Hi my name is Nicole. I am taking college courses in ECE to become a Paraprofessional. This week I was assigned to interview a Paraprofessional. I'm looking for a Paraprofessional to interview and ask some questions. If you are able to please reply back. Thank you for your time. Thanks, Nicole
I used to be one for several years. I taught some para workshops. Then I became a teacher for a few years. Recently I moved and now I'm a full time mommy. Do I fit your criteria?
Yes you do thank you so much for the reply. These are the questions that are on my interview. You can reply on here or if it is easier my email address is edenrain4u@aol.com. Thank you so much for your time. 1. From whom do you receive feedback on a regular basis? (e.g., special education teacher(s), general education teacher(s), administrators, parents etc.) 2. How frequently do you receive feedback from others? (e.g., multiple times per hour, hourly, daily, weekly) 3. What form does the feedback generally take? Is it oral or written? What are some examples of feedback given? 4. How effective is the feedback you receive? How well does it help you in carrying out your responsibilities? 5. What types of miscommunication occur between you and those who provide you feedback? Do you think this is related at all to the manner in which you communicate together? What do you think leads to potential miscommunication? 6. How do you prefer feedback to be given to you? Please describe what you think would be an ideal situation for receiving feedback.
I want you to know that I will do this soon--tonight. I just recently deployed from the states so I'm on a different time zone at the moment and currently I'm trying to juggle a bunch of things today. As soon as I have time to breathe, I will be happy to answer these questions. I just wanted you to know that I was not ignoring the post but just that there is a significant time difference here.
Question 1/2 I didn't really get much feedback from parents, though it came up occasionally but really more in terms of compliments than anything else. I got a lot from the teachers. Really the best partnerships were the ones where I collaborated with the teachers and I got feedback everyday. The feedback in the beginning was more about how and later it was more about what and how both of us need to help the student. It changes over time. With some teachers I didn't get as much feedback nor did we collaborate as much. There was a difference in job satisfaction and being able to do things to the best extent possible for the student. I also have received feedback from others such as the principal, the teacher specialist, the behavior specialist and even the reading specialist. All of these people helped me do my job well. Those didn't come on a daily or weekly basis but I got a lot from them. Question 3/4 I rarely received written feedback. The types of feedback I get comes in form of telling me why we do the lessons we do, what we are doing, how I might tweak something, seeking my feedback on students and how we might move forward with a particular student. Feedback came with tips, with planning, with verbal and nonverbal cues. Keep in mind that I don't think of feedback as something I did wrong or someone critiquing me and telling me I didn't do something the way they want, but rather a series of productive and constructive advice, tips, and things they need me to do to better serve the students. Sometimes I seek it out! For example, I might go to the behavior specialist, after I've spoken with the classroom teacher, to receive tips on how to better approach a student. The teacher might observe a lesson briefly and remind me of a technique that could be used or share with me a tip of how to get through to this student or a way to enrich a certain topic or skill. The teacher specialist has come in to observe how the teacher works in the classroom and gives me ways I can make my center management more effective and give us both tips on how to play to our strengths and weaknesses so that the centers work better. Sometimes these are just little things that are easier for an outsider to see. I've had a hospital specialist that one time came and reviewed whether we are giving accommodations appropriately and give us constructive criticism, especially me since I was the one mostly providing the accommodation, so we could be even more effective for the student. Then of course there are things such as making bulletin boards where I might not have had the exact vision as the teacher and she will quickly clarify. Question 5 It's important to build trust, have high work ethic, and be there for the teacher so that the both of you can be there for the student. If the trust is built, it is much easier to clarify communication quickly. Those kinds of miscommunication are the easiest to deal with. There are times when I felt taken for granted, ironically by other teachers rather than ones I was working directly with other times I have felt pushed out by a teacher who wasn't sure how to build a relationship with me. These communications had to be dealt with to continue to have a productive relationship. It's not always smooth sailing, but respect must be on both sides. Question 6 I like feedback to be given to me in a way that makes me feel like a professional too. I may not be the teacher (at that time), but I work hard for those students and when the teacher treated me like part of the team, I was loyal to that teacher in return. I enjoyed my yearly written evaluation from higher ups as well too and I didn't mind being evaluated by other "specialists" and then given tips to improve in a separate meeting time. Basically I wanted to be treated with respect and the manner in which you give me feedback makes all the difference in the world. Ask me my feedback as well. Value me and I'll more than value you. Keep in mind there are different types of teachers that you will work for. Part of being an aide is being able to work with all kinds of personalities. Some will be able to fit your personality better than others. It's important that this doesn't become part of your "miscommunication." Teachers come to the table with different expectations of how to utilize aides just as much as aides come to the table with their own expectations. It takes teamwork. Sometimes it builds up great and sometimes you just have to work through it. The important part is to keep your eye on why you are really there--to help the students succeed. This may come in form of you doing clerical work to reduce the overall burden on the teachers and school or it may come from direct one-on-one or anything in between. It's not easy to work under someone and have to fit under whatever personality they have in how they work for you, but generally speaking if you have high work ethic, listen and follow what they want from you, and you show respect, it goes a long way in smoothing communication necessary to work as a team.
Thank you Thank you so much for your help. All the information you gave me will be a big help. Thank you once again. Sincerely, Nicole
Feedback? Do some people get feedback? :lol: In my dreams. Well the kids tell me I'm doing a great job.
