Tasks for Classroom Volunteers or Student Assistants

September 1st, 2010 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

As a high school teacher, I didn’t have the parents lining up at my door to volunteer like my colleagues in the elementary school did. I had one parent volunteer and a few student aides, though. Sometimes having a student assistant is more trouble than it’s worth because you spend half of your planning period either tracking them down or instructing them on what to do.

I’ve learned that with student assistants or parent volunteers, it’s best to outline your expectations from the beginning so that there are no misunderstandings. Unfortunately, I didn’t do that with my parent volunteer and she ran amok. Eventually, I had to go to my principal to rein the parent in.

With my student assistants, my expectations are that they show up on time and are ready to work: this is not a study hall for them.  My objective for my students is that they improve their knowledge of English while helping me out. My objective for my parents is that they assist student learning (without taking over the class).

I’ll give you my task list and put SA (for student assistant) or CV (for Classroom Volunteer) after each activity. You’ll notice that I don’t have my student assistants or classroom volunteers grade papers. I’m uncomfortable with that. However, you might find a way to make it work.

• Take small groups across the hall to read, CV
• File papers, SA
• Type up tests, worksheets, SA
• Create test keys, SA – I love for them to do this with grammar, spelling, and usage tests
• Develop enrichment projects, SA, CV
• Create bulletin boards for units, SA, CV
• Assist with club meetings, CV
• Pull resource materials from the library, SA, CV
• Preview websites for a web quest, SA, CV
• Supervise field trips, CV
• Upload student projects to the class website, SV
• Create sample projects for students to use as a guide, SV
• Help students make up missing assignments, SA, CV
• Assist students with assignments during work time, CV
• Mediate student disputes, SA, CV
• Administer make up tests, SA, CV
• Prepare visual aids, SA, CV
• Restock classroom supplies, SA, CV
• Make photocopies, SA, CV
• Create seating charts, SA
• Create educational classroom games, SA
• Monitor students, CV
• Set up labs, SA, CV
• Tutor individual students, SA, CV

How do you keep classroom volunteers or student assistants occupied in a meaningful way? Even better: how do you grade your student assistants? Have you had good luck with your classroom volunteers and student assistants or have your experiences been more like a bad horror film? Share in the comments!

Photo credits:
Poppo’s lil’ Helper: Јerry on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Daddy’s helper again: rbphalen / Rebecca on Flickr.com Creative Commons
vacuuming @ cheeky monkey toys: jencu / jenny cu on Flickr.com Creative Commons

Tags: Classroom Management, parents, volunteers