Paraeducator training: Best practices for working with students.

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Supporting students with special needs is some of the most rewarding work you can do—and it requires a special skillset achieved though paraeducator training.

Kelly Education hires thousands of paraeducators and substitute paraeducators across the country and we believe that dedicated paraeducator training and continuous professional development is the key to successfully improving student outcomes.

Dr. Kathleen Adolt-Silva, Director of Special Education at Kelly Education, is a leading expert on paraeducator training. She provides our employees with current webinars and resources, so they are always prepared and growing in their work.

In this article, we share her guidance on best practices in paraeducator training using the GREATSTART method.

Paraeducator training using the GREATSTART acronym:

Goal-oriented
Responsive
Engage with the team
Adaptable
Take a paraeducator competency self-assessment
Scaffolding for independence
Teach identifying and managing emotions and personal “voice”
Assess with the ZPD
Research ABA techniques
Track progress and collect data

Note: Employees can register for the full free online webinar training in the events section of our website.

Goal-oriented.

Paraeducators support students as they work toward their Individual Education Program (IEP) goals. These goals drive your teaching, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with the academic and developmental objectives on which your student is working.

These tips will help you stay goal-oriented:

Have a clear focus on the student’s educational and developmental objectives.
Regularly monitor progress.
Adapt support strategies to ensure success.
Help your student practice the skills they need to master the goal.
Provide necessary support.

Responsive.

Responsive paraeducators know their student. They proactively anticipate needs and watch for triggers. You’ll also want to understand some parts of their IEP. Look at their present levels of academic achievement and functional performance to learn:

What they can currently do.
Their grade level expectations.
Their annual goals.
How their disability impacts their progress.
Modification and accommodation sheets.
Individual Behavior Intervention Plan.

The IEP may also include details about the following:

Schedule.
Safety needs.
Communication needs.
Hygiene needs.
Physical needs.
Academic needs.
Social needs.

Engage with the team.

As a paraeducator, you are part of a larger team dedicated to the success of your student.

These tips can help you foster a collaborative culture among team members:

Have clear expectations for everyone’s roles and responsibilities.
Check in frequently.
Build trust.
Be dependable.
Encourage and support each other.
Promptly address conflicts in a professional manner.
Keep the student’s needs in mind.
Be flexible in adapting new strategies.

Adaptable.

Paraeducators must be adaptable. You may need to mix things up on the fly to keep your student engaged.

Let’s look at three areas of adaptability, along with some examples:

Motivation and interest:

Offer choices based on student interests.
Provide flexible seating.
Attach life skills to activities to make them more relevant.
Personalize the materials.
Use interactive technology.
Gamify the material.
Offer rewards or badges.

Presenting information:

Graphic organizers
Captions and transcripts
Hyperlinks
Audiobooks
Clear visual icons
Color-coded charts
Outlines or notes

Expression of learning:

Hands-on options
Adaptive equipment
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
Software and apps
Extended time
Alternative input methods (such as switches or eye-gaze technology)
Artistic forms of expression
Active peer support

Take a paraeducator competency self-assessment.

Self-assessments can help you improve as a paraeducator. If you’re an employee, the Kelly Education Learning Center (KELC) provides a checklist of important paraeducator skills to help you grow.

You can use the results of your self-assessment to target your training. Look for courses and webinars that cover the areas you need the most.

Scaffold for independence.

Scaffolding helps your student learn better. It builds on their existing knowledge to help them master a new task.

Here are some examples of scaffolds:

Adaptive equipment
Step-by-step instructions
Peer assistance
Modified tasks
Social stories
Visual schedules
Role playing
Peer buddies
Literal instructions
Remember, scaffolds should be temporary and adjustable. Your goal is to fade the aide to promote independence and help prevent learned helplessness.

Teach identifying and managing emotions and personal “voice.”

As a paraeducator, you can teach your student to identify and manage their emotions.

Here are some practical ways to cover this topic:

Model emotional management.
Teach emotional vocabulary.
Describe physical signs that show emotions.
Talk about your own feelings.
Make it simple for students to identify their feelings with a Blob Tree.
Recognize non-verbal forms of communication and expression.

Assess with the ZPD.

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) can help you work with your students. This model divides tasks into three different categories:

Things the learner cannot do
Things the learner can do with assistance (this is the learning zone)
Things the learner can do independently

Use this info to select scaffolds to support your student in their learning zone.

Research ABA techniques.

Applied Behavior Analysis is a science-based approach to understanding behavior. You’ll want to research these techniques to see how they can facilitate learning.

At Kelly Education, we provide more online training modules for paraeducators on ABA.

Track progress and collect data.

As a paraeducator, data is your friend. It lets you monitor progress and look for patterns.

Follow these tips to collect ABA data effectively:

Be objective.
Record what you see and hear.
Write down what happened before, during, and after incidents.
Do not make judgments about behavior.

Continue your paraeducator training with Kelly Education.

Want to go deeper into best practices for paraeducators? Our employees can register to watch the entire recorded free online paraeducator training webinar in the events section of myKelly.com. It will take about 60 minutes to complete. You’ll enjoy more in-depth coverage with real world examples.

If you want to explore another topic, we have an entire library of helpful articles for substitute teachers and paraeducators. To get started, check these out:

Considering work in schools as a substitute teacher, tutor, or paraeducator? Fill out our brief interest form. One of our recruiters will contact you to share more about the requirements and process to work at one of our partner schools.