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Over the past few decades thousands of special education teachers have been teaching students with disabilities on emergency or temporary certificates (Barnes, Crow, & Schaefer, 2007). The majority of these teachers entered the field of education with little to no preparation. Most of these under qualified teachers were hired in rural areas. Prior to the establishment of the cohort between the Tennessee Department of Education and East Tennessee State University-Sevier County Schools in 2000, there had been little to no planning in addressing the challenge of teacher shortage, specifically teacher attrition, in East Tennessee for special education teachers (East Tennessee State University, 2009; State of Tennessee, Office of Research and Education Accountability, 2006). The challenge of teacher shortage is secondary to teacher attrition for many school systems. Reasons teachers leave the profession are family or personal reasons, school staffing issues including layoffs, school closings, reorganizations, and retirement (Shakrani, 2008). The cost of high teacher attrition is felt in many ways. Examples include loss of outlays from states and local school districts, the challenge school districts face searching for replacements; and most of all, the cost to the student (Carroll, 2007). This qualitative study investigated the experiences of 12 paraprofessionals who completed the first East Tennessee State University-Sevier County Special Education Cohort to earn special education teaching certification. The 2000 ETSU-Sevier County Cohort started with 16 3 members. Currently 13 are teaching in special education, one cohort member is deceased, and two cohort members moved so that the other members do not know of their status. Cohort members received a 100% grant subsidy to participate in the program of study. The goal of the grant was “to improve the quality of instruction to students with disabilities from birth to 21 by increasing the number of appropriately endorsed special education teachers in Tennessee” (ETSU Special Education Institute, 2010, p. 2). The most dominant findings were the experience and background of paraprofessionals as they made their way to becoming certified teachers. These experiences were helpful in a variety of ways. Examples include completing course work, developing instructional strategies, behavior management, coteaching, and providing training for their paraprofessionals. Another finding and a major theme was group bonding among the cohorts. This bonding provided a support group in meeting the course work demands. Having access to local administrators who were their instructors and mentors was a consistent theme. Members of the cohort were supported by a 100% grant that provided the financial support necessary to make their journey possible; the necessity of that support was a common theme. The increased stress level, additional paper work, and responsibilities of being a certified teacher were other emerging themes. Time management was a prevalent theme throughout their experience. Finally, the support and admiration from their colleges, professors, and family members were major themes in their completing the cohort and becoming certified teachers.

This investigation focused on the examination of the effectiveness and costs of instructional delivery in using programmed tutorial materials by trained high school paraprofessionals to instruct learners attending the elementary self-contained and resource rooms. Forty tutees, divided equally into experimental and control groups, were administered two pre and posttest measures, the E-B Beginning Reading Placement Test and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT) . Tutees in experimental groups received tutorial instruction from the paraprofessional tutors 25 minutes daily over the ten-week treatment period. An analysis of covariance was computed on the two measures to compare the academic performance between the experimental and control groups. Though no statistical differences were found between the groups on WRMT, statistical differences were indicated on the E-B Beginning Reading Placement Test for both School Districts A and B, favoring the groups receiving treatment. Significant increases in both Subtest A scores, one subtest of the E-B Placement Test, and the total reading scores of this measure were evidenced in the groups receiving treatment. Results also indicated that the percent of mastery for both School Districts A and B tutees that received treatment mastered at least 84% of all the skills taught by the high school paraprofessional tutors. These tutors mastered 77% of the instructional procedures used in the first part of the tutorial session and 47% in the second part of the session. The investigation of costs indicated that total cost expenditures in the Maximum Cost Model were $2,418.69, a per learner cost of $60.46, and continuing costs per learner of $13.72. Total purchases using the Moderate Cost Model were $1,298.69, a per learner cost of $32.46, and a continuing cost per learner of $13.72. The Minimum Cost Model indicated total expenditures of $163.69, a per learner cost of $4.09, and continuing costs per learner of $1.35. These cost models provided evidence that the costs of using high school paraprofessional tutors with programmed tutorial materials to instruct handicapped learners can be minimal in return for academic gains in beginning reading skills.

Naturalistic behavioral interventions increase the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of child social communication skills among children with developmental delays (DD). Teaching Assistants (TAs) are ideal interventionists for delivering social communication interventions because of the significant amount of time they spend working directly with children with DD in the preschool classroom. However, professional development for TAs is often inadequate and there has been a limited amount of research in this area. In addition, TAs are often working with more than one child at a time with varying skill levels, but no research has been conducted on the use of strategies with more than one child at a time. The current single-case research study addresses gaps in the literature by answering the following questions: (1) Is there a functional relation between coaching TAs to use EMT and increases in TA’s fidelity of implementation of EMT with a child dyad?; (2) Is there a functional relation between TA’s use of EMT and increases in child social communication skills?; and (3) Are TAs able to generalize the use of EMT across students with varying social communication skills and goals? Results suggest coaching TAs contributes to increases in fidelity of implementation of EMT strategies and subsequent increases in child social communication skills. TAs were able to generalize the use of EMT across students.

Paraprofessionals spend the most time with the neediest students, but receive the least amount of training and support. All target students in the study had developmental disabilities, were between the ages of three and five, and had a history of challenging behavior. Paraprofessionals in the study were recruited because they had the least experience and training administering behavior support plans (BSPs) in their setting. A multi-level consultation model was used to train paraprofessionals (i.e., teaching assistants) to implement individualized BSPs. First, paraprofessionals were trained in a one-on-one setting how to implement the BSPs using behavioral skills training. Next, adherence to the BSP was monitored by independent observers and additional support was delivered contingent on meeting an adherence criterion. Through a cascading logic, data showed that paraprofessionals engaged in immediately and significantly higher levels of BSP adherence following application of the multilevel consultation model, and as a result, students engaged in immediately and significantly lower rates of challenging behavior (Tau-U = -.97 to -1), which maintained over time. Further, all adult participants rated the procedures as highly acceptable. Thus, with minimal training provided to each paraprofessional across the study (M = 151.2 minutes), and dramatic observed changes in challenging behavior, the multilevel consultation model proved highly efficient, effective, and acceptable.

No description available.

Each year, teen pregnancy occurs in 750,000 15-to-19 year-old women in the United States (U.S.). Utah has the youngest population and the lowest teen abortion rates in the U.S. Approximately 73% of teen pregnancies in Utah result in live births. The prevalence of teen pregnancy and the nutritional risk to mother and child result in a much greater need for social support, such as nutrition education. Current literature shows that the paraprofessional model is effective in increasing positive behavior change through nutrition education. Presently, there is a lack of evidence that paraprofessional teens are capable of accurately and effectively teaching their peers nutrition information. This pilot study aims to measure the effectiveness of the peer-teaching-peer paraprofessional model in teen parenting nutrition education, and to demonstrate that peer educators ages 18-22 are capable of teaching their peers accurate nutrition information as effectively as adult paraprofessionals. In this pilot study, two females were trained to become paraprofessional peer educators. To supplement the training of peer educators, this pilot study developed and recorded a nutrition presentation for all six lessons of the paper version Missouri Extension Teen Parenting curriculum. Each trained peer educator taught 10 to 13 clients (ages 14 to 19) over three weeks. For evaluation, the study used pre/post comparisons. Assessment tools include teaching evaluations, pre-post test on nutrition knowledge, 24-hour dietary and physical activity recalls, and behavioral checklist. There was a significant difference in pre-post tests in knowledge, behavior, and exit survey among participants, indicating that peer educators are able to teach their peers effectively. Although not significant, peer educators' teaching accuracy score was high and improved consistently. Eighty-three of participants like or very much liked to be taught by their peers. Findings from this study showed great potential in having adolescents teach their peers as effectively as older educators.

In this study, a paraprofessional delivered video modeling intervention to teach soft skills was evaluated using a multiple probe across behaviors design. Three soft skills were targeted that were required for successful future employment of high school students with disabilities. The three dependent variables consisted of sending a work related email, leaving a voice message, and creating work related calendar entry. Five paraprofessionals and four high school students with disabilities participated in this study. We evaluated the degree to which the intervention was successful, the degree of procedural fidelity by the paraprofessionals, and the social validity of the study. The results supported the intervention. All four students showed improvements in their soft skills. A functional relation was established for two out of four student participants. The paraprofessionals maintained a high level of procedural fidelity. Paraprofessional and student participants reported high level of satisfaction with the goals, procedures, and outcomes of the study. Maintenance data collected demonstrated that participants maintained their skills following the conclusion of the video modeling intervention. There were limitations related to the implementation of the research design, partially due to constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic. / Special Education

Using the states' paraprofessional requirements, this study explored the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) on the paraprofessionals' ability to assist in instruction as seen through the perceptions of paraprofessional and teacher teams. The literature review discloses data regarding the implementation of NCLB paraprofessional requirements into the accountability plans of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Tables synthesize the assessments used by states to meet NCLB paraprofessional requirements. The Council for Exceptional Children performance-based standards for paraeducators provides the framework for the development of two survey instruments, which measured the perceptions of paraprofessionals and cooperating teachers on the training, knowledge, and skills utilized during instruction. Two survey instruments were developed to gain insight into the perceptions of paraprofessional and supervising teacher teams. The perceptions of the teams were compared to those among the paraprofessionals themselves. There were significant statistical differences between both the teams and the paraprofessionals with two or more years of higher education or those with a high school diploma or equivalency. The differences between the paraprofessionals and the teachers suggested that supervising teachers perceived both groups of paraprofessionals were lacking in training, knowledge, and skills. Paraprofessionals with higher education perceived a similar lack in their own abilities. However, paraprofessionals with high school diplomas perceived their ability as greater than that perceived by the teachers.

This purpose of this thesis was to create a valid, reliable, fair test bank for the textbook Paraprofessionals in the Classroom (Ashbaker & Morgan, 2006). This textbook was written specifically for the education of paraprofessionals. Further education beyond high school is one of the options recommended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to assist paraprofessionals in becoming highly qualified to work with children with special needs. Extensive research was conducted by the researcher on what constituted a good test bank. Excerpts were selected from seven chapters of the textbook. Questions and a rating scale for each question were written for each excerpt. The mentors selected paraprofessionals from various fields of special education to answer and rate the questions. Each paraprofessional read the excerpts and questions from three different chapters and then rated each question for difficulty level. The answers and question ratings were analyzed, the questions revised as necessary, and the test bank was completed.