, challenging and inspiring. I really feel this course has inspired me to face challenges head on, knowledge is key to success and now I feel ready to go. I have been a ta for many years and perhaps in some aspects I…
  • Anonymous
    I really enjoyed learning about this course. I found it very informative with helpful tips and easy to understand. For example good tips on how to be a good listener, what types of questions to ask to encourage children to learn, and how to make th…
  • Anonymous
    As a practitioner in a school setting , the scope for enhancing the teacher /pupil relationship is advancing with forward thinking. This is very different to old style teaching ideals and methods of the past . These were so restrictive and quite dam…
  • Profile image for Mel Nieuwenhuys
    Mel Nieuwenhuys
    The course was well structured and started by encouraging me to think about what I believe education is, then lead me on a journey during which I discovered my own unconscious-bias and elements of rigid thinking. I loved the vital experiential exer…
  • Anonymous
    The course was well structured and started by encouraging me to think about what I believe education is and then lead me on a journey during which I discovered my own unconscious-bias and elements of rigid thinking. I loved the vital experiential e…
  • Profile image for Sourav Prashar
    Sourav Prashar
    I recently completed the 'Supporting Successful Learning in Primary School' course and found it to be incredibly insightful and informative. As someone who works with young children on a daily basis, I appreciated the practical strategies and techniques for supporting children's learning that were presented throughout the course. The instructors were knowledgeable and engaging, and the content was well-organized and easy to follow. I particularly appreciated the emphasis on building positive relationships with students and fostering a growth mindset in the classroom. Overall, I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of how to effectively support and inspire young learners
  • Anonymous
    I have learnt so much and very glad I was recommended to do the course. Once I started I was hooked. My job (working with children.) is very passionate to me. This course has allowed me to broaden my already experience with the line of work I d…
  • Anonymous
    This was a new experience for me as I have not completed an online course like this before.

    I liked the format and found it very easy to navigate, and really enjoyed reading others responses.
    If I did a similar course I think I would respond more to the discussion option rather than just liking comments.

    I did miss interaction with peers, but I think if we had not been in lock down then it would have been easy to talk about the course at work.

    I found the subjects relevant and interesting .

    I have also purchased "People Don't Grow by Being Measured" by Brenda Crowe for further reading.
  • Aikaterini Pelentridou
    I enjoyed every step of the course. It was really helpful that was included every type of information as videos from other teachers, articles, small practical tasks and the comments of different people and all together put a different piece on the teaching jigsaw. Look forward for the next one. Thank you
  • Anonymous
    It’s a nice course gives you an insight into many things one is unaware of. And can apply many things practically in our day to day routine. Either at home or in school knowingly or unknowingly.
  • Anonymous
    I found this course to be very informative and I’m hoping to put the content into practice. I am a TA and I’m brushing up on my skills.
  • Anonymous
    As a free online resource (though if you wish for a certificate or unlimited access, you will have to pay) this course has really impressed me and went above what I thought it might initially offer. It has helped me learn about supporting children i…
  • Anonymous
    I can't recommend this course enough. I've never done a course like this before and wasn't expecting a great deal, as it was free, but it was fantastic. There was a great mix of really interesting teaching materials, including videos and articles to…
  • Anonymous
    not only TA should go thru this course but also the teachers.
    They may forget something as years passing by
  • Anonymous
    It was a very good course, well set and really well structured. Moving from insight about our thoughts and biases to our attitudes towards others. Activities were well balanced varying from articles to read, videos and use of tools on line such as h…
  • Anonymous
    This is has been a very interesting and useful course for me and I enjoyed completing it. I have learnt so many new things about so many different aspects of children’s learning and also how to become a competent Teaching Assistant. From the beginni…
  • Anonymous
    Absolutely fantastic in every way - so brilliant that this is a free course, as I really think it’s as excellent as any learning you would pay for. From the flexibility to learn at your own pace, to the helpful comments, resources, ideas and exercises from the course tutor and others, I cannot praise enough the people behind and involved in creating this course. I loved the sections on outdoor learning; on children’s vocabulary, reading and writing; and on effective communication, listening and questioning when working with children. I would highly recommend this course to everyone working with children, teachers, families and in all childcare, development, education and play settings.
  • Anonymous
    I have been working as a TA in the UK, both in mainstream and special schools, for over a year and I could not be happier with this course. Even though I wish I had found it earlier, I cannot strength enough how grateful I feel for how insightful it has been.
    The contents, the structure, and the resources that this course provides have enabled me not only to reflect on my own experiences in the classroom but also to have a greater understanding of every detail that needs to be taken into account when asking ourselves how to best support learning.
    I extremely recommend this course to anyone who is either working as a TA or thinking about going into teaching.
  • Anonymous
    I found the pace of the course good, and the structure was well planned.
    An excellent introduction to the central ideas around supporting teaching.
    The support and encouragement offered by teaching staff and fellow students helped me to feel connected and that I was achieving something that is needed in the community.
    I would recommend the University of Reading's Supporting Successful Learning as a stimulating course with helpful links to extra learning material that you could use to expand your knowledge after the course is complete.
    Thank you for offering such high quality courses FutureLearn.
  • Anonymous
    This course is a must for teachers and TAs. There are many activities such as videos, interviews, quizzes, articles and experiments that keep you motivated throughout the course. You can work on the course whenever you want and can progress at your own rhythm. I enjoyed reading the comments from the other people doing the course so there is a lot of sharing and you don’t feel alone. The information is up to date and there is a lot of information that can be printed. Thanks and look forward to doing the phonics online course next.

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