Career Diploma in
Teacher Assisting

What is a paraeducator?; the roles of the paraeducator; requirements for becoming a paraeducator; constructing an education philosophy; workplace ethics and conduct.

The concept of cultural diversity as applied to education; ways to overcome personal biases and stereotypes; major laws governing the education of ESL students; strategies for working with children and families of different cultures.

Brain-based learning; the twelve design principles of brain-based learning; collaborative teaching; findings in the 20/20/20 Wisconsin Research; elements of good paraeducator practice.

The needs of children; stages of prenatal development; normal growth patterns in children; signs of developmental problems; theories of child and language development; emotional and moral development; humor.

Preparing the classroom environment; maintaining order and safety; approaching, working and communicating with children; the preschool curriculum; activities for toddlers and infants; routine activities.

Identifying children's interests; writing activity plans; using various materials in subject-matter activities; evaluating your activity planning.

The reasons for games; how to group for games; preparing games; making games fun; setting up the game environment; gathering materials for games and learning centers.

Federal and state laws as they relate to children with special needs; the signs of a child with special needs; categories of special needs; working with children with special needs and their parents; future trends for the special education paraeducator.

Know your students; create limits and enforce them; anticipate and prevent inappropriate behavior; consequences; handling confrontations; strategies for maintaining order; positive reinforcement.

Physically organizing and arranging a classroom; handling, filing and storing paperwork; keeping daily records, counts and forms; managing your time; setting up classroom procedures.

Your rights as a paraeducator; pursuing professional development; understanding school or center policies for paraeducators; record-keeping and personnel files; your professional review.