Marin , Allie, Hannah

Inclusion II
Professional Development presentation notes
Title: How to Co teach with a paraprofessional..
Standards:
InTASK Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks appropriate
leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to
collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and
community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession
Council for Exceptional Children Standard #7: Beginning special education
professionals collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers,
individuals with exceptionalities, and personnel from community agencies in
culturally responsive ways to address the needs of individuals with exceptionalities
across a range of learning experiences.
Goals:

To distinguish appropriate roles for paraprofessionals in a co-teaching classroom.

To recognize parapros strengths and weaknesses in order to best incorporate
their skills in the classroom to benefit all students.

Lesson
Introduction/Prior knowledge:
Define a paraprofessional's role in the classroom. answer on google doc (projector).
Prior knowledge
know what co-teaching is
know the models of co-teaching
limited knowledge on effective co-teaching with a parapro
Step by Step Procedure (teacher moves-student moves)
show them todays meet online
ask them to define roles of a paraprofessional in the classroom (5 min)
have them fill in answers on today's meet
they can type them in or shout them out and we will type them in
Todays meet throughout- point out something you've learned/interesting
fact/take notes throughout so that we can see what we learned and how our
opinions are changing or ask/answer question.
do you think this job should be mostly the responsibility of a teacher, a parapro or
both (10 minutes)
move to a corner

everyone sits down- all these jobs can be both and here is why.
dont forget to remind them to use todays meet if they have Qs/ learn any new
fact they want to remember
Delivery of instruction (5 min)
can deliver instruction in different ways
bring different pieces to table
reclarify in a different light
let them differentiate the instruction
ask them how you can help
just because you have a parapro in the classroom doesnt mean you don't
need to do your job you are still the teacher and are expected to teach
have them brainstorm with a group on how they can see this being used in
the classroom
share out what each group talked about
example: parallel teaching: during a lesson the parapro breaks down the
lesson to a small group of similar needs students, different from the general
class, in order to meet their specific needs.
behavior management (5 min)
extra set of eyes in the classroom
pulling out and talking to a disruptive student
stop the disruption before it happens
realize cues
remove the child after keys are noticed
help them cope in stressful circumstances
student having a bad day
two people dealing with a situation can be more calm
any student not just with special needs
positive behavior reinforcement
discuss: how can this be used in a classroom?
example: when a student has a behavior sticker chart for positive the parapro
can be looking out for desired behaviors and award stickers during
instruction.
team participation (5min)
contribute ideas in meetings
help with lesson planning
balance!!!
not a personal assistant
dont just have them make copies for you
more to offer
help with grading
discuss: how can this be used in a classroom?

example: sitting down with your co-teacher to discuss the lesson and who is
going to fulfill each role

Challenges (5 min)
moved around a lot, dont get too used to working with one teacher before they
are switched
used to small group not whole class instruction
roles defined poorly
many roles they can have
need to be flexible
whats expected when
if they work too much with a particular student, they can become isolated.
they could accidentally create a special class in a class by always having the
parapro work with the same (low achieving) students
they cant be the primary educator, but when you walk in a classroom it shouldnt
be obvious who is the parapro
under teachers supervision but not below the teacher
varied training and skill set
each parapro brings different skills and the teacher needs to find out what these
are in order to use them effectively.
over expectations for the parapro
they may not know all the content area material right away.
building a relationship
it takes time!
Discussion: What other challenges can you see with having a parapro in the
classroom
benefits (5min)
higher student to teacher ratio
more individualized
differentiation
assist students with disabilities
can help students who are low but dont qualify for special education
another person to explain information differently
point of view
teaching style
different specializations working together
languages
specialization
solve problems before they become an issue
refocus students without disrupting class
and many more

Discussion: What other benefits can you see with having a parapro in the classroom
Conclusion- visit google doc created throughout with notes from today's meet- what
else have you learned (5 min)

Questions to ask students

how can you apply each concept in a classroom?
Activity
Game: Do you think this job should be mostly the responsibility of a teacher,
a parapro or both (10 minutes)
move to a corner
Assessment
Pre-assessment: what do you know (on today's meet) and moving to sides of
the room for whose job a task is
Formative assessment: having them come up with thoughts in discussion and
seeing what sticks with them throughout
Post assessment: what have you learned wrap up activity
Closure
Visit original thoughts and thoughts throughout
how have they changed?
what new understandings do we have?
Data collection/assessment
Pre-assessment: what do you know (on today's meet) and moving to sides of
the room for whose job a task is
Formative assessment: having them come up with thoughts in discussion and
seeing what sticks with them throughout
Post assessment: what have you learned wrap up activity
Technology
todays meet
google docs
power point
Materials
computers/technology which access the internet
projector