The Importance of Human Connections and Building Good Organization Skills: My First Co-op Job Experience

I just finished my first Co-op term, and I am very happy to say that I had such a wonderful experience at my workplace. This term I got to work at Greater Heights Learning Academy in Coquitlam as a Special Education Assistant (SEA).

I decided to apply for this job because as a Psychology student I have been interested in learning more about human cognition and behaviour and use this knowledge to help others. I believe that learning is a never-ending activity for everyone, and it starts at a very young age! My involvement as a volunteer tutor of various subjects and year groups has helped me gain some experience teaching and guiding individuals through their developmental journeys and I wanted to challenge myself by working with a different group of students that I had never worked with before. 

Some of the different roles I had as a S.E.A. included:

• Support students, such as those with mental or physical disabilities, with communication, mobility, and personal hygiene
• Mentor the students and aid them with their academic journey
• Observe student behaviour and report to the classroom teacher and collect data for use in student evaluation by teacher or therapists
• Enforce effective strategies to de-escalate situations during student meltdowns
• Assist classroom teacher in planning and organizing activities
• Explain concepts to students in a clear manner
• Implement specific techniques or strategies that best promote student learning, as directed by the classroom teacher
• Support students’ learning through utilizing visual aids such as communicative devices and gestural cues
• Motivate and encourage students socially and cognitively
• Communicate with the classroom teacher and parent(s) on student progress
• Make sure that we stay safe in face of the current pandemic. This included cleaning the workspaces, making sure everyone is wearing a mask and sanitizing their hands constantly and maintain classroom cleanliness

Throughout the term, I was able to successfully complete several of the tasks assigned to my role, but I considered that the following two accomplishments were the most valuable for me.

 

Accomplishment 1: Established a good relationship with my co-workers, supervisors and students I got to work with and therefore created a more efficient work environment for myself and everyone around me

Coming into this job I felt a bit lost. There were simply too many things I had never been exposed to. For instance, although I have worked with children in the past, during childcare jobs or mentorship and tutoring positions, I had never worked with kids with special needs. The amount of new information was almost overwhelming at certain points. The staff members and the school community were very welcoming and this helped me get myself prepared. I made sure to have a good relationship with staff and teachers so that I knew I could go to someone if I needed any assistance. I was especially grateful for the patience of the teachers and openness. They made me feel comfortable and even if I made mistakes I knew I could learn from them and receive feedback from my supervisors.

I also found it really helpful to build a good relationship with other UBC Co-op students. This was a good support system and one that really helps me through rough times. We would hang out outside of work hours and discuss our progress, help each other out with feedback and more.

Finally, I believe that the reason why I got to enjoy my experience and managed to succeed in my position was because of all the connections I got to make with the students. I got to slowly get closer to them and learn more about their diagnosis, their interests and their learning process and more. I work with 6 students so I had the opportunity to observe the uniqueness of each student. I learn how to communicate with each of them, what works, what doesn't. I hope that in my next term I keep making more connections and I can help them in more areas of their developmental journey.

 

Accomplishment 2: Supervised highschool students and kept a thourough and organized notes system in order to report back to the teachers and supervisors

This term I got to work with a group of 6 high school students. Part of my job is to supervise them and observe any behaviour, progress or problems, which I should report back to the teachers. I developed an efficient system to take notes about each of the different students. I used these notes to organize an overall summary of my weekly findings of the students. I made sure to note down, not only the areas of improvement but also all the positive comments I had about the students.

I used a system of colour coordination for easier access to information in my notebook. This was really helpful for the times I had to report back to my supervisor and go through my notes to talk about the students.

I believe I managed to plan appropriate meetings with my supervisor in order to talk about my progress and questions. This experience really helped me improve my organization skills. I had to organize large amounts of data and constantly update it to be able to report back to the teachers.

 

There were some challenging moments but they were all bearable because of all the support I had around me and the various organization skills I practiced throughout the term. I believe that my experience as a S.E.A has truly given me the opportunity to work out different skills and improve them.

 

Finally, I'd like to attach a photo of myself and my co-workers. Unfortunately, due to our policy and privacy of the school and policy, we are not able to post any photos of me working with the students online. However, here is a photo of my co-workers and I believe it shows the good connections we have built over the term. I don't think this experience would have been the same without the help and support of everyone around me.

 

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