Making a Path: Creating Opportunities to Document and Share Promising Strategies or Practices Across One State by Mary Fisher & Mary Jo Dare.
From the 2009 National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals Conference.
Making a Path: Creating Opportunities to Document and Share Promising Strategies or Practices Across One State
1. Mary Fisher and Mary Jo Dare
Indiana University at IUPUI and
Hamilton-Boone –Madison Special Service Cooperative
The Keys of WIZdom - The Power of Teams
NRCP Annual Conference 2009
Salt Lake City
2. State funded
One year at a time
Local district-university collaboration
Local district initiative around advanced
paraeducator preparation
3. Get some paper and a pencil ready.
Mary will give you a word or phrase.
Record that in a column down your paper.
▪ C
▪ O
▪ L
▪ U
▪ M
▪ N
Record a second word /phrase in a next
column.
4. C O L L A B O R A T I O N
S H A R E D S U P P O R T
Think of a famous person
for each pair of initials.
5. C O L L A B O R A T I O N
L E A R N T O G E T H E R
Think of a famous person
for each pair of initials.
6. Provide support to instructional assistants as
an incentive to remain in the district
Series of workshops on specific practices
Provide coaching after group presentation
Capture this work for other districts
Content
Connections to new learning for students
9. Anderson Community Schools
ParaEducator: Lifelines in the Classroom and
others
Evansville-Vanderburgh Schools
Multiple resources
Indianapolis Public Schools
Paraprofessional’s Guide to the Inclusive
Classroom
ParaEducator Lifelines in the Classroom
South Bend Community Schools
The Master Teacher
12. Paraview
Who
It has been very helpful to meet regularly. We had tried
3-5 team members and some of these ideas before but we let them fall by the
1 facilitator wayside.
What
It is important to have the outside person. She comes
without the history. She is not so likely to be
A child who worries
discouraged. Her enthusiasm helps us be more willing
the team
to try again.
When
She asks us questions that we don’t ask ourselves.
During work hours
Supports
Where
Outsider willing to be a critical
Conference room or
friend
classroom
Team investment in the
conversation and solutions
13. Who
Paraview
1 coachee and 1 coach I can’t believe that someone is interested in my work!
What It works for me when there is a strategy I need to work
on so that I can ask my coach for feedback on
A child who worries
something specific.
the coachee or a new
strategy
Supports
When
Outsider willing to be a critical
During work hours
friend/coach and ask thoughtfully
Where
worded questions
Classroom
Teacher support for
content/strategy acquired!
15. They need professional development.
They need direction and feedback.
They need appreciation and
acknowledgment.
They must be valued members of
educational teams.
16. Autism – a book perspective
The IA’s role
Overview of critical practices
Thinking about prompts
Thinking about visual cues
Problematic behavior and communicative
intent
The STAR program
Supporting students in general education
settings
17. Setting goals
1.
2. Reflecting on goals
3. Asking for feedback on goals
4. Sharing work with colleagues
1. Among ourselves
2. With critical friends
18. Still have an expert although…
Your goal
Any observation shaped by you
All next steps designed by you
Like writing workshop
Genre [practice] immersion
Try it out… use another writer’s style, phrasing, a
line you wish you had written
Revise and edit
Invite feedback; revise and edit
Author’s chair
19. Identity
Agency
Goal
Giving and getting support
Help is valued!
“Knowledge as practice…”
Protocols
20. Identity Agency
• Your advocacy comes through • How did you figure that out?
• What problems did you come
so clearly!
• What a strong advocate you across today?
• Has anyone else had this
are!
• You are an insightful problem? How did you solve it?
• How are you planning to go
observer of young people
• You must be proud of your work about this?
• Where are you going with your
with Marguerite.
• What are you doing as a level of assistance?
• Which part are you sure about
kidwatcher today?
• What have you learned most and which part are you not sure
recently as a kidwatcher? about?
21. Given the content so far, how might this
apply to your practice?
With students
With colleagues
With families
Meaningful
Doable
“Observable”
22. Decide when and how often to use a
reinforcer
Decrease my use of verbal prompts in favor
of visual cues
Increase the number of appropriate social
interactions in the classroom
23. Identify ways to encourage a student to
accomplish more work
Teach student to initiate and complete
morning arrival routines with minimal adult
support
Increase independence and advocacy skills
Help student know that sometimes he does
need help from a grown-up.
24. Communicate concerns in an effective way –
whom do I really report to? Resource? GE?
Administrator?
Share my thoughts with teachers
Share strategies that have worked with fellow
paraeducators
25. At least get acquainted with some of our
tools
reflection
goal-writing
coaching conversation
26.
27. Consider carefully
Skyrocketing numbers
“One to one” assignments
Appropriate supervision and evaluation
28.
29. More research
into reasons why numbers are skyrocketing
about roles performed by teachers and
paraeducators
Clarification from professional organizations
the use of “1:1” paraeducators (e.g., CEC draft
statement)
Planning and planning tools
30. Principals know everything
about something.
Teachers know something
about everything.
But paraeducators are
expected to know
everything about
everything…
--Kent Gerlach
31.
32. Across Indiana, for example:
IN Council for Administrators of Special Education
ISEAS University Forum (Teacher preparation
faculty and special education administrators)
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
IN*Source
IDOE grant projects
▪ IN Inclusive Schools Support Project
▪ IN Paraeducator Support Project