Supporting
Instruction
What does it mean to 'support Instruction'?
The term 'instructional support' may refer to a wide variety of instructional methods, services, or school resources provided to students in an effort to help them accelerate their learning progress, meet learning standards, or succeed in school. In GGUSD, supporting instruction as a paraeducator refers to providing in- and out-of-class scaffolds designed to ensure that all students, regardless of previous academic preparation, can meet high expectations and rigorous standards. In practice, instructional support encompasses a broad array of academic support strategies. Under the direction supervisor and instruction of the classroom teacher, a paraeducator may work with students during instruction, in small groups, one-on-one, or in various other settings to support student learning.
What supporting Instruction might
Look like:
Support and encourage a positive and safe learning environment - model the behavior you want to see!
Be mobile around the room to monitor behavior and academic progress
Provide verbal and non-verbal promoting to help students stay on task
Encourage students to participate in classroom activities
Provide students time to process and formulate responses
Monitor understanding and provide support when needed
Assist in prepping, organizing, and passing out materials
Check in with the teacher to support a cohesive learning environment
Sound like:
“Give me a thumbs up if you feel ready to move on to the next question, give me a thumbs down if you need more time”
"I'm going to be walking around the room checking on everyone, tap your head if you need me to come by sooner."
"Ms. Wilson, I noticed that Sophia only finished 3 sentences, would you like me to check in with her again?"
"When I was working with the Purple Group, they were all able to complete the math worksheet with at least 80% with no prompting! I left their papers in the purple basket."
“You did all the problems correctly when we did that together, you should raise your hand when Mr. Thomas asks for a volunteer to answer.”
"I can file these work samples in the student's portfolios during morning check-in if that's convenient."
Resources for supporting Instruction:
If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.
- Ignacio Estrada