A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Elements of Good Paraprofessional Practice

Ongoing Professional Development

In Title I projects that have earned national recognition for their positive effects, staff development for paraprofessionals (as well as other staff) is sometimes a key feature,³ and the terms of ESEA promote this approach. However, Title I paraprofessionals in general may have few staff development opportunities. Millsap et al.'s study (1993) showed that although nearly one-third of Title I teachers participated in more than 35 hours of professional development each year, fewer than one-tenth of Title I assistants did. The levels of participation reported by Title I paraprofessionals in this study are summarized below.

Levels of Participation of Title I Paraprofessionals in
Professional Development

The adequacy of any professional development program is influenced by its goals, curriculum, and structure, among other things. These dimensions of training are discussed below.

Goals. Developing a good training program begins by identifying the skills and knowledge instructional personnel need to work effectively. For all teachers and paraprofessionals, ease in communicating in standard grammatical English, ability to read and write proficiently, and a working knowledge of general mathematics are important for both completing assigned tasks and providing a model of adult competence. Some situations also call for special kinds of skill and knowledge, for example, the ability to communicate in students' home language or to show when shifting from one language or dialect to standard English is appropriate. These kinds of competence are the minimal prerequisites for employment as a teaching assistant. Research suggests that job-related preservice or inservice education for most paraprofessionals should be designed to address the following additional demands of their work (Pickett & NEA, 1994):

• Recognizing and accommodating the school policies affecting their roles

• Resolving the legal and ethical issues involved in their roles in the classroom

• Understanding the role expectations of their position relative to teachers, administrators, students, and parents
• Using effective discipline and classroom management strategies

• Observing, documenting, and reporting student behavior

• Using and maintaining instructional materials
• Using audiovisual, duplicating, and other equipment relevant to their assignments

• Providing first aid and directing safety procedures

• Developmental characteristics of children

• Learning principles and instructional strategies

• Classroom and behavior management strategies

• School policies, legal and ethical issues, and confidentiality protection

• School governance issues concerning school or district practices

• Maintenance of a safe and secure environment

In addition, all school staff, including paraprofessionals, should participate in professional development activities that: help educators develop a sensitivity to and understanding of other cultures; examine the relative effects of socio-economic status and cultural factors that influence students' learning; and develop the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and build on students' existing resources and assets. Also, depending on the demands of their assignments, paraprofessionals may require more specialized seminars and workshops. Some useful topics include: (1) guidance on when to translate into students' home language rather than elaborate in simpler forms of the target language, (2) technical or scientific terms and concepts, (3) strategies for working with children with attention deficit disorders and/or drug dependency-related behavioral problems, (4) responses to violent incidents, and (5) parent conferences.

Structure. Reviews of the relevant literature (Pickett & NEA, 1994) suggest that as many as 70 to 90 percent of teaching assistants are hired without prior training. In light of the technical and professional demands of the position, preservice and inservice education ought to be regularly scheduled activities. However, paraprofessionals seldom receive either; only six states and the District of Columbia provide a formal training plan or other structure to help prepare paraprofessionals for their positions (Pickett & NEA, 1994).

What's more, the availability of training does not increase greatly once teaching assistants are on the job:

Despite increased reliance on paraprofessionals in roles that have become more demanding, all too frequently they are the forgotten members of the team. In the 1960s and 1970s there were concerted efforts by provider agencies and two- and four-year colleges to establish mechanisms and standards for selection, credentialing, and training aimed at providing career development opportunities for a skilled paraprofessional workforce. However, beginning in the early 1980s these efforts were moved to the back burner, becoming afterthoughts in the public policy arena. (Pickett & NEA, 1994, p. 2)

Effective professional development should include: a preassessment of the teaching assistant's training needs, established objectives, an activities plan, resources for learning, and a method of evaluating the improvement in targeted knowledge and skills. Development activities should provide a continuum of experiences, including:

• Formal orientation setting the foundation for paraprofessionals' work. Participating as a fully contributing member in a team effort requires understanding the team's goals, its relationship to the larger institution, and the ways different roles and responsibilities fit together to form an integrated whole.

• Training sessions that supplement and enhance knowledge and skill development. Paraprofessionals, like other educators, are continually learning from their practice, but their learning can be accelerated and focused at key junctures by formal professional development experiences.

• Structured on-the-job coaching in classrooms or other learning environments. Every concept and strategy acquires a slightly new shape when applied to real classroom settings and implemented with the unique skills and insights of a practitioner. Paraprofessionals, like other educators, learn best when formal training is supplemented with opportunities to reflect on practice in the company of a colleague whose understanding of a given technique or content area is more advanced.

• Opportunities for paraprofessionals to earn academic credit or enter professional preparation programs. Because the content of professional development programs often overlaps formal coursework for teachers, and because the pool of teaching assistants has been identified as ideal in many ways for recruiting new teachers, the quality, relevance, and motivational features of inservice education may be enhanced overall by links with formal education.

In addition, schools and districts should not only coordinate inservice training sessions with paraprofessionals' schedules but also search for innovative alternatives when the usual approaches are ineffective. Sites featured in this Idea Book and others reviewed for the project have exercised imagination and initiative in putting together training programs for paraprofessionals that meet their needs while accommodating their crowded schedules.

Utah and Nebraska are among several states that are grappling with the challenge of providing professional development opportunities to educators in rural districts, whose location limit access to urban community colleges, universities, and other training sponsors. Although state officials in Utah wanted to increase the quality and consistency of paraprofessionals' training, the state's size and its mix of urban and rural districts posed a major accessibility problem. The state's leaders decided to develop and transmit a series of televised courses to the rural sites, with most of the sites located in high schools or other school district buildings. Utah has had some difficulty in establishing the sites because many places lack the requisite technology. Nebraska faces the same problem in its efforts to supplement paraprofessionals' learning. Some of the alternatives the state is considering include: on-site group training at individual schools, an independent studycourse, and an interactive network on the Internet.

One study demonstrating that well-conceived training can lead to desired results was conducted by Ida Love, assistant superintendent of Kansas City, Missouri, schools (Love & Levine, n.d.). Participating paraprofessionals were assigned to one of three groups, with all three groups expected to learn (1) reinforcement strategies for helping students develop reading skills and (2) motivational techniques. One group received 40 hours of professional development focusing on reading skills and motivation techniques supplemented with one or more follow-up coaching sessions. A second group received only the initial 40-hour course. A third group received only the forms of coaching normally offered by classroom teachers. Those in the first group used the reinforcement strategies and motivational techniques more effectively than those in the second group, who received only training. These two groups applied the techniques better than the third group, with only incidental training.

Along with preservice and inservice education, instructive and supportive supervision can significantly improve teaching assistants' performance. Although some paraprofessionals may lack access to formal training, they can learn from the teachers who direct their work, if time and circumstances permit. Such arrangements promote a team approach for meeting the needs of students, give teachers opportunities to groom paraprofessionals to assume new tasks, and provide teaching assistants with feedback to improve their performance. Some skills, such as tutoring or managing student behavior, also benefit from systematic planning. It must be noted, however, that some teachers have hectic schedules that may prevent them from providing routine or consistent support. Therefore, the school system must make a commitment to supporting this teamwork.

[Appropriate Job Qualifications]

[Organizational Support for Paraprofessionals' Work]