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

State funded

One year at a time

Local district-university collaboration

Local district initiative around advanced

paraeducator preparation

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.

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.

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.

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

IN numbers 2008

Teachers – 8,802
Paraed. – 8,342
Fed numbers

Teachers – 408,075
Paraed. – 364,584

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

Working with
paraeducators
on the job…

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

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!

Working with
paraeducators
on the job – providing
direction and support

They need professional development.

They need direction and feedback.

They need appreciation and

acknowledgment.
They must be valued members of
educational teams.

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

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

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

Identity

Agency

Goal

Giving and getting support

 Help is valued!
“Knowledge as practice…”

Protocols


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?

Given the content so far, how might this

apply to your practice?
 With students
 With colleagues
 With families
Meaningful
Doable
“Observable”

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

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.

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

At least get acquainted with some of our

tools
 reflection
 goal-writing
 coaching conversation

Consider carefully
 Skyrocketing numbers
 “One to one” assignments
 Appropriate supervision and evaluation

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


Principals know everything
about something.
Teachers know something
about everything.
But paraeducators are
expected to know
everything about
everything…
--Kent Gerlach

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