What is the role of a paraprofessional in a classroom?
The paraprofessional should have an active role in the classroom. They should be tracking student grades, taking notes when appropriate, track absences of students with disabilities, and checking-in with the students with an IEP to ensure their success in the classroom. The paraprofessional should be tracking/noting the daily activities in the class, be informed of the directions for daily tasks, and be prepared to help ALL students with questions regarding the daily activities.
- Re-read with students in a 1:1 arrangement for stories, lengthy classroom texts, articles, etc., after the teacher has introduced material.
- Review concepts that have not been fully grasped by the student, or provide additional practice to help students achieve mastery.
- Supervise students working independently while teacher is re-teach students who did not understand the previously taught material.
- Maintain files/data for students with disabilities.
- Read tests aloud for students with IEPs and this accommodation.
- Grade tests or student work using a key/rubric.
- Work with small, heterogeneous groups that include typical learners (material should be reviewed not taught for the first time in this arrangement).
- Prepare class materials for upcoming activities (lab stations, copies, etc.).
- Collect data (ex. behavior data - "how many times did student x blurt out the answer in a 10 min period?").
- Communication to the case managers "...regarding matters directly related to students with special needs that nmay need teacher-teacher discussion" (p. 17).
- Pull students out for testing in a smaller environment per the accommodations on their IEP.
Source: Friend, M. (2014). Co-Teach! Building and Sustaining Effective Classroom Partnerships in Inclusive Schools (2nd ed.). Greensboro, SC: Marilyn Friend.
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