A Study On Teachers And Working Together On An Educational Setting

General education teachers ought to be included in training paraeducators (Collins and Wolery, 2012). Due to the fact that general education teachers are part of the instructional team for the special education students, they need to be included in training the paraeducators. The paraeducators are in the general education classroom more than they are in the special education classroom in an inclusive classroom. The paraeducators need to have a basic understanding of the strategies established in the classroom and how they can help to maintain any supports.

The authors went on to state that paraprofessionals “reported that they had some familiarity with the concept of self determined behavior for students with disabilities, with even lower levels of access to professional development opportunities pertaining to self-determined behaviors” (Lane, Carter, & Sisco, 2012, p. 246). Paraprofessionals are expected to play key roles in the education of students with severe disabilities, but they are not given the proper tools to complete this task successfully. Teachers, students and paraprofessionals would be greatly benefited if every person involved in the education of a child was properly trained.

Currently, I am a Personal Care Instructional Aide for a nonverbal Down Syndrome student at West Hempfield Elementary. I work hand and hand with the special education teacher to devise lesson plans to suit the needs of my student. I am responsible for implementing the lesson plans one-on-one with my student in Language Arts, Mathematics, and social skills interactions daily. On a daily basis, I am also responsible for molding and shaping my student's behaviors and prompt when necessary. Working in the learning support room has taught me a variety of ways to incorporate differentiated instruction to suit the needs of all students. It has also shown me the type of teacher I should be, a teacher who adapts content to meet the needs of all learners and the importance of inclusion.

U1 AC 3.1 - Explain the relationship that exists between the teaching role and other professionals, as listed below, then think of other professionals that you come into contact with and explain the relationships. (Please attach any additional sheets and supporting evidence.)

While this current arrangement is causing some frustration on behalf of the Office of Professional Learning, it was necessary due to budgetary cuts. Since these services were contracted out, paraprofessional stability has been a concern. Many employees do not stay in the role long term and often leave mid-year cause classrooms to enter a state of disequilibrium. In the future, the MCIU would like to bring paraprofessionals back into the organization so they can provide a more rigorous induction program which could lead to less turnover in the role.

The United School District (USD) 475 is located in the small town of Junction City and on the military installation of Fort Riley, Kansas where I lived from June of 2004 to December of 2014. Shortly after receiving my high school diploma in 2012, I applied for the position of Paraprofessional at an Elementary school. I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to gain some experience in this field, since my original goal was to become a special education teacher. However, what I did not anticipated was that this formal organization was plagued by an array of bureaucratic shortcomings that affected the effectiveness and efficiency of the support staff.

During this study, participants were guaranteed that the researcher was seeking to improve their educational working relationships. And, in order to assist readers with a better understanding of the assumptions drawn from this research, it was essential to cultivate an understanding of each of the participants included within the study. A short biographical entry of each participant is included below.

While in High School, I was involved in the Peer Tutoring program. Although I had already been involved with the several other programs, I knew from an early age that a Special Education teacher was what I wanted to do. Helping students achieve their goals and help them to succeed in life was my true calling. But the desire to help the most challenged student drove me beyond regular education. The memories of my Peer tutoring experience kept me striving to be a

I interviewed several service providers in my school, Stephen Knight Center for Early Education, that included the psychologist, special education teacher and a general education teacher. I interviewed Ms. Iris, the school psychologist, Ms. Kathy, the special education teacher, and Ms. Hilary, a general education teacher. Ms. Iris’ responsibilities include working with students who have social emotional needs. This can include behavior challenges, learning new social skills, managing grief, etc. She works directly with parents and teachers to provide resources regarding the child’s well-being, and ensure good attendance by setting up plans. Ms. Iris works with children in general education, counseling groups, and one-on-one situations, including special education minutes. Ms. Hilary is a general education classroom teacher. She is responsible for the well-being of her students academically, socially, physically and developmentally. Ms. Hilary also advocates for families and students to receive the support that they need to feel successful in their first years of school. Finally, Ms. Kathy is the staffing

Patty McVay stated seven roles paraprofessionals play in a classroom which include: leading small groups designed by the teachers, gathering materials, providing assistance for personal care and other physical needs, assisting students to complete directions given by the teacher, facilitating interactions between students, adapting lessons under the teacher’s guidance and executing other, often unseen, but very important tasks for the classroom community (McVay, 1998).

I love this article and I think it brings up some good points. I love how the author Deb Leach, starts out by saying "I may upset a few parents with this post, but just know that I what I am about to say is in the best interest of your children". I agree with the author one of the worst things you can do is to assign a non-certified staff person to a shadow a child. Although, I have never worked in the school system as a paraprofessional my son had a professional in elementary school and he hated it. Everyday hew came home he complained about the paraprofessional that was assigned to him. I found out years later that she had no prior experience working with children with special needs. I was very hurtful to find out this several years later.

Collaboration between teachers is a key component to professional development that will lead to higher student achievement. There is a need for schools to set up time for teachers to be able to collaborate together. This allows for teachers to help each other, matchup content, teach each other new and best practices, troubleshoot student issues just to name a few of the areas that collaboration time can help foster within a school. The key is to build time for teachers to be able to collaborate during the school day or week. This collaboration time needs to be between grade levels, departments, and cross curricular when needed. For many schools this is an afterthought to the school schedule or a fleeting thought after the master schedule is completed. A principal needs to keep an open mind to any strategy that will enable the teachers to be able to collaborate for the good of the students and the school.

The research theory that the direction of causation between child and adult behavior is a two-way street can cause the parents to change the behaviors of the child and the child can change the behaviors of the parent. Additionally, research has shown parents of children with disabilities are very adapt at adjusting their interactions with their children to maximize positive development. Research has proven the purpose of early intervention is not to train the parents but to develop the parent-child relationship.

Very interesting questions, Tim. Is a designated leader needed for teacher collaboration? I believe that is your question. When I was a teacher at Carmel High School, we held PLC meetings weekly. During the first year, the administration appointed leaders to each PLC. The second year, the administration team changed their directive and allowed teachers to form their own PLC's in groups of 4-5, following the same format as the previous year. What happened when they allowed the staff an option of their team and leaders was amazing. The staff took, what during the first year as a directive, and during the second year with given the room to self-identify their group leader, outcomes started to occur. From that point on, annually the teachers

Upon receipt of an email from Ruth Ann Ponten, a 7th grade math teacher, Maya Thomas, the district staff development and instructional consultant, immediately took action to help support the struggling teacher. Ruth Ann was located at a school within a rural community that was undergoing a major transition. The community of farm workers and working class families was transitioning to a community of educated professionals that were being attracted to the community’s strong, tight-knit feel and impeccable older homes. With the change of families, new expectations regarding education started to emerge as well.