Helping vs. Hovering

Thursday, April 16, 2015 Anthony Brisson

Michelle LeBrun-Griffin

Overview

• State & Federal legislation overview • Roles and Responsibilities • “Helping vs. Hovering”

Paraprofessional Study The Legislative Program Review and Investigations

Committee authorized a study of paraprofessionals in April 2006. The study focused on whether CT should establish minimum standards for public school paraprofessionals who perform instructional tasks for students, K-12. Findings and recommendations were made in several areas affecting paraprofessionals with instructional responsibilities.

The full report can be downloaded at: www.cga.ct.gov/2006/pridata/Studies/School _Paraprofessionals_Final_Report.htm.

Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee Recommendations

• The CT SDE should encourage all local public school districts to provide training to teachers, particularly new teachers at the beginning of each school year, on the role and effective use of instructional paraprofessionals.

• The SDE should also encourage school districts to develop intradistrict methods and strategies whereby paraprofessionals, teachers, and administrators periodically discuss issues or concerns involving the use of paraprofessionals in providing effective student instruction.

Connecticut Paraprofessional Legislation

• Sec. 10-155k. School Paraprofessional Advisory Council • The Commissioner of Education shall establish a School

Paraprofessional Advisory Council consisting of one representative from each statewide bargaining representative organization that represents school paraprofessionals with instructional responsibilities. The council, shall advise, at least quarterly, the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner’s designee, of the needs for the training of such paraprofessionals. The council shall report, at least quarterly, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the recommendations given to the commissioner, of the commissioner’s designee, pursuant to the provisions of this section, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

Connecticut Paraprofessional Legislation

• Sec. 10-155j. Development of Paraprofessionals • The Department of Education, through the State Education

Resource Center and within available appropriations for such purposes, shall promote and encourage professional development activities for school paraprofessionals with instructional responsibilities. Such activities may include, but shall not be limited to, providing local and regional boards of education with training modules and curricula for professional development for paraprofessionals and assisting boards of education in the effective use of paraprofessionals and the development of strategies to improve communication between teachers and paraprofessionals in the provision of effective student instruction.

Connecticut Paraprofessional Legislation

• Sec. 2008. Not later than December 1, 2008, the department shall report and make recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education concerning professional development for paraprofessionals and the status and future of school paraprofessionals with instructional responsibilities.

CT State Department of Education

National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals (NRCP)

• NRCP Created a Model Framework • Connecticut adopted a modified version of the

NRCP • The Model framework articulates key

competencies for CT Paraprofessionals

National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals Model (1999). www.nrcpara.org Connecticut Guidelines for Training and Supervision of Paraprofessionals, pp. 17-23

CT State Department of Education

A paraprofessional is…

…an employee who assists teachers and/or other

professional educators or therapists in the delivery of instructional and related services to students. The

paraprofessional works under the direct supervision of the teacher or other certified or licensed professional. The

ultimate responsibility for the design, implementation and evaluation of instructional programs, including assessment of student progress, is a collaborative effort of certified and

licensed staff.

CT State Department of Education (CT Guidelines for the Training and Support of Paraprofessionals page 3.)

1. Assisting teachers/providers with building and maintaining

effective instructional teams. 2. Assisting teachers/providers with maintaining learner-centered

supportive environments. 3. Supporting teachers/providers with planning and organizing

learning experiences. 4. Assisting teachers/providers with engaging students in learning

and assisting in instruction. 5. Assisting teachers/providers with assessing learner needs,

progress and achievement. 6. Meeting standards of professional and ethical conduct for each of

these responsibilities (the model describes the scope).

6 Roles of Paraprofessionals

According to these guidelines, paraprofessionals have the instructional responsibility to do the following:

1. Assist professionals with building and maintaining effective instructional teams.

2. Assist professionals with maintaining learner-centered supportive environments.

3. Support professionals with planning and organizing learning experiences.

4. Assist professionals with engaging students in learning. 5. Assist professionals in instruction. 6. Assist professionals with assessing learner needs, progress and

achievement.

IEPs

In the case of paraprofessionals whose support includes students with disabilities, it is necessary for them to have an understanding of the IEP information that is pertinent to their role as an implementer.

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• Paraprofessional attendance at placement team (PPT) meetings is an individual district and school-based decision. It is important that district or school personnel explain their policy on the attendance of paraprofessionals at PPTs to both parents and school staff. If a paraprofessional is required in the IEP and not attending a student’s PPT meeting, it is the responsibility of the student’s teacher and the paraprofessional’s supervisor to communicate in detail with the paraprofessional about the student, before the PPT.

What Are You Doing Now?

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• How are you currently

supporting teacher instruction and student learning in the classroom?

Examining Impact

Examining the Implementer(s)

High Impact on Learning

High Access to General Curriculum

Fosters Independence

Low Impact on Learning

No Access

Fosters Dependence

High Confidence

Qualified Skills

Easy to Use Resources

Low Confidence

Lack of Skills

Difficult to Use Resources

What changes in the current system/practice would move the selected strategies into the “green zone”?

Examining the Integration with Universal Practice

What changes in the current system/practice would move the selected strategies into the “green zone”?

Most Like Peers Least Like Peers

Enriches Other’s Learning Deters Other’s Learning

Easy to Put in the Routine Difficult to Put in the Routine

Responsible Inclusive Practice means…

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• Students with disabilities attend the school they would attend if they were not disabled. (“home school”)

Each child is in an age-appropriate general education classroom

Every student is regarded as a full and valued member of the class/school community

Special education supports are provided within the context of the general education classroom

No child is excluded on the basis of type and degree of disability

The school promotes cooperative/collaborative teaching arrangements

You can use these today!

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Practical Strategies for Building Student Independence…

Instructional Reading Strategies When students do a Close Reading of a Text: Ask questions Model making inferences – a challenging skill for struggling readers Point out/highlight important or challenging words or phrases Discuss tasks in which students are prompted to use text evidence Help students refine their thinking When students are asked to Analyze, Infer, and Give Evidence: Help students organize their ideas Help students find and use relevant information from the text Refer back to the text, quote, notate Ask questions Help students refine their thinking

Instructional Writing Strategies When students are Writing to Sources: • Assist students with note taking • Provide organizers to manage ideas/thoughts • Provide organizers for writing tasks that assess student

understanding of the text Strategies: • Scaffold • Instruct using plans and strategies designed by the teacher • Providing a book on tape and allowing student to follow in book.

Use highlighting techniques to capture important information • Provide notes and cue student to highlight important information • Use higher level questioning (Bloom’s Taxonomy) • Universal Design for Learning

Higher Order Thinking Questions • What do you notice? Tell me more about… • Can anyone tell me anything about this ______________? • What do you mean when you say…..? • What part did you spot? • Why is this (event, person, etc.) important? • How is this like/different from…..(another character, setting, event, story, etc.)? • What do you think? Why do you think this? • How do you know? Can you show me in a picture what you mean? • Do you see something______________? (different, familiar, stranger, unusual, etc.) • What do you recognize? How do you recognize it? • Can you tell me what you see? What other details do you notice? • Can you show me something on the chart? • Explain the picture, table, chart, etc. • What do you know about this_______________? • How can you support that idea with details from the text? • Can you go back in the text and find a place where…..? • What do you think the author is trying to say about…..? (life, family, friendships, a particular event,

etc.) • Do you have any ideas about________________? • How does this picture connect to the story? • How does this picture connect to the information in the text? Why is this important?

Stages of Language Acquisition for EL

Stage I: Pre-production Stage 2: Early Production Stage 3: Speech Emergence Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency Stage 5: Advanced Fluency

10 Strategies to Promote Student-to-Student Interaction

1. Ensure that the student is in rich social environments. 2. Highlight similarities between the student and peers. 3. Re-direct student conversation to the student with a disability. 4. Directly teach and practice interaction skills in natural settings. 5. Use instructional strategies that promote interaction.

6. Teach others how to interact with the student with a disability. 7. Make rewards for behavior social in nature. 8. Give the student responsibilities that allow for interactions with peers. 9. Systematically fade direct support. 10. Make interdependence a goal for the student.

“Building Bridges: Strategies to Help

Paraprofessionals Promote Peer Interaction”

Gradual Release

Teacher or Para Role

I do it

We do it

You do it together

You do it alone

Student Role

Examples • Think-Alouds •Modeling •Demon-stration

•Coaching •Guided practice •Small group

• Partner work • Group work • Prompting

• Independent work

Watch it Practice it Try it

Student Does, Teacher Watches

Teacher Does, Student Watches

Lots of Guided Practice

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What helps with Gradual Release?

• Clear objectives and tasks • Being sure the student understands the strategy

to be used • Scaffolding materials • Instructional routines • Cues, prompts, questioning • Constructive, specific feedback • Learning how to work with a partner or in a

cooperative group

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Only as Much Support as Necessary

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• Know the strengths of the child – What can he do well? – What is he good at?

• Know the disability – Is it in reading? – Is it behavioral?

• Know the IEP goals and objectives

SERC Anthony Brisson Consultant, SERC 860-632-1485 x315 brisson@ctserc.org Michelle LeBrun-Griffin Consultant, SERC 860-632-1485 x321 griffin@ctserc.org

• SERC LIBRARY

(www.ctserc.org/library) offers more than 10,000 resources including:

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