A Web-based Training Model for Preparing Teachers to Supervise Paraeducators.
Source: Teacher Education and Special Education v. 30 no. 1, (Winter 2007) p. 52-55.
Training teachers to supervise paraeducators is critical to their effective and ethical use in school programs (Drecktrah, 2000; May & Marozas, 1986; Wallace et al., 2001).
This project has demonstrated that an online model for delivery of instruction can be developed at one university site and implemented effectively in other preparation programs to increase preservice teachers' and their instructors' knowledge of topics and awareness of issues in supervising paraeducators.
As part of the development process, the project has gathered and structured resources in a Web-based instructional program that
(a) offers a supported environment for individual learning,
(b) provides activities that engage learners in addressing complex issues related to the supervision of paraeducators,
(c) includes course management tools to support instructors in giving quality feedback to students, and
(d) creates a collaborative environment for the development of instructional materials among faculty at different institutions.
As such, it also can serve as a model that universities can use for designing new resources for teaching and learning in other critical content areas in the years to come.