THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER'S AIDE IN THE CLASSROOM HAS OFTEN BEEN DEFINED AS THAT OF A HELPER WITH ROUTINE DUTIES. WHEN PROPERLY PREPARED, HOWEVER, SUCH AUXILIARY PERSONNEL CAN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THE TEACHING-LEARNING SITUATION. THE TEACHER ASSISTANT PERFORMS MANY OF THE SAME DUTIES AS THE HEAD TEACHER BUT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERALL PROGRAM. THE TEACHER AIDE ASSISTS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TEACHER'S DUTIES. THE TEACHER AIDE OR ASSISTANT SHOULD HAVE SKILLS APPROPRIATE TO HER FUNCTION, SENSITIVITY IN HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF GROUP DYNAMICS. TRAINING PROGRAMS SHOULD INCLUDE CAREFULLY COORDINATED SEQUENCES OF STUDENT TEACHING, CLASSWORK, SEMINARS FOR FEEDBACK AND DISCUSSION, AND INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING. INTENSIVE PRESERVICE TRAINING OF THE AIDE WILL STRENGTHEN THE ENTIRE EDUCATIVE PROCESS, AND THE ASSISTANT WHO HAS COMPLETED A 2-YEAR DEGREE PROGRAM WILL FREE THE TEACHER FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUES, MATERIALS, AND INNOVATIVE METHODS. THE AUTHORS OUTLINE PROPOSED JOB DESCRIPTIONS, SELECTION PROCESSES, DESIRABLE PERSONAL QUALITIES, AND TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR BOTH TYPES OF POSITIONS. (WO)