Core to the OPEPP mission are twin aspirations: (1) to help districts and educators engage and support paraprofessionals as instructional team members and peers, and (2) to empower paraprofessional and teacher-para teams in support of providing a supportive and academically challenging education to each student.
OPEPP’s resource package of learning modules have always had those aspirations in mind. From the deep-dive, research-based learning modules, OPEPP has thus far produced two courses for educators. These courses improve the preparation experiences of teachers and paraprofessionals, and enable teachers to earn continuing education credit toward license renewal requirements.
The two courses, coming in 2023, will focus on enhancing teacher capacity to help paraprofessional colleagues understand their roles, and to help paraprofessionals support the delivery of quality instruction.
Helping Paraprofessionals to Understand Their Role
Helping Paraprofessionals to Understand Their Role
As a result of participation in this course, teachers will learn to:
- Describe preferred roles and practices for paraprofessional educators in inclusive schools and classrooms;
- explain the critical role of instructional teams in the improvement of teaching and learning.
- assist paraprofessionals in using effective modes of communication.
- use active listening.
- guide paraprofessionals in the use of effective teacher-parapro communication tools and routines.
Helping Paraprofessionals to Understand Instruction
Helping Paraprofessionals to Understand Instruction
As a result of participation in this course, teachers will learn to:
- help paraprofessionals contribute to and be recognized in the work of instructional teams.
- help paraprofessionals in communicating with parents.
- explain productive student-paraprofessional communication methods.
- Team effectively with paraprofessionals to improve interagency collaboration.
- Model practices that safeguard confidentiality of information about students, families, and colleagues.
- Understand fundamental principles of effective behavior management and share them with paraprofessional colleagues.
- Guide paraprofessionals in the collection, analysis, and use of data pertinent to academic and pro-social learning.