Paraprofessional Tips: “Class-keeping vs. Working with Students”

For example, the general education teacher and students both lose a valuable resource if the paraprofessional’s role is to:

• Photocopy papers
• Copy notes (solely)
• Run errands
• Hold up the back wall of the classroom, figuratively speaking.

There are many more effective ways a paraprofessional might assist in the classroom, and these options are as individual as the students they are responsible for, the classrooms they work in, and the grade level they teach.

Paraprofessional Tips: Effective Roles that Maximize Instruction

For example, several more effective roles for a paraeducator include:

• One-on-one assistance, including helping a student get ready for in-class assignments, assisting a student with interpreting and following directions, and making on-the-spot adaptations to curriculum and instructions according to pre-established guidelines.
• Small group assistance, including assisting with organizational skills, creating educational memory games and activities, and facilitating social opportunities and interactions.
• Social/behavioral assistance, including assisting with classroom management by implementing class rules, supervising individual students or groups of students when the teacher is out of the room, and keeping records to document behavior of individual students.
• Academic assistance, including monitoring students’ level of participation in the classroom, providing remedial instruction and reinforcement skills, and administering tests individually.
• Teacher assistance, including conducting learning activities for a small group of students, creating review worksheets, and asking and answering questions in class.

The post Paraprofessional Tips: Defining the Role of the Paraprofessional appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Paraprofessional Seminars, Workshops, and Conference Sessions – Take Learning Up a Level

How can paraprofessionals increase the effectiveness of working together with classroom teachers?

Paraprofessionals assigned to support students with disabilities in the general education classroom have one of the most important jobs in schools today. Discover the ways that paraprofessionals can successfully collaborate when working with teachers in the classroom with my book, Paraprofessionals and Teachers Working Together.

The ways a paraprofessional might assist in the classroom are as individual as the students they are responsible for, the classrooms they work in, and the grade levels in which they teach. My book, Paraprofessionals And Teachers Working Together contains checklists filled with options for the general education teacher, the special education teacher, and the paraprofessional to consider when defining paraprofessional roles in the classroom. Use these checklists as a tool to negotiate the working relationship in the classroom before the paraprofessional starts “on the job”.

For a more energizing environment, join me and hundreds of other teachers and paraprofessionals in an interactive workshop, Paraprofessionals And Teachers Working Together in the General Classroom. Gain practical strategies, tools, forms, and tips for defining paraprofessional roles and improving classroom environment.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

The post What can paraprofessionals do to support teachers and students in the classroom? appeared first on Susan Fitzell.