Teaching Assistant

Social Learning Skills for TAs: Showing, Not Telling

Have you ever noticed how quickly pupils copy the behaviours, attitudes and learning habits of the adults and peers around them? This course explores how teaching assistants can use social learning skills to positively shape pupil learning through clear modelling, structured support, peer influence and gradual release strategies. You will explore how to show pupils what success looks like, reinforce productive learning behaviours, build confidence and independence and create classroom environments where pupils learn through observation, participation and positive relationships. Grounded in research and practical classroom application, this course provides realistic strategies that can be implemented immediately within everyday TA practice.

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Yiotina Achilleos-Dania,
Saleena Sandhu
&
Carly Watkins

2 hours

Online Course

By completing this course, you will:

understand how pupils learn through observation, including the influence of adults and peers on behaviour, attitudes and learning habits;
use clear, purposeful modelling to demonstrate success, making thinking processes, expectations and outcomes explicit to pupils;
apply structured teaching sequences (e.g. ‘I do → we do → you do’) to scaffold learning and gradually build pupil independence;
leverage positive peer modelling within collaborative learning, reinforcing productive behaviours and addressing unhelpful imitation;
use targeted praise and feedback to shape learning behaviours, emphasising effort, strategy and improvement while guiding pupils towards positive choices.

Course Lessons

Written by: Yiotina Achilleos-Dania

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Yiotina has spent over a decade immersed in the world of primary education. Most of her teaching career, she juggled the roles of Science and Maths subject leader, while working across key stage 1 and 2 (mainly based in years 2 and 6). Armed with degrees in Marketing Communications, Business Analysis and Primary Education (plus a National Qualification of Middle Leadership), she’s been at the forefront of introducing new initiatives, reshaping curricula and championing practical, hands-on learning to ensure every pupil thrives.

From training staff to supporting long-term skill progression, Yiotina has always been passionate about helping both pupils and teachers grow. Now, as a Twinkl CPD content writer and editor, she’s swapped the classroom for the creative space of professional development, using her expertise to craft engaging, impactful resources that continue to support educators and learners.

Presented by: Saleena Sandhu

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Saleena is a Video Content Creator on the CPD team at Twinkl. She has over 10 years of experience as a primary school teacher, having taught across the full primary range from EYFS to year 6. Saleena has also supported and mentored trainee and early career teachers.

In collaboration with: Carly Watkins

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Carly Watkins has over twenty years of experience as a primary school teacher, including several years as an Assistant Headteacher, with responsibility for whole-school curriculum development and overseeing pupil progress and attainment. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Education Practice and a NPQ in Leading Teacher Development.

Carly has been a mentor for both student and Early Career Teachers and currently facilitates the Early Career Framework for ECTs and their mentors, delivering training at conferences and via online seminars. At Twinkl PD, Carly heads up pedagogical professional development, a role which means she can support educators to develop their personal practice and pedagogy, something she is passionate about, on a national scale.