1

1R

1a

1aR

1b

1bR

2

2R

2a

2aR

2b

2bR

3

3R

Paraprofessional’s Role: Supporting Students with OHD

As you may remember from Core Competency Area 1: Philosophical, Historical, and Legal Foundations of Education, Unit 1.3: Understanding the distinctions between roles and responsibilities of professionals, paraprofessionals, and support personnel, the paraprofessional's primary role in the education setting is to assist the teacher and promote more effective use of the teacher's abilities and professional knowledge. While the teacher's main responsibility is to assure that students are learning critical content and meeting educational standards, the primary role of the paraprofessional is to assist the teacher in helping to meet the student’s learning goals.

You may also remember from Core Competency Area 1 that the paraprofessional works under the direct guidance of a special education or general education teacher or other school licensed professional, such as a school nurse or an occupational therapist. Each of these professionals brings specific expertise about the learning styles and needs of the students and other life experiences to the educational team. As a paraprofessional, you have expertise, knowledge, skills, values, and life experiences that you bring to the educational setting. You are part of the educational team, and as a colleague with school professionals, you must collaborate in meeting the needs of the students whom you support.

References  

Information for this unit was used with permission from:

Institute on Community Integration. (n.d.). Para eLink Core Competency Area 1: Philosophical, Historical, and Legal Foundations of Education, Introduction, Unit 1.3: Understanding the distinctions between roles and responsibilities of professionals, paraprofessionals, and support personnel, Lessons 2 & 3. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 30, 2006, from http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/1k3b/c1k3b_2.html and http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/1k3b/c1k3b_3.html

The Para eLink is sponsored by the Minnesota Paraprofessional Consortium, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education, located at the Institute on Community Integration in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.

E-mail us with questions and comments about this site.

© 2001-2007 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
This page last modified
URL
Online Privacy Statement