Training Paraprofessionals

1. Training Paraprofessionals A guide to training paraprofessionals in the field of special education Mary Cece Young ISU

2. Why is there a need to train paraprofessionals? Research based • “The reauthorization of IDEA 2004 requires that states ensure than all personnel needed to provide special education services are adequately prepared and trained and, that paraprofessionals be appropriately supervised” (Breton, 2010). • Mandates that paraprofessionals become highly qualified. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnE79CvT3zE • “IDEA regulations offer minimal guidance and direction as to what constitutes appropriate training and supervision to local schools” (Breton, 2010). • Training has to come from teachers and schools. • Paraprofessionals are affecting student outcomes as they are working with students on a daily basis.

3. Goals for paraprofessionals – Objective 1 for day 1 • Objective for day 1 – I will know my roles and responsibilities as a paraprofessional • Activity – Brainstorm what ideas paraprofessionals have about their job. What they feel they should and should not do. Get into pairs and discuss their ideas with one another for 5 minutes, then report to the class. • Compare their list with the actual list of assigned duties. • Paraprofessionals should be responsible for….. • 1.supplementing instruction, not providing primary instruction • 2. implementing behavior plans • 3. receiving ongoing monitoring and feedback from a certified teacher or administrator. • 4. assisting the teacher in the classroom, hallways, or any other area of the building that requires student supervision.

4. Teachers Should Provide You With…. • According to Causton-Theodoris, Giangreco, Doyle and Vadasy (2007), teachers should provide paraprofessionals with…. 1. Space for your belongings 2. A tour of the building 3. Daily lesson plans with goals and objectives for the day. 4. Clarify roles and responsibilities. 5. Develop shared expectations and mechanisms for communication. 6. Provide access to IEPs and teach paraprofessionals how to read and interpret documents. 7. Review school and classroom policies, procedures and rules each year. 8. Teach model, support, and provide feedback.

5. Teachers may ask you for the following help in….(Causton, et al, 2007) • Some non-instructional roles for paraprofessionals are… • Administrative tasks • Helping students/groups that are working independently • Researching materials in the library • Creating a bulletin board displaying student writing, etc.. • Reading student journal entries • Editing student work • Searching online for new instructional computer games • Monitoring and supporting computer • Preparing modifications or adaptations that are planned by the teacher • Recording student data for behavior or academic success.

6. As a paraprofessional, I should: • Know myself and my role as a paraprofessional • Understand Special Education and Students with learning/behavioral needs • Understand parents • Understand disabilities • Know how to communicate effectively • Understand my colleagues and their roles (other paraprofessionals, teachers, support staff, and administrators).

7. Activity 2 Steven Covey - Staying Positive and Productive • Use the 7 habits to get to know yourself better so you can be a better paraprofessional and have/keep a positive mindset with the students….. • 1. be proactive • 2. begin with the end in mind • 3. put first things first • 4. think win/win • 5. seek first to understand; and then to be understood • 6. synergize • 7. sharpen the saw • Get into groups of 3 people and write down an example of each of these areas as a team.

8. Adopting a positive mindset • To believe that students want to do well. • To remember that the behavior is not about us. • To remember that the students are learning something new and that it is hard for them to master the skills. • To remember that learning is a process and everyone moves at their own rate. • To always stay calm and look at situations as learning experiences. • To make students feel welcome and wanted and able to make mistakes. Without mistakes out world would be very boring. • Make each moment count.

9. Activity 3 – Create a learning strategy that students can use in class. (Keller et al., 2007) • Choose a learning outcome or goal. • Remember to task analyze. • Eagerly put the steps in sequential order. • Always make it simple and easy to remember. • Try to choose action words that match your title by using synonyms. • Extend learning by making a cue card for students to use independently.

10. Roles of Paraprofessionals in Classroom Settings (Carnahan et al, 2007) • One to one instruction • Small group instruction • Large group instruction • Data collection/observation • Preparation/planning • Reproducing/typing instructional materials • Playground/hall/lunch/bus/supervision • Attending meetings • Behavior management • Storytelling or reading aloud or giving tests orally

11. Collaboration with the special education teacher • “In our work, we have found that the effective adult plans begin with a collaborative or shared philosophy and effective adult-to adult communication” (Carnahan, Williamson, Clarke, Sorensen, 2009). • Shared Philosophy • You will be asked to help promote a philosophy in the classroom. • Some of the skills required by you to promote this shared philosophy are… • 1. arriving on time and preparing all materials for the school day. • 2. refraining from adult conversation in front of students during the school day. • 3. allowing or teaching students to walk through the building independently. • 4. using minimal and direct language approach. • 5. paying close attention to student learning and expanding our language as students demonstrate readiness. • Being consistent in our management of academics and behavior. We will be firm and direct while providing meaningful praise. • Representing our program in a positive manner that is reflective of our thoughts and actions and words as a team.

12. End of Day 1-Assessment • Activity – Write down 3 ways you can develop a shared teaching/learning philosophy with your teacher. • Write down 3 of your roles as a paraprofessional and how you plan on performing those roles inside the school day. • Write down 1 topic you would like to learn more about in the next session.

13. Day 2 – Working with Students – Knowing how to intervene for best results • Four activities with the following objectives; • 1. enhancing perspectives • 2. establishing the importance of peer interaction • 3. clarifying the paraprofessional’s role in facilitating interactions • 4. increasing the paraprofessionals’ knowledge base of strategies for facilitating interactions.

14. Enhancing Perspectives • Activity – reflect on your own social relationships. Draw circles and write the names of those closest to you in the innermost circle. Working outward, through the circles, write the names of good friends, names of people they enjoyed doing things with, and last, the names of people who were paid to interact with them. Do this again with the target student with whom you should work. Then, compare the two similar diagrams. Results – virtually empty in the second and third tiers of the circles, but full in the fourth circles or the outermost circle.

15. Establishing the Importance of Peer Interaction • Activity – Ask the paraprofessional – “Why are social interactions and relationships important?” (Example answers – Friendships meet our human need to belong and feel cared about). • Other responses are meant to provide information about the importance of social interactions and the relationships for students. • Research indicates students learn better when they have positive peer role models in a general education class with which to socialize and model appropriate behavior.

16. Clarifying the Paraprofessionals’ Role in Facilitating Interactions • Activity – Think of ways you could facilitate interactions between target students and their peers. Pick some current trends topics or general topics to start discussing, then wean from the topic once the students are talking amongst themselves. • Reflection/Assessment – Did the students freely engage in the conversation? Were the students comfortable talking to one another without an adult present? These questions help understand how the social interaction should go.

17. Special Education Law – IDEA 2004 • Identification • Free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) • Due Process • Parent/guardian surrogate consultation • Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) • Individualized Education Program (IEP) • Nondiscriminatory evaluation • Confidentiality

18. Confidentiality-Paraprofessionals will understand and implement the use of confidentiality • We expect that the adults working with our children to protect their right to privacy. • Students and parents have a right to protect their privacy. • Discussion about students should only be about topics that affect their learning. • We should be nonjudgmental when talking about students and their needs.

19. Paraprofessionals need to know about specific learning disabilities • OBJECTIVE – Paraprofessionals will be able to identify one characteristic about the various learning disabilities. • Learning Disabilities – Definitions • Psychological processing disorders • Failure to response to scientific, research based interventions • Discrepancy Model vs. RTI • Students need interventions to succeed.

20. Social Emotional Disturbance • Internalizing and Externalizing behaviors • Problem affects all areas of learning • Behaviors are extreme • Behaviors need constant remediation and correction through a behavior plan • Behaviors affect learning in a regular classroom without support

21. Learning Disabilities • Students have a gap in their cognitive ability in one or more academic content areas as compared to their intelligence quotient score. • Students need modifications to the general curriculum to do well in school. • They need assistance to complete regular academic work and/or take classes that are accompanied with modifications. • Most frequently, they need accommodations of extended time when taking tests, use of calculator, and alternative setting. • Some students use Kurzweil or assistive technology do perform academic work.

22. Mental Retardation • Low cognitive skills • Low adaptive skills • Specific learning problems – memory, language development, self-regulation, social development and motivation • Need a team approach in order to instruct them

23. Autism • Respond to less verbal and more pictoral • Impaired social responsiveness and communication • Exhibit ritualistic behavior • Great range of severity of symptoms • Develop a reliance on certain people • Lack in learning from others behavior – have to be taught specific social behaviors

24. Multiple Disabilities • Many impairments together (mental retardation and orthopedic impairment) • The combination causes severe educational needs they can’t be accommodated in special education for one of the impairments. • Does not include deaf-blindness. • Can be self contained or in regular classes depending on their cognitive ability

25. Assessment-End of Day 2 • Write one characteristic about a student with emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, multiple disabilities, and autism. • Write down 2 ways you can support these students in a classroom. • Share with your neighbor and report to the class.

26. Day 3 – Communicating with Parents • Objective 3 – Paraprofessional will be able to communicate with the parent and get positive results through proactive communication. • Activity – Write down 3 things you like to hear about yourself or your children. Who tells you those things? Share with a friend and report back to the group. Write down how you feel when others say those things. • Discuss ways that you can build positive relationships with parents.

27. Changing Families – Single parent homes • Changing family structure-More than 50% of families are divorced. • A. In 1940 less than 9% of women worked outside the home • B. 1997 76% of women with school-age children were working • Less family time at night • More Technology in the Home • Less playtime outside

28. Parents Expect Schools to Parent • More pressure on schools to teach social skills. • Parents feel an us vs. them mentality • Overly involved parents • Take your lead from the teacher • Make positive phone calls • Communicate praise that is authentic, immediate, and specific. • Be proactive – when in question, always stay positive and check with the teacher or administrator

29. Activity • Get into groups of 2. There are two people; the parent and the paraprofessional. The paraprofessional has to tell the parent something bad about the child’s behavior. The paraprofessional has to find a way to use positive, proactive language to express how the child’s behavior disrupted the class. Practice telling a parent this scenario using positive words.

30. Communicating (Correa, Jones, Thomas, and Morsink, 2005) • Listening-Paraphrasing – responding to basic messages - clarifying • Leading Skills-Indirect and direct leading. • Reflecting Skills-Responding to emotions expressed. Reflecting content. • Summarizing Skills-Pulling themes together. • Informing Skills-Advising – giving suggestions and opinions based on experience.

31. Communicating to do a better job • Paraprofessionals need to communicate with administrators, teachers, parents, students and other colleagues daily to do what’s best for students. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAro4ghMMsc • Focus on building partnerships. • Meet daily with your supervising teacher to discuss the lesson plan and classroom activities • Discuss problems as they occur – don’t store them up for a later time and then explode. • Just talk even if it is about the small stuff. • Don’t be afraid to ask for help or clarification. There is no such thing as a dumb question.

32. Creating Win-Win Solutions • Everyone has an opinion, no one is right or wrong. • Separate the person from the problem • Collaborate on several options before making decisions • Focus on the positive sides of situations • Give everyone a feeling that they have been heard.

33. Assessment-End of Day 3 • Get into pairs and discuss a time when either you were complimented or your children were complimented. How did you feel? Was the praise specific and immediate? Why do you still remember it today? • Come up with three ways you can communicate something positive with parents of the students you currently supervise in class. Be specific, authentic, and positive.

34. Final Thoughts • Paraprofessionals are the glue that holds it all together in a class. • You are a vital part of the classroom. • Remember how valued you are at all times. • Thank you for all that you do!

35. Education is a matter of building bridges. Ralph Ellison