MODULE 2
EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION OF PARAEDUCATORS
Assisting Students with Disabilities:
A Training Program for Paraeducators
Developed By:
Wendy Mager, Research Assistant
Kim Costello, Research Assistant
Priti Wilson, Research Assistant
Barbara Locker, KentuckyState Improvement Grant
Jeanna Mullins, Kentucky Transition Collaborative
Beth Harrison, Kentucky Transition Collaborative
Harold Kleinert, Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute
Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute,
University of Kentucky
June, 2004
COPYRIGHT. The material contained within this document was developed by the Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky using funding received via a State Improvement Grant from the U.S. Department of Education (Grant #h323A990013) using a train-the-trainer framework for direct delivery to participants. Materials may be copied and used with appropriate acknowledgment of the source.
1
MODULE 2, UNIT 1
Teacher Supervision of Paraeducators
UNIT OVERVIEW
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
By the end of this training, the teacher will:
1)Refine his/her knowledge of the role of teachers and administrators in supporting paraeducators.
2)Improve his/her skills in assessing “fit” between paraeducators and the teachers/programs they work with.
3)Improve his/her skills in appropriate delegation and evaluation of paraeducator tasks.
4)Improve his/her skills in providing leadership for paraeducators.
TIME REQUIRED
The time required to teach this unit is approximately 3 hours, depending on the level of experience of the participants and the activities selected by the instructor.
EQUIPMENT & MATERIAL REQUIRED
A flipchart and easel, and/or chalkboard.
An overhead projector and screen. Or, if you prefer, you can write the information contained in the transparencies on the flipchart or chalkboard.
Copies of the Information Handouts, Exercises, and Overhead Transparencies for this unit.
BEFORE THE TRAINING BEGINS
Review Unit Overview, Session Agenda, Handouts, Transparencies, and Exercises provided. Text that is found in italics in the Session Agenda represents instructions directed toward the trainer; all remaining text is information to be conveyed directly to teachers attending the training.
OUTLINE OF SESSION CONTENT
Introduction
Lesson 1: Overview of the instructional team
A. Characteristics of the paraeducator role
B. Roles and responsibilities
Lesson 2: Providing paraeducators with an appropriate orientation
A. Basic information
B. Getting to know one another
C. Determining exactly what the paraeducator’s role will be
D. Providing the paraeducator with a growth and development plan
Lesson 3: Appropriate planning, delegation, and evaluation
A. Planning
B. Directing/delegating
C. Monitoring/evaluating
Lesson 4: Providing effective team leadership
A. Holding meetings
B. Effective communication techniques
C. Managing conflicts and problem-solving
Closing
SESSION AGENDA
INTRODUCTION
Transparency #1. Brief lecture:
The need to provide improved and increased individualized education services to students with disabilities has brought about major changes in the roles and duties assigned to teachers. Not only are they responsible for developing instructional goals and programs to achieve these goals, they are also responsible for planning, directing, and evaluating the work of paraeducators. However, not much has been done to help prepare teachers for their new managerial responsibilities. This training unit has been developed to try to help teachers further develop their management skills so they can work more effectively with paraeducators.
Transparency #2. In addition, school administrators are often unaware of the things that they could do to provide more structure and support for paraeducators in their schools, so Unit 2 of this module was designed to address these issues with administrators.
Transparency #3. Describe the following instructional objectives for the session. The various activities in this unit are designed to meet the following goals for teachers:
1)To refine his/her knowledge of the role of teachers and administrators in supporting paraeducators.
2)To improve his/her skills in assessing “fit” between paraeducators and the teachers/programs they work with.
3)To improve his/her skills in appropriate delegation and evaluation of paraeducator tasks.
4)To improve his/her skills in providing leadership for paraeducators.
We’ll use lectures and small group work to accomplish these goals. You are encouraged to take notes during the session, especially during lecture material. Some of this material will be provided to you in the form of handouts, but the handouts only summarize main points. Taking notes will help you remember the material in more detail.
Transparency #4, Handout #1 (p. 28). Give the following overview of the session content. This is a broad overview of the topics that are covered in this training unit:
Introduction
Lesson 1: Overview of the instructional team
A. Characteristics of the paraeducator role
B. Roles and responsibilities
Lesson 2: Providing paraeducators with an appropriate orientation
A. Basic information
B. Getting to know one another
C. Determining exactly what the paraeducator’s role will be
D. Providing the paraeducator with a growth and development plan
Lesson 3: Appropriate planning, delegation, and evaluation
A. Planning
B. Directing/delegating
C. Monitoring/evaluating
Lesson 4: Providing effective team leadership
A. Holding meetings
B. Effective communication techniques
C. Managing conflicts and problem-solving
Closing
LESSON 1: OVERVIEW OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL TEAM
Characteristics of the Paraeducator Role
Transparency #5. Discussion:
Think about the paraeducators you work with. What are some of their characteristics? How old are they? How much money do they make? What is their background – did they work in another field for some time? How much formal education do they have? How much job training have they had?
Typically, paraeducators are people who …
- are women (96% of paraeducators)
- are middle-aged (average age is 47)
- are married (80%), with school-age children (48%)
- earn not much more than minimum wage
- have attended some college (68%)
- work with special education students (71%)
- have had their jobs for an average of 10 years
- have received little-to-no training for their job
How is the paraeducator role defined in Kentucky?
A “teacher’s aide” is an adult school employee who performs certain instructional and noninstructional functions in the school program including, but not limited to, clerical duties, tutoring individual students, leading students in recreational activities, conducting students from place to place, assisting with classroom instruction as directed by the teacher, aiding the school librarian, and preparing and organizing instructional materials and equipment.
Transparency #6. When paraeducators were first introduced into classrooms 40 years ago, their duties were primarily limited to record keeping, preparing materials, and monitoring students on playgrounds, in study halls, and in lunchrooms. In today’s schools, paraeducators have become technicians and specialists who provide direct instructional, vocational, transitional, therapeutic, library, health, and other related services to students. Thus, the term “paraeducator” is now generally preferred. This is analogous to the fields of law or medicine, in which assistants are called paralegals and paramedics.
What are some of the reasons for recent increases in employment of paraeducators?
- Teachers’ jobs are changing; they spend more time consulting, planning, managing paraeducators & other support staff, doing administrative work, etc.; there’s less time available for direct teaching
- Because of recent legislation and changing demographics, the student population is becoming more diverse. Youth with disabilities, youth from diverse racial/cultural heritages, with different languages, from different family situations, etc. are being included in general education settings. More support is needed in the classroom to meet the needs of all students.
Roles and Responsibilities
Paraeducators function within an instructional team. Who are the members of the instructional team & what are their primary roles and responsibilities?
Administrators – Transparency #7
Provide school leadership
Make sure the school is in compliance with federal, state, and district policies
Make decisions about school policy – rules and expectations for students and staff, school activities and programs, set guidelines/policies about the hiring, training, supervision, and evaluation of school staff, etc.
Provide training, supervision, and evaluation to school staff: instructional staff (teachers and paraeducators), secretarial support, custodians, transportation staff, etc.
Teachers – Transparency #8
Design and implement instructional programs for students
Assess student performance and evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs
Involve parents
Develop accommodations and modifications, as needed
Participate in the instructional team (i.e., work with other teachers and other school personnel to ensure compliance with the IEP and appropriate learning opportunities for students)
Supervise paraeducators
Paraeducators – Transparency #9
Provide instruction to individual students or small groups of students, according to programs and lessons developed by the teacher
Assist in implementing teacher-designed accommodations and modifications
Assist with assessment activities, as designated by the teacher
Implement the teacher’s behavior management programs
Assist students with personal and hygienic care
Participate in the instructional team (i.e., work with teachers and other school personnel to ensure compliance with the IEP and appropriate learning opportunities for students)
Transparency #10. The key difference between the roles of teacher & paraeducator is that the teacher decides WHAT will be taught & HOW it will be taught. The teacher is the instructional designer. Whereas the paraeducator helps DO what the teacher has designed; the para helps implement the teacher’s instructional designs.
Stop and think about what happens at your school. How are paraeducators deployed in your school? Where are they located throughout the day? Who are they with? Who supervises them?
Do you think teachers and administrators are adequately aware of their responsibilities to train, supervise, and evaluate paraeducators? Has this been made explicit in their training and/or job descriptions?
- Usually it IS for administrators – at least their role as manager of the school setting is emphasized in their training and job descriptions. Sometimes issues in the management of paraeducators are not as explicit as they should be, but it’s not a complete surprise for administrators, as it often is for teachers.
- Very few teachers are prepared during their undergraduate or graduate education to work with other adults in the classroom. They are trained to teach students, not to supervise paraeducators, to assign and delegate appropriate responsibilities, to evaluate their job performance, to assess the training needs of paraeducators or to develop strategies to meet those needs. This is a problem, and it often leads to difficulties in working relationships between teachers and paraeducators. These difficulties ultimately result in students not receiving the instructional services they are due. This training is designed to help teachers improve their managerial skills, so that teachers and paraeducators can be as productive as possible.
LESSON 2: PROVIDING PARAEDUCATORS WITH AN APPROPRIATE ORIENTATION
During the first few days on the job, a paraeducator should experience orientation activities. There are four main components of paraeducator orientation:
1) Basic Information
Transparency #11. Teachers and/or administrators should take time to introduce the paraeducator to the other school employees. This seems like common sense, but it doesn’t always happen. (Try to make sure it DOES happen in your school!)
The paraeducator should also be provided with any and all written policies and procedures used in the building. At minimum, this should include:
emergency and safety procedures
school rules, routines, and standard procedures
the school calendar
the daily schedule
phone numbers and addresses of fellow employees
protocols for reporting absences, requesting substitutes, and getting information about emergency school closures
students’ rights to confidentiality
ethical standards
This information may already be contained in a standard employee handbook or packet. Paraeducators need to be given the time to read these documents and opportunities to ask questions about them.
2) Getting to Know One Another
Transparency #12. It’s also recommended that paraeducators have a structured opportunity to start to get to know the person (or team of people) who will supervise him/her, and vice versa. One way to do this is for the supervising teacher(s) and new paraeducator to interview each other. Handout #2 (p. 29) provides a list of possible questions to use. You can also think of your own to add to the list. The purpose of the interview is simply to start to build a foundation for a strong working relationship.
Many interpersonal problems between teachers and paraeducators can be prevented if they have a discussion of their work style preferences early in their working relationship. Such a discussion gives them a chance to identify differences in their styles and discuss how they will handle these differences. Handouts #3, 4, and 5 (pp. 30-32) are provided as examples of how you might go about assessing differences in your styles. First, the paraeducator and teacher fill out their separate forms (Handouts #3 & #4). Then you compare them, using Handout #5. Items that you rated the same (or within 1 point of each other) probably reflect the sorts of things that will come pretty naturally in your relationship – things that you’re similar on. Items that you marked very differently are things that you’ll need to discuss further. You will need to try to find ways to manage these differences so that they don’t create serious problems between you and the paraeducator.
3) Determining Exactly What the Paraeducator’s Role Will Be
Transparency #13. The supervising teacher(s) should also talk with the new paraeducator about his/her role and what his/her specific job duties will be. This should be a two-way conversation, since paraeducator roles are somewhat negotiable (within certain legal and ethical limits). The teacher should encourage the paraeducator to ask questions or share concerns about the position or about assigned duties.
One way to maximize the benefit of having a paraeducator in your classroom is to conduct a needs assessment. This means analyzing the needs of the teacher, the program, and the students, then comparing these needs to the skills and confidence of the newly employed paraeducator. Doing this helps you clarify the tasks you want the paraeducator to perform and it identifies what training the paraeducator needs. Handouts #6 & #7 (pp. 33, 38) are worksheets that can be helpful in conducting a needs assessment. You can modify them to fit your own situation – whatever program/setting you work in. The teacher fills out Handout #6, and the paraeducator completes Handout #7. Then you examine the forms, side by side, to determine which tasks will become an immediate part of the personalized job description and which tasks will be listed but for which training must precede performance. Although worksheets are not necessary, using a systematic format can save time and assure that all relevant issues are addressed.
Transparency #14. The paraeducator should be given a copy of the school district’s general job description for the paraeducator role. In addition, the supervising teacher and paraeducator should work together during the first few days of the paraeducator’s employment to develop a personalized job description (PJD), which will serve as an addendum to the general one. The PJD delineates the specific duties for which a particular paraeducator will be held responsible. It should be created from the information you obtained when assessing your work styles and in doing the needs assessment. Handout #8 (p. 43) provides a skeletal structure for creating a PJD for a newly employed paraeducator. Providing a PJD creates a common basis of understanding about the nature of the job and about the circumstances that exist in a particular workplace. This can help identify people who may have been hired for the position but who are actually not a very good fit. It’s better to identify a poor fit early, rather than investing a lot of time and effort in training just to have the person quit later.
4) Providing the Paraeducator with a Growth and Development Plan
Transparency #15. Teachers who supervise paraeducators should develop written training plans for those paraeducators. This is important for two main reasons. First, it helps the teacher remember to provide (or arrange for) all the necessary training a particular paraeducator needs. Teachers are busy people, and without a written reminder, it could be easy to forget to train a person on a given task. Second, it helps to establish the importance of training in the culture of the team. Like everyone else in schools, paraeducators should be treated as lifelong learners. They need to strive continually for renewal and refinement of their skills and to maintain current knowledge. Handout #9 (p. 48) provides an example of how you might set up a Growth & Development Plan. It includes space for listing:
- what the skill is
- what will be done to train the paraeducator on the skill
- who is responsible for providing (and/or arranging for) the training
- when the training will start
- when it was completed (to be entered AFTER the training was done)
Much of paraeducator training can be done on-the-job by the supervising teacher. Other knowledge and skills require a more formal setting. The teacher can work with school administrators to arrange for the paraeducator to attend workshops, courses, or seminars. To be most effective, all training should include these five components:
- Theory / explanation of the skill / task
- Demonstration or modeling of how to do the task or perform the skill
- Opportunity for the paraeducator to practice performing the skill
- Feedback on the paraeducator’s practice attempts
(Feedback should be descriptive, specific, and considerate)
- Coaching for application
(On-the-job encouragement/support/refinement of the new skill / task performance)