What does a teacher aide do?
Teacher aides help lead teachers in managing the classroom. They assist teachers in conducting classroom sessions by setting up the classroom in advance, sourcing materials needed for class activities, helping in presentations, and guiding students during class activities. Teacher aides are also responsible for maintaining classroom cleanliness and helping clean up after the children. They also help manage the students during breaks and during classes. They help the lead teacher keep the students'students' attention. They also assist the students in any other tasks that they may need.
Teacher aide responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real teacher aide resumes:
- Work closely with co-teacher to manage and co-teach curriculum to a large group.
- Promote oral language, ensure a safe classroom environment, positive student interaction, and effectively implement lessons in kindergarten.
- Certify in blood borne pathogens training and CPI train.
- Call upon to assist with CPI interventions and control.
- Attend safety, CPR, and administrative meetings, and teacher training workshops.
- Serve as a preschool classroom aide in a classroom for an extend school year program for children with autism
- Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, schoolyards, and gymnasiums to ensure safety policies are being follow.
- Tutor students grade Pre-K to 5th grade, assist teachers in the classroom, grade papers, organize books in library.
- Provide one on one assistance to students with disabilities such as autism, non-verbal, non aggressive to extremely aggressive students.
- Monitor students during lunch time within cafeterias.
- Assist Pre-K teacher with elementary curriculum and religion.
- Tutor children with literacy and mathematics deficiency in small groups
- Participate in yearly staff development training including CPR certification/special events.
- Provide individualized assistance to students for mathematics and language arts.
- Provide specialize ABA therapy for students including develop behavior plans.
Teacher aide skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Teacher Aides are proficient in Child Care, CPR, and Mathematics. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Communication skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Teacher Aides that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Child Care, 21%
Helped with child care development and educational activities using ability to nurture and promote a positive learning environment.
- CPR, 12%
Participated in yearly staff development training including CPR certification/special events.
- Mathematics, 12%
Provided individualized assistance to students for mathematics and language arts.
- Learning Environment, 9%
Demonstrated high level of responsibility when monitoring children, providing a safe and effective learning environment while providing positive reinforcement.
- Classroom Environment, 6%
Provided early intervention service to young students to increase readiness skills and promote successful adaption to an integrated classroom environment.
- Art Projects, 5%
Execute curriculum-related lessons and art projects.
"child care," "cpr," and "mathematics" are among the most common skills that teacher aides use at work. You can find even more teacher aide responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a teacher aide to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "teacher assistants must be able to develop relationships with a variety of people, including teachers, students, parents, and administrators." Additionally, a teacher aide resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "coordinated daily activities taught interpersonal skills supervised children during field trips maintained clean and healthy environment for the children"
Communication skills. Many teacher aide duties rely on communication skills. "teacher assistants need to be clear and concise in discussing student progress with teachers and parents.," so a teacher aide will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways teacher aide responsibilities rely on communication skills: "assist teachers within the class rooms and any other tasks needed including reading proficiency, duties, and communications with parents. "
Patience. teacher aides are also known for patience, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to teacher aide responsibilities, because "working with students of different abilities and backgrounds may be difficult." A teacher aide resume example shows how patience is used in the workplace: "praised by teachers for my organizational skills, patience, classroom management and multiple teaching techniques. "
Resourcefulness. teacher aide responsibilities often require "resourcefulness." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "teacher assistants must find ways to explain information to students who have different learning styles." This resume example shows what teacher aides do with resourcefulness on a typical day: "showed resourcefulness and effectiveness in meeting the needs of students with limited english language proficiency as well as learning disabilities. "
The three companies that hire the most teacher aides are:
- North Country School35 teacher aides jobs
- Learning Care Group34 teacher aides jobs
- Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES20 teacher aides jobs
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Compare different teacher aides
Teacher aide vs. Assistant language teacher
An assistant language teacher is in charge of performing support tasks for language teachers. Their responsibilities include preparing teaching and coursework materials, assessing student performance, taking attendance records, and holding lectures as a substitute for the teacher. They may also help students who are having trouble following and adjusting to the lessons, assisting them as needed. Above all, an assistant language teacher must monitor the students' progress, all while maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a teacher aide are more likely to require skills like "child care," "pre-k," "administration policies," and "class rooms." On the other hand, a job as an assistant language teacher requires skills like "english-language," "language curriculum," "elementary schools," and "direct care." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Assistant language teachers earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $31,308. On the other hand, teacher aides are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $35,388.On average, assistant language teachers reach similar levels of education than teacher aides. Assistant language teachers are 2.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Teacher aide vs. Infant and toddler teacher
An infant and toddler teacher is an individual who aids in the cognitive and social development of preschool children by teaching them the most basic skills that focus on play-centered learning and creativity. Infant and toddler teachers must help children develop positive self-images and encourage them to explore their interests and develop social skills. They must plan and carry out a curriculum that teaches children basic skills such as color, shape, and letter recognition. Infant and toddler teachers must also meet the children's parents to discuss concerns.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real teacher aide resumes. While teacher aide responsibilities can utilize skills like "mathematics," "iep," "pre-k," and "administration policies," infant and toddler teachers use skills like "child development," "professional development," "emotional development," and "physical development."
Infant and toddler teachers earn a higher average salary than teacher aides. But infant and toddler teachers earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $37,267. Additionally, teacher aides earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $35,388 annually.In general, infant and toddler teachers achieve similar levels of education than teacher aides. They're 1.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for teacher aides in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Diana Jones
Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University
Teacher aide vs. Substitute school teacher
A substitute teacher is liable for providing learning instruction and managing classroom settings in the absence of the regular teacher. They are responsible for checking student attendance, explaining homework, and maintaining classroom cleanliness. They generally report to the principal at the school to which they are assigned. They plan and prepare lesson plans and teach students a variety of subjects, including English, science, and mathematics. Moreover, they ensure that the students are disciplined, and talk with parents and discuss the progress.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from teacher aide resumes include skills like "child care," "cpr," "art projects," and "administration policies," whereas a substitute school teacher is more likely to list skills in "student learning," "substitute teaching," "after-school program," and "math. "
Substitute school teachers earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $37,999. Teacher aides earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $35,388.Most substitute school teachers achieve a higher degree level compared to teacher aides. For example, they're 9.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Teacher aide vs. Early childhood teacher
An early childhood teacher specializes in handling and teaching young learners as they prepare for their formal schooling stage. Their responsibilities revolve around addressing and meeting the needs of students, organizing recreational activities for learning processes, and devising strategies to help the learners with their interpersonal and emotional growth. Furthermore, as an early childhood teacher, it is essential to monitor the children's progress and provide updates to their parents, all while maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.
Types of teacher aide
Updated January 8, 2025
