Running head: KEYSE NEEDS ANALYSIS 1

Needs Analysis- JNT2

Julie Keyse

Student ID: 000508412

Program Mentor: Kasey Scott

Assessment Code: JNT2

March 6, 2021
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Needs Analysis- JNT2

Discussion of Instructional Problem

Teachers of elementary students with special needs, including those with Autism, multiple disabilities, or

behavior disorders, often rely on the support of paraprofessionals to help meet students’ needs and to help students

participate in an inclusive setting to the fullest extent possible. They provide academic support, social skills support,

behavior support, and more. The problem is that paraprofessionals frequently receive very little formal training in

instructional strategies or behavior intervention and, instead, must piece together how to do their very important role

while on the job. Paraprofessionals need opportunities for training and access to appropriate professional development in

order to effectively support student behavior, make appropriate academic accommodations, have positive social

interactions, all without providing too much support across the school environment.

Contributing Factors to the Instructional Problem

The role of the paraprofessional has changed over the last decade. Paraprofessionals or teacher aides used

primarily handle clerical activities or general supervisory activities like lunch or recess duty. However now

paraprofessionals are an essential part of the special education team and serve a vital role helping students with

disabilities receive services in an inclusive environment. Paraprofessionals now handle activities like assisting teacher-

directed instruction and supporting behavior plans. However, while the paraprofessional role has increased in

complexity, “training has not kept pace.”[ CITATION Ger17 \l 1033 ] Often a limited budget is to blame for insufficient

initial and ongoing training for paraprofessionals. Additionally, many schools schedule paraprofessionals to work only

during student hours, so a lack of an opportunity to train paraprofessional educators when students are not present is a

contributing factor to this problem.

Comparison of Conditions

The Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), or Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) defines

the criteria that paraprofessionals must meet. Included in this list of criteria is that paraprofessionals hold an associate

degree or higher, have completed a minimum of 2 years of coursework at an accredited college, or pass an exam

specified by the Department of Education. Beyond these criteria, paraprofessional staff can have a wide variety of

educational backgrounds, professional experiences, and familiarity with educational practices. For example, some
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paraprofessional staff may have significant experience working with students with special needs, while others may have

little to no experience or familiarity with working with individuals with disabilities.

Current Conditions. Currently, the paraprofessional staff at my school do not receive any paid work days prior

to the start of the academic school year. Additionally, part-time paraprofessional staff do not receive any professional

development opportunities throughout the school year, while full-time paraprofessionals receive minimal professional

development, primarily focused on Crisis Prevention Intervention training.

Desired Condition. I would like to see all paraprofessional staff have the opportunity to participate in an initial,

pre-service training prior to the start of the school year and also to receive a minimum of 8 hours of on-going

professional development throughout the school year to allow for the development and refinement of skills and best

practices related to supporting students with special needs throughout the elementary school setting.

Data Collection Process

Discussion of Data Collection Instruments Used

Survey Questions: In order to assess colleagues’ opinions about the importance of training for paraprofessionals, I

sent a Google Form survey to Intervention Specialists (special education teachers) and paraprofessional staff at my

school. Through this survey, I was able to gather their opinions about whether or not paraprofessional staff receive

adequate training. This instrument was appropriate as it allowed me to gather information on staff feelings regarding

current level of training.

Interview: In order to further clarify opinions and ask specific follow-up questions following the survey, I

interviewed two paraprofessionals and an intervention specialist that works closely with paraprofessionals. The data

collected provided feedback on the current training process and helped me determine specific areas where training was

adequate and areas where training was lacking. This instrument was appropriate as it allowed me to ask follow up

questions based on survey answers in order to gain additional details and insight from staff regarding paraprofessional

training.

Discussion of Sources of Data

For the purpose of the needs analysis, the data collection instruments I used were (1) survey questions and (2)

interview.
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Survey Questions: The survey questions were sent to 2 intervention specialists and 7 paraprofessionals at my

school. These staff members work with student with moderate disabilities from kindergarten through fifth grade at my

traditional, public elementary school. The purpose of the survey was to gather general staff opinions regarding the

current level of training provided to paraprofessionals and to determine whether the respondents believed the current

level of training had adequately prepared staff to support student need in the areas of behavior, social skills, instructional

accommodations, and safety.

Interview: After completing the survey questionnaire, I interviewed two paraprofessionals and one intervention

specialist that works closely with paraprofessionals in a supervisory capacity. During the interview I asked follow up,

open-ended questions to gather additional data. Questions asked included:

 In what specific area of behavior do you feel paraprofessionals need additional training?

 In what specific area of social skills do you feel paraprofessionals need additional training?

 In what specific area of instructional accommodations do you feel paraprofessionals need additional

training?

 In what specific area of safety do you feel paraprofessionals need additional training?

 Are there any other specific areas for which paraprofessionals need additional training? If yes, what are

they?

Data Gathered Through Other Sources

No additional data was gathered through other sources.

Process of Data Analysis

Data Analysis Techniques Used

In order to collect data, I provided a link to a Google Form that I created to 2 intervention specialists and 7

paraprofessionals at my school. These staff members work with student with moderate disabilities from kindergarten

through fifth grade at my traditional, public elementary school. In response, I received completed survey questionnaires

from 2 intervention specialists and 4 paraprofessionals. Following the completion of the survey, I conducted interviews
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with 3 of the respondents (1 intervention specialist and 2 paraprofessionals). Notes of their responses were taken during

the interview process.

Results of Analysis

The results of the data analysis led me to believe that both special education teachers and paraprofessionals

believe that paraprofessional training is important. As noted in Table 1, five respondents listed training as extremely

important and 1 noted it to be important. No respondents considered paraprofessional training to be not important. Also, I

noted that majority of respondents believe that paraprofessional training has not been adequate or only somewhat

adequate in several areas including behavior, social skills, and instructional accommodations. In the area of safety,

however, all respondents felt training was at least somewhat adequate. Additionally, results of the interview showed

specific areas where training was needed. For example, the paraprofessional respondents all noted that in the area of

behavior, training could be used in the areas of non-compliance with directions/work completion. The paraprofessionals

indicated this was the most significant area where they felt training was needed as they felt powerless when a student

refused to work or follow directions. The intervention specialist noted that additional training in strategies such as

first/then language and positive reinforcement were needed; these strategies are frequently used to support non-

compliance/work completion in the special education setting. In the area of social skills, respondents indicated that

training is needed to help support positive peer interactions. In the area of instructional accommodations, both

paraprofessionals indicated that training is needed to make accommodations when a classroom assignment is too

complex or outside of a student’s skill area. In summary, the results of analysis show that paraprofessional training is

considered important, that current levels of training are not adequate, and that additional training is needed in several

areas.
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Table 1
Survey Questions- Paraprofessional Training for current school year

*Due to limited characters, the term paraprofessional has been abbreviated to “para” in the table below.
Question Option A # of Option B # of Option # of Option D # of
responden responden C responden responden
ts ts ts ts
What is your Interventio 2 FT para 3 PT para 1 n/a n/a
role? n
Specialist
Is para training Not 0 Somewh 0 Importa 1 Extremel 5
important? important at nt y
importan importan
t t
Amount of 0 hours 3 1-2 hours 0 3-4 1 More 2
training prior to hours than 4
school year hours
Amount of 0 hours 1 1-2 hours 0 3-4 0 More 5
training since hours than 4
the start of hours
school year
Has para Not 3 Somewh 3 Adequat 0 More 0
training been adequate at e than
adequate in the adequate adequate
area of
behavior?
Has para Not 2 Somewh 4 Adequat 0 More 0
training been adequate at e than
adequate in the adequate adequate
area of social
skills?
Has para Not 4 Somewh 2 Adequat 0 More 0
training been adequate at e than
adequate in the adequate adequate
area of
instructional
accommodation
s?
Has para Not 0 Somewh 1 Adequat 4 More 1
training been adequate at e than
adequate in the adequate adequate
area of safety?

Table 2

Paraprofessional Training- Interview Questions

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Question Intervention Specialist Paraprofessional 1 Paraprofessional 2
Response Response Response
In what specific area of - Using visuals to What to do when a How to work with a
behavior do you feel support behavior, student refuses to student who refuses to
paraprofessionals need first/then strategies, follow directions/rules do their assignment
additional training? reinforcement of
positive behavior
In what specific area of - Supporting students How to help a non- What do I do if other
social skills do you feel in group work and verbal student interact students are staring at
paraprofessionals need supporting positive with peers. my student if he is
additional training? peer interactions being distracting?
during unstructured
times (lunch, recess)
In what specific area of - How to support a - What can I do if - What do I do if
instructional student to complete a student is in a student can’t
accommodations do you the parts of an the general do the same
feel paraprofessionals assignment that are education class assignment as
need additional appropriate; when to for inclusion the rest of the
training? provide a visual time but can’t class?
model or additional keep up with the
support work?
In what specific area of - De-escalation - Plan for a “real” - What do I do if
safety do you feel strategies when a emergency, like there is an
paraprofessionals need student first begins a fire or unexpected
additional training? to show signs of evacuation. For issue, like a
possible significant fire drills, we seizure in a
behavior use headphones, student with no
but what should history of that?
I do if it is not
expected and not
a drill and we do
not have
headphones?
Are there any other - I think there should Nothing that I can think I wish I had training on
specific areas for which be time set aside of. all the students’
paraprofessionals need before the school diagnoses or categories.
additional training? If year to train
yes, what are they? parapros on special
education classroom
expectations/routine
s so we are all on the
same page.
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Needs Analysis Evaluation and Need for Instruction

The results of data collection show that paraprofessional training is important and that current levels of training are not

perceived to be adequate by both intervention specialists and paraprofessional staff. Out of the responses I received, the

majority believe that current training is not adequate or only somewhat adequate in the areas of behavior, social skills,

and instructional accommodation. Despite the obvious perceived importance of paraprofessional training, half of the

respondents reported receiving zero hours of training prior to beginning work with students at the start of the school year.

Also, while five survey respondents reported receiving more than 4 hours of training since the start of the school year,

the responses show that this is not enough training to support the important work of paraprofessional staff. Based on the

data collected, there is a need for instruction to support paraprofessionals with an emphasis on how to handle non-

compliance behavior.

Instructional Goal Statement

Given specific training in the areas of behavior and non-compliance, paraprofessional staff will redirect

inappropriate behavior through the use of approved strategies, such as first/then language, sandwiching non-preferred

and preferred tasks, or chunking tasks into manageable pieces and offering frequent breaks. Paraprofessionals will use

these strategies when working with special education students in an inclusive classroom setting in order to reduce non-

compliance with work tasks and successfully redirect non-compliant behavior in 4 out of 5 opportunities.

References

Gerlach, K., & Petersen, J. (2017, April). Ethical & Legal Issues Involving Paraeducator Employment, Supervision, &

Training. Retrieved from Exceptional Child: https://www.exceptionalchild.com/wp-content/uploads/Legal-and-

Ethical-Issues-Involving-Paraeducators_April-2017.pdf
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