Inclusive Paraeducators

Share Their WizdomThe most important part of the work I do in inclusive classrooms is to support

students so they can access the content in a consistent and meaningful manner

to them and their objectives. (R6, MN)

Andrea Liston, Point Loma Nazarene

Ida Malian, Arizona State University Polytechnic

&

Ann Nevin, Arizona State University (Emerita) and Florida International University

National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals

2008 NATIONAL STUDY:A Multi-Site Mixed Methods

Study of Paraeducators in Inclusive

ClassroomsAnalysis of National Survey Data and

Follow-Up Interviews in California

What Did We Want to

Accomplish?

• We wanted to understand the perceptions of paraeducators who work with teachers in inclusive classrooms.

• We wanted to listen to their voices and to seek their advice.

• We asked paraeducators to share their perceptions so as to address the following overarching questions.– What are paraeducators actions and beliefs?

– What advice do paraeducators have to offer those who work in inclusive classrooms?

How Did We Determine

Paraeducators’ Perceptions?

• Comprehensive survey: Based on the literature review, survey questions were organized into five sections:– definitions of terms (i.e., paraeducator, inclusive classroom);

– demographics (items related to age, gender, ethnicity, linguistic diversity, preparation, prior experience in inclusive classrooms, prior employment or skills, classroom information on number of students with disabilities and socio-economic status of the neighborhood);

– items related to attitudes, beliefs, and actions to be rated on a 5-point Likert scale;

– a series of open ended questions; and a section to solicit volunteers to be interviewed which is handed in separately from the survey in order to protect anonymity of respondents.

Determining Paraeducators’

Perceptions--Continued• Follow-up interviews with volunteer survey respondents

• A semi-structured open-ended interview process (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998) was implemented.

• Interview questions focused on eliciting the paraeducators’ – (a) belief system for inclusive education,

– (b) who they worked with,

– (c) experiences they enjoyed,

– (d) strategies and methods they used,

– (e) benefits and barriers, and

– (f) advice to other paraeducators.

• Interviews conducted at paraeducators’ school sites and/or by telephone.

Who Are the Paraeducators?

• Survey: (N = 202)

– predominately White,

– English-speaking females

– who hailed from 34 of the 50 states in the USA.

– average of 7 years of experience,

– had a family member or friend with a disability,

– worked in a school within the $25K to $75K socio-economic range, and

– worked in an elementary education inclusion class with 20 students in small groups or 1:1

– did not meet regularly with the supervising teacher.

Where and With Whom Did

Paraeducators Work?

• Paraeducators focused their planning on helping their students achieve a wide variety of subject matter including social and life skills, math, English, reading, health, writing, and community based instruction

• They teach students with: behavior disorders, mental retardation (e.g,, Down Syndrome), physical disabilities (e.g., deaf, blind), neurological impairment (e.g., autism), traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy) and learning disabilities (e.g., ADD, ADHD, dyslexia).

– Some national respondents explained that descriptions of the disabilities are not provided to them -- ―The students learning disabilities are kept private.‖

• They work with classroom teachers and special educators in – Elementary, junior and senior high school settings,

– Early childhood and transition settings

What Inclusive Education Strategies

Did Paraeducators Use?

• The least frequently used strategies—

– supervising peer tutoring sessions (36%),

– coaching homework (26%),

– supporting cooperative learning groups (14%).

• The most frequently used strategies—

– directing student behavior (68%),

– delivering individual instruction (59%),

– teaching appropriate social skills (50%).

What are Pareducators’ Attitudes

and Beliefs?Attitude Or Belief National Ratings

I can use different classroom routines to help meet diverse needs

of my learners.

4.2

I think that a student with learning problems needs me to adjust

my teaching strategies or curriculum.

4.4

I think that not all students must do the same activity the same

way.

4.5

My ability to meet students’ diverse needs has improved because

of my work in inclusive classrooms.

3.8

I know how to use flexible grouping in the inclusive classroom. 3.8

An Emerging Role/Responsibility—

Implementing or Monitoring RtI

• In the words of one participant from Michigan, ―Our district uses RtI. We have used the ‘six minute solution’ in reading that is very effective. We have resources that push in and pull out as needed.”

• Another participant, from Rhode Island, wrote, ―I have coached children in language arts under the supervision of a reading teacher.‖

• A second participant from Michigan explained, ―I document notes on each child seen daily to measure progress and give [the notes about] strategies [to the teacher].‖

• Two paraeducators from Oregon used technical language such as, ―I use DIBELS to monitor progress [of all the students].‖

RtI--Intensive language arts

instruction and monitoring

DIBELS is an acronym for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills; see http://dibels.uoregon.edu

Survey Respondents’ Roles,

Responsibilities, and SupportsWhat do

paraeducators

say they do?

How do they say

they do it?

What do they say helps them

do it better?

Provide tutorials Work 1:1 with students.

Implement instructional

strategies such as TEACCH,

computer assistance

Initial training and reflective

coaching from supervisor(s)

Provide small group

instruction

Provide direct instruction, CBI,

QAR, note-taking strategies,

hands-on experiences

Initial training and reflective

coaching from supervisor(s)

Teach social skills Work 1:1, use social stories,

implement programs such as

Character Counts

Development of staff and student

norms, implement rules of

engagement, opportunities for role-

playing

Supervise peer tutors Demonstrate, supervise, and

redirect peer tutors

Enhance use of peer tutors by

moving to the use of cooperative

group structures

Roles, Responsibilities, and

Supports--Continued

What do

paraeducators

say they do?

How do they say

they do it?

What do they say helps

them do it better?

Manage student

behaviors

Redirect the student, teach

student to self-regulate via

taking breaks when needed,

implement programs such as

Character Counts

Staff ownership, mutual respect,

consistency in the use of behavior

supports (reinforcement and

natural consequences)

Understand lesson plans Informal conversation prior to

class

Structured planning time within

the work week for all staff involved

Collect data Collect work samples, anecdotal

data, behavioral data, and

conducting fluency timing for

an individual or groups of

students

Initial training and reflective

coaching from supervisor(s), attend

professional development focusing

on CDM

Prepare adapted

materials

On their own personal time Time built into their work day and

access to resource materials, attend

professional development to adapt

content, process, and content.

We must

all keep

learning.

Sometimes

they don’t

know what

to do with

you!

I make myself

available to all

of the kids not

just to those

with

disabilities.

PARAS

SPEAK

OUT!*

We are so

lucky to be

in an

inclusive

classroom!

Ask

questions!Collaborate with

each student’s

general education

teachers on a

daily basis!

*From p. 93, Nevin, A., Thousand, J., & Villa, R. (2009). A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: Practical tips for K-12 educators.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

What Advice do Inclusive

Paraeducators Offer?

• “Be Flexible!”

– ―Be prepared to be busy.‖

– ―Be prepared to work with some people who may not know

exactly what to do with you.‖

• “Be Willing to Ask!”

– ask questions,

– read books,

– collaborate and communicate with others in order to learn

strategies to help the children.

Implications*

• Continue to acknowledge and collaborate with

paraeducators.

• Clearly define duties and responsibilities regarding

instruction, classroom management, and planning.

• Build in time to meet.

• Share goals for students, class, and each other.

*National significance-- 525,000 are currently employed in FTE positions nationwide (NCES, 2000). Of that number

approximately 290,000 or 55% are employed in inclusive general and special education programs, self-contained and

resource rooms, transition services and early childhood settings serving children and youth with disabilities.

Approximately 130,000 (nearly 25%) are assigned to multi-lingual, Title I or other compensatory programs.

The remaining 20% work in pre-school and elementary classrooms and other learning environments including

libraries, media centers, and computer laboratories.

Image* by Jodie Beecher, PACE University graduate

Implications—ContinuedSYSTEMATIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

*From p. 77, Nevin, A., Thousand, J., & Villa, R. (2009). A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: Practical tips for K-12 educators.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

A Peek into the Roles and

Responsibilities of the Paraeducator

• Dispositions and Inclusive Belief

Systems

•Benefits for Students with Diverse

Learning Characteristics

•Typical Supports and Strategies

Used

•Communication and Collaboration

•Training and Ongoing Professional

Development

Words of

Wisdom

“A positive

attitude

has always

helped me

work with

even the

most

disgruntled

student.”

Words of

Wisdom

“It‟s a

challenge to

find time to

meet with my

teacher. It

would be

helpful if all of

us could meet

each day…”

Words of

Wisdom

“I set up a

table for small

group

instruction,

support the

rules of the

classroom and

reinforce good

behavior.”

Words of

Wisdom

“I‟m also

assigned a

student with

autism. He gets

stressed easily

and I often help

him with

calming

strategies.”

“First, bond with the children. Have fun with them while they do their work.”

Words of

Wisdom

“Include other

students who sit

near the student

who needs

support to create

a community

environment and

participation for

all…no isolation!”

Words of

Wisdom

“Repeat and

review,

drawing

pictures, using

counters,

relating the

material/topics

to the

children.”

“I help students with computer assisted learning. It supports students as there are visual prompts and color coding.”

Words of

Wisdom

“ I find out

what they like

and use that

as a

reinforcement.”

Words of

Wisdom

“I keep students

on task and

answer questions

they may have

regarding

material. Some

need help but are

too embarrassed

to ask.”

“I tailor instruction

to meet the

children‟s needs

whether I do it

individually or with

a small group of

children.”

“Let the kids help each other…. Don’t let the student become prompt dependent on you. Work yourself out of a job.”

“I go classroom-to

-classroom to

work with

students, keep on

task, catch up,

organize, I read

each student‟s

goals and

communicate with

their primary

teachers.”

“All the kids in the

class will need your

help from time to

time, and when you

have the time you

can help them.

They don‟t need to

have an IEP.”

“I enjoy working

with all students

in the inclusive

classroom and

breaking down

instruction into

manageable

chunks.”

“I work 1:1 with the student, going over classroom norms before we go to the general education classroom. Then it is easier to include him and redirect him when necessary.”

“The majority of

students I

support are those

with severe

disabilities while

they are in

general

education. I am

always looking

for trainings that

pertains to

mainstreaming.”

“I teach my student with severe autism appropriate behavior through social stories.”

“I assist the student, to the best of my ability, to help him achieve all goals set - and to accomplish even more that asked of him.”

“I keep data on

academics and

behavior. Sometimes

I use data sheets,

and other times I use

a marker and wipe

board for prompts

needed.”

“Visual aides are a must, picture schedules, hands-on materials, „TEACCH‟ materials….I help in making all of these.”

“Sorry that we

couldn‟t be here,

but we love our

job, and can‟t

leave our

students. Thank

you for letting us

share our

experience!”

QUESTIONS

COMMENTS

The Last Word

Teachers often view paras not as a bridge to the special needs students but as a

bypass, a way to avoid direct interaction/responsibility.” (R59, KY)

“The most important part of the work I do in inclusive classrooms is to support

students so they can access the content in a consistent and meaningful manner

to them and their objectives.” (R6, MN)

“The most important part of the work I do in inclusive classrooms is meeting the

students‟ needs and working with their IEP goals.” (R10, ABQ)

“It is a joy to be in this work.”

Thanks for your attention!

Many thanks to our co-pi’s

• California—Point Loma Nazarene M.Ed. Students (Moira, Ashley, Colette, Laura, Julie, Kristin, Tara, Alisa, and Cindy)

• Florida--FIU doctoral students who facilitated data collection (Magda, Whitney, Raul, Liana, Deidre, Jorine)

• Arizona—Silverio for superb technical assistance on the web-accessed survey