Within my program (settings I-III EBD) I am responsible for scheduling paraprofessional support to address student needs. When student needs change (i.e., the addition of students into my program), I have to make scheduling changes...enter frustration :). How do I determine which students/target service times should lose support/change so that new student needs can be met; tough! Different factors come into play when thinking about this, such as relationship building, intensity of behaviors, topography of behaviors.
I am hoping for comments/experience you may have on a "type" of need that you find just requires para support (such as, on task/proximity support or organizational support). Or, do you feel that a paras' relationship with the student is a key factor. In all cases, it is hard to target the reason why a student's schedule of support should stay the same or be changed (as all students have individualized needs); I am finding it difficult to explain to staff why/for what reason their schedules/service models are changing when they don't/can't have all of the information. Thanks!
I can only imagine how challenging this process would be. Deciding which students need support and how much support they need each day seems like an impossiblely overwhelming task.
ReplyDeleteI would say that classroom dynamics plays a key role in how much my students will need a para in the room. If I have an EBD student that is in a responsible class that can ignore or diffuse his behavior, then I don't necessarily need extra support. But if I have 2-3 EBD students in an already loud and crazy class, then that support is necessary.
I would also say that outwardly disruptive behavior is something that requires the support of a para. If a student is distracting and needs someone to refocus her constantly, then a para is useful in the classrom because I don't always have to be altering the flow of my lesson to address that student.
I would say that I work with some fabulous paras this eyar. They make my challenging classes manageable and help me to advance learning in my other classes in a way that I otherwise wouldn't be able to do. So thank you for the work you do in scheduling them.
Ryan that is a difficult question to answer. We have the same situation but thankfully I have two other staff members to discuss this issue with. What we look at is who needs the most support and continue with what they have. We next look to see if there are other paras in the classroom for other students. If so we are able to touch base with that para about our students in the classroom. The next option for us would be to have a para take on different classrooms. Depending on the student needs we adjust with the para. Maybe the student needs help getting started with classs or the student needs help during classwork time. Hopefully that may help and like I said I'm glad I have two other teachers to talk about this with.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it depends on how much 1:1 of para time is needed for that particular student. If you have a student with really high needs, then it almost seems like the para is stuck needing to work with that student. I don't normally work with paras since I either co-teach or teach EL classes, but I see that in some classes some paras have close relationships with some kids. I think that's fantastic. In other classes, it seems that the paras are pounding the pavement to try to get to a high number of kids. So, I guess it is so individual to the needs of the kids, which may just be the obvious answer, but that's all I can really come up with! I also agree with Connie, that some classes don't have mainstream kids depending on para support, and I know some classes are just large where everyone gets para support! So I guess you just weigh it out as best you can:) Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteGreat question!
ReplyDeleteI would say that it is extremely important that students have a great relationship with the para that they are working with because often times I have seen students become extremely defiant with people they do not trust or simply just feel like they arent getting the help/respect they deserve from a para.
I think that it takes time for the students and paras to understand what works best for them when they are working with each other.
I also think that sometimes students dont even care to have a relationship and so there are times in my class when I feel like the students arent concerned about building a relationship with someone to help get them working, rather they just need a little re-direction at times when they are being distracted or distracting others.
I agree with Gina-I think building a relationship between the para and the student is the number one factor in making it a successful working situation. I have taught classes where the para and student do NOT get a long and it has sometimes been more disruptive to have the para there than not have her there. Obviously, it is easier said than done because there are multiple factors that can curb the relationship from being a positive one... such as the student not wanting to have anything to do with the para even though they need their support. It's a delicate situation!
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