1. IMPROVING
COMMUNICATION
BETWEEN TEACHERS
AND PARAEDUCATORS
Dr. Tiffany Rodriguez
Cal State Fullerton
NRCP Conference 2012

2. The Teacher-Para Relationship
• One of the most unique relationships in the school
• Roles can often be unclear
• Chain of command and procedures related to the
relationship can be unclear
• “Institutionalized Ambiguity”

3. Underlying Problems in the Teacher-Para
Dynamic
• Teachers tend to avoid or tip-toe around sensitive
issues
• Paraeducators are not sure how to effectively
express their views to the teacher
• Teachers tend to value diplomacy in the classroom
and may put it above what’s best for students
• When chain of command is not formalized, teachers
and paraeducators remain unclear as to how to
define their partnership

4. Opening the Lines of Communication
• Whatever your role, ask to sit down and meet for 20-30
minutes with the teacher/paraeducator/principal to discuss
the following:
• Who does what? Why?
• How should we handle differences of opinion?
• Logistics: start time, end time, who to contact when late or
absent, breaks, etc.
• How do we want to make sure we’re communicating
frequently? (use a comm book, phone
calls, text, emails, weekly meetings)

5. Communication is HARD!
• Words are abstract symbols that represent real things, but words
themselves are not real things.
• Example: think of a phone. How do you picture a phone? Color?
Size? Cell phone? Land-line phone? Shape? Size?
• In schools, these kinds of misunderstandings can occur when we
talk about things like “students with disabilities” “discipline” “good
teaching” “autism” “positive behavior supports”. Our meaning of
these issues can vary greatly and cause misunderstandings or an
avoidance of communication from fear of conflict or disagreement.

6. What good communicators do
• They engage you, capture your attention, involve you.
• They make what they say relevant to you and your world so that
you can relate.
• They share a part of themselves with you.
• They build a rapport by constantly tuning in to you, even when
they’re just reporting information.
• They value you as a listener, checking in frequently and showing
interest.
• They encourage you to share your thoughts.
• They paraphrase and reflect what you say.
• They communicate ideas, not simply words.
• They adjust their pace depending on the complexity of the topic.
DeBroer (1995)

7. Starting a conversation with a question
• Sometimes it can be uncomfortable to approach a particular
subject. Questions can help open a conversation…
• “I wonder how…”
• “I am confused about…”
• “I get the impression that…”
• “What do you think about…”

8. Reflecting Statements
• “It sounds like you feel out on a limb with this one.”
• “You sounds very concerned for this child’s well-
being.”
• “It sounds like this whole situation has been very
frustrating for you.”

9. Positive Communication Statements
Do Say… Don’t say…
• “I was hoping that with your • “I wouldn’t do it that way.”
input, we could come up • “That’s not the point.”
with a good solution
• “That’s really not the issue
together.” here.”
• “I’ll bet if we put our two • “I knew that wasn’t going to
minds together, we can
work.”
come up with something.”
• “That just isn’t do-able.”
• “Great idea! I wouldn’t have
thought of that!”

10. Building solutions
• Do say:
• It sounds like you’re concerned about how the other
students in the class will react to this. Let’s think of
some ideas that will ensure they all react positively.
• You mentioned that your time is very limited. You’re
right. Let’s find a solution that works within your
schedule.

11. Building solutions
• Don’t say:
• Let’s not talk about that right now. Let’s focus on the
solution.
• That won’t work because the student doesn’t
respond to anything where he has to write. There are
a lot of other things we can do. Let me tell you five
other ideas.

12. Working with Challenging Personality Types

13. Know-It-Alls
• Have been around a long time
• May have a hard time letting go of their ideas and
considering others
• Not likely to admit when they are wrong, so don’t try
to make them
• Know your stuff, and speak confidently to them
• Give them a lot of credit
• Say things like, “That’s a really good point. Have you
ever thought of this?” or “Can we try it this way for a
week and I’ll take data on how it goes?”

14. Complainers
• Two types of complainers:
• The “Debbie Downers” who are seemingly ALWAYS
complaining about EVERYTHING
• Those who really don’t know what to do – their complaining is
more situational
• Listen and hear them out
• Move quickly to a solution (“Okay, I hear your dilemma. Now
let’s try to solve this.”)
• Be cautious that they do not become dependent on you. Be
upfront, firm, and kind. Say something like, “Okay, I will show
you this one time. Take notes. I will talk and I want you to
write down what I say. I expect that you will be able to do this
on your own.”

15. Bullies
• Make and maintain eye contact
• Listen to them
• Let them go on and on
• When they start to slow down, speak up and be
assertive: “Okay, I’ve been listening to you, and now
I’d like you to listen to me.”
• When they interrupt you, be assertive again: “Now
wait a minute, I listened to you and now it’s my turn.”
• You may or may not come to an agreement, but most
likely they will respect you more and not bully you in
the future.

16. Sniper
• A “sniper” is someone who makes comments under
their breath or gossips about you.
• Call them out. In a nice way, say, “It sounded like you
have some concerns when you said _______. Can you
tell me more about that?” or “I heard that you’ve
been unhappy about _____. Let’s talk about it.”
• Once they’re called out, they’re less likely to
behave that way around you in the future.

17. Role Play
Choose one scenario each and take turns with a partner, with one of
you as the teacher and one of you as the paraeducator.
Scenario #1: You (the paraeducator) work in a classroom for students
with autism. It seems like the teacher lets the kids get away with a lot
of poor behavior. You’re not sure if you should follow how the
teacher does it or approach student behaviors the way you’ve always
done it.
Scenario #2: You (the paraeducator) work as a 1:1 with a 6 th grade
student with Down syndrome in a general education classroom. You
noticed that the teacher never includes the student in the classroom
reinforcement system, which you feel isn’t fair.

18. Letter of Appreciation Exercise
• If you are a paraeducator, take a couple of minutes now to write
yourself a letter of appreciation for all that you do. This is yours to
keep. Consider making a habit of this and doing it once monthly or
quarterly. That way, you will have a chance to recognize yourself for
all that you do and reflect on the positive impact you have every
day in students’ lives.
• If you are a teacher or administrator, take a couple of minutes to
write a letter of appreciation to a paraeducator you know. Consider
doing this regularly to show your recognition and boost morale.