Introducing Paraeducator E-Learning Modules

Paraeducator Mission & Mindset
This module will help paraeducators…

• Understand the paraeducator role and the impact you can have.
• Build a strong partnership with teachers and other staff.
• Protect student privacy and manage information sharing.
• Make the most of your first months on the job.

Building Relationships with Students
This module will help paraeducators…

• Build "developmental relationships" with students.
• Tap into students' personal and cultural identities as assets for learning.
• Manage professional and personal boundaries in your relationships with students.
• Understand the power of asset-based communication and use it with students.

Child Development: Four Things Paraeducators Should Know
This module will help paraeducators…

• Understand stages of child and adolescent development and how they might apply to your students.
• Use a little knowledge about how our brains learn and culturally and linguistically responsive practice to provide strong student support.
• Understand how adverse childhood experiences can impact a student's development and stress response, and how you can help.
• Give students an active role in their own learning (student voice, choice, and control).

Managing Big Emotions and Behaviors
This module will help paraeducators…

• Use compassionate curiosity skills to understand why students behave the way they do.
• Learn about the cycle of escalation and what is happening when a student is dysregulated.
• Learn de-escalation strategies you can use to manage three types of behavior: classroom disruptions/work avoidance, physical aggression, and peer conflicts.
• Help with behavior data collection when students need more intensive social emotional support (behavior assessments, progress monitoring, and incident reports).
• Help students develop emotional regulation and social emotional skills.

Understanding Inclusion, IEPs, and Accommodations
This module will help paraeducators…

• Make sure students with disabilities feel valued and included.
• Support the process your school uses to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a student with a disability.
• Help support different co-teaching models teachers use to create inclusive classrooms.
• Learn how to read an IEP and help provide instructional modifications and accommodations in the classroom.
• Collect data and monitor a student's progress on IEP goals.

Empowering Multilingual Learners
This module will help paraeducators…

• Build relationships with multilingual learners that makes them feel known, valued, and included.
• Understand the process schools use to identify English learners and ensure they receive any language development services they need.
• Help students use their home language as a resource for learning (translanguaging).
• Use WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework tools — specifically, the Four Key Language Uses and Proficiency Level Descriptors — to help students achieve English proficiency and build academic skills.

Providing Academic Support
This module will help paraeducators…

• Be a "warm demander" who helps students become confident, independent learners.
• Learn four things you can do to prepare to provide strong academic support and explore student learning goals for grades you serve.
• Use "prompting" strategically to check for learning in real time and adjust the level of support you provide.
• Support small group work in ways that meet the needs of diverse learners.
• Be prepared to provide academic support.