An earpiece, along with technology developed at the University of Washington College of Education, now helps administrators provide PD to paraeducators while they’re working with students.
Coaches watch instruction via a video feed and offer suggestions through the earpiece. They can observe student responses when the para implements coaching suggestions.
“The para is the person who is with the students, but they get such limited support and training, so we decided to focus on that,” says Kathleen Artman Meeker, an associate professor who developed the program with Nancy Rosenberg, the university’s director of applied behavior analysis.
After first testing it at the university’s Haring Center for Research and Training in Inclusion, Meeker and Rosenberg piloted the program at Seattle’s K-12 Academy for Precision Learning. The school caters to neurodiverse students who require heavy paraeducator support in learning to express their needs and become more independent.
This program obviously allows paras to remain in the classroom while PD is taking place, and the cost of setup is minimal. The university crew installed small robotic cameras that swivel to follow the action, Rosenberg says.
Main story: Paraprofessional training produces big benefits
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