Strategies for Paraeducators to Help Students Become More Independent

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Strategies for Paraeducators to Help Students
Become More Independent

• January 25, 2005

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Paraeducator Development Plan Menu(to be used in
conjunction with Paraeducators Personal
Development Plan)
Directions This menu is a tool for you to use as
you progress through the Paraeducator Course.
Whenever you come across topics about which you
would like more information, place a checkmark
next to the topic and indicate in the Notes
column any specifics (for example, in 1 indicate
which disability). For each topic checked make an
entry in the Paraeducator Personal Development
Plan.
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Paraeducator Development Plan
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Local Policy

• Your local districts policies regarding
  paraeducator job descriptions, duties, and
  responsibilities provide the final word!

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Learner Outcomes

• Participants will
• Define concepts
• Apply methods of effective instruction to
  selected scenarios
• Identify strategies and tools to move students
  from dependent to independent learning
• Examine the role of the paraeducator in promoting
  self-regulated and independent learning

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Agenda

• Building independence
• Why
• Knowing about
• Building self-regulation
• Building self-determination
• Effective and systematic instruction to increase
  student performance and independence

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Student

• Is he as independent as he might be or as others?
  
• Is he ready to learn and does he take charge of
  his learning?
• Does he need prompts? Is there a plan to
  fade/reduce prompts?
• What reinforcers are used? Do you use the same
  reinforcers in most situations?
• Jot down a student situation, the prompts, and
  the reinforcers. We will refer to this later.

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Building IndependenceWhat is it all about?
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Building Independence Why Build Independence?

• Why do we want to build independence for the
  student?
• So that the student
• Progresses and achieves
• Has membership in the school community
• Is a lifelong learner

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Building Independence Know about

• Student abilities and learn from your students
• Input and output
• Learning environments
• Tasks and routines
• Tools needed and utilized

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Building Independence Know about continued

• Impact of students disability on learning
• Communication
• Input/output
• Receptive/expressive
• Sensory abilities/disabilities

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Building Independence What might it look like
when there is a mismatch?

• Frustration and anxiety
• Poor motivation
• Lack of effective learning strategies
• Insufficient time available for study
• Procrastination
• Lack of goals
• Failure to seek help
• Difficulty in self-monitoring progress
• Poor test preparation

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Building Independence Why are some students less
successful learners?

• They may hold faulty beliefs about their ability,
  learning and motivation
• They may be unaware of their ineffective learning
  behavior
• They may fail to sustain effective learning and
  motivational strategies
• They may not be ready to change their learning
  and study behavior

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Building Independence What are some of the major
components that influence success?

• Motivation (Why?)
• Methods of learning (How?)
• Use of time (When?)
• Control of ones physical environment (Where?)
• Control of ones social environment (With whom?)
• Control of ones performance (What?)

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Quote The will to succeed only feeds the
hunger

• .from And They Say , a current song by Nelly
  on the popular music charts

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Building Self-Regulation What is self-regulation?

• The ability of learners to control the factors or
  conditions affecting their learning
• Competence in self-regulation leads to
  independence
• Active engagement in the learning process leads
  to independence
• Success leads to more success

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Building Self-Regulation The Cornerstones of
Self-Regulation

• Goal setting
• Self-monitoring ( this can include
  self-assessment and self-recording)
• Self-instructions
• Self-reinforcement
• Arranging the environment

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Building Self-Regulation SMART Goals Specific
Measurable Action-oriented Realistic Timely
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Building Self-Determination Self-Determination

• the ability of individuals to make the choices
  that allow them to exercise control over their
  own lives, to achieve goals to which they aspire
  and to acquire the skills and resources
  necessary to participate fully and meaningfully
  in society.
• (Center on Self-Determination 1997)

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Building Self-Determination Self-Determination

• the ability of people to have the amount of
  control over their lives that they desire in
  areas they view as important
• (Brian Abery, Self-Determination Family
  Curriculum)

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Effective and Systematic InstructionWhere have
we been? Where are we going?

• Student
• Independence, success, motivation,
  self-regulation, self-determination and
  mismatches
• Learning environments
• Tasks and routines
• Tools needed and utilized
• Organizing Time

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Effective and Systematic InstructionThe
students environment

• Arrangement of the environment
• Positioning of the student
• Materials

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Effective and Systematic Instruction The
Students Environment

• Arrangement of the environment
• Meet student needs
• Avoid clutter/be organized and predictable
• Set up in advance
• Minimize changes/increase awareness of changes
• Let location be a cue for the activity
• Create opportunities to obtain or request
  materials

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Effective and Systematic Instruction The
Students Environment

• Positioning of the student
• Proximity of student to teacher
• Position of teacher to all students
• Visual needs/lighting sources
• Communication needs
• Physical needs
• Student proximity to exits, materials, peers
• Position of paraeducator in relationship to
  student

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Effective and Systematic Instruction The
Students Environment

• Materials
• Available and located in consistent location
• Visually and physically accessible
• Over time, systematically change materials to
  increase generalization

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Routines
and Tasks

• Developing a routine
• Scheduling routines
• Adjusting routines

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Routines
and Tasks

• Developing a routine
• Meaningful
• Organize teachable steps
• Clear beginning and ending
• Discrepancies or mismatches

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Routines
and Tasks

• Scheduling routines
• Natural environment/typical occurrence
• Varied/alternated levels of difficulty
• Multiple opportunities for practice

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Routines
and Tasks

• Adjusting the routine
• Smaller steps
• More support or information
• Adaptations
• Different methods
• Partial participation

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Effective and Systematic InstructionOrganizing
Time

• Routines
• Concepts
• Schedules

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Organizing
Time

• Routines
• Safety and predictability for more student
  control
• Minimal amount of adult support
• Increased student involvement

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Organizing
Time

• Concepts
• Time segments
• Activity, morning, day, week, month, class period
• Beginning, duration, end of time segment
• 1-2-3 Ready-set-go bins for materials and
  finished

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Organizing
Time

• Schedules
• Schedule
• Calendar
• Homework organizer

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Effective and systematic instructionWhere have
we been? Where are we going?

• Student
• Learning environments
• Routines and tasks
• Tools
• What happens when there continues to be a
  mismatch or discrepancy yet we still need to meet
  the goal or address the task?

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Matching
Supports to Student Needs Some Samples

• Cues
• Prompts
• Modeling
• Shaping
• Fading
• Chaining

• Scaffolding
• Partial Participation
• Wait Time
• Reinforcers

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Cues

• Natural cues are sounds, smells, objects, visual
  or tactile representations that are consistently
  or predictably present in the environment.
• Emphasized or exaggerated cues are built up
  natural cues, but make the cue more obvious to
  the student.

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Matching
Prompts to Student Needs

• Prompts
• Draw attention to the natural cue in some way
• Ask a question about necessary action
• Give an option
• Tell the student what action to take
• Physically guide the student through the process.

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Prompting
Considerations

• Types of Prompts
• Methods of Prompting
• Timing of Prompts

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Reducing
Prompt Dependency

• Authentic responses and work
• Watch proximity!
• Limit eye contact.
• Allow time to respond

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Modeling

• Modeling
• Peer or adult models
• Model steps or entire task
• I do - We do -You do

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Shaping

• Break the task/behavior into smaller steps
• Model steps
• Have student complete initial or final step
• Gradually add steps for student to complete

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Fading

• Gradual reduction of cues, prompts, and provided
  reinforcers as the student demonstrates the
  desired behavior or task

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Chaining

• Continuous chaining
• Forward chaining
• Backward chaining

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Scaffolding

• Interactions with students in which an adult
  guides and supports the learning by building on
  what the student is able to do

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Partial
Participation

• Students are given the chance to learn steps or
  parts of an activity or task

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Wait
Time

• After questioning/modeling, the paraeducator
  allows adequate time for the student to respond.

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Focusing on
Reinforcers

• Reinforcers any action or event that increases
  the likelihood that a behavior will reoccur
• Draw attention to the natural consequences of
  performing the behavior
• Ask a question about what natural consequences
  resulted from performing the behavior
• Provide reinforcer

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Effective and Systematic Instruction Activity
slide

• Identifying Ways to Enhance Student Independence
• Class Rule Student will raise hand to
  participate in class discussions.

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Student

• Is he as independent as he might be or as others?
  Would there be a different approach?
• Is he ready to learn and does he take charge of
  his learning? Would you change in any way?
• Does he need prompts? Is there a plan to
  fade/reduce prompts? Are there any changes?
• What reinforcers are used? Do you use the same
  reinforcers in most situations?

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Agenda Review Framing and
building independence Why Knowing about
Building self-regulation Effective and
systematic instruction to increase student
performance and independence
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Wrap Up

• Complete the Paraeducator Development Plan
• Complete the evaluation form
• Sign out

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Upcoming Paraeducator Trainings

• April 1 and 2, 2005 (on-line registration not
  yet available)
• Paraeducator Weekend Seminar Paraeducators You
  Make It Happen - Penn Stater Hotel and
  Conference Center
• Nationally known speakers
• Sessions
• Paraeducators Role in Progress Monitoring for
  Reading and Math, Life Skills and Behavior
• Paraeducators Role in Effective Behavior
  Management
• Paraeducator's Role in Supporting Students Who
  Use Adaptive Materials and Equipment
• April 27, 2005 After School Videoconference
• Paraeducators Role in Reading and Language Arts
  Instruction
• PaTTAN Website www.pattan.k12.pa.us