BASIC SKILLS FOR PARAEDUCATORS

This program provides an opportunity for education support staff to refresh and upgrade skills in reading, writing and math. While the main audience for this will be classroom assistants, other support staff who may benefit from such a review are encouraged to take the course.

Why take this class?

 The tutorial will be of value in helping you refresh your basic skills in reading, writing and math. With the national emphasis on increasing achievement levels for all children, paraeducators are serving a critical role in assisting teachers with that process.

This program can also assist Title 1 paraeducators/paraprofessionals with the requirements of ESEA (Elementary & Secondary Education Act). If you need to demonstrate to your district that you have a certain level of proficiency in reading, writing and math, this tutorial will help. By refreshing and possibly upgrading your skills, and by practicing with a series of short quizzes, you will be better prepared to take any assessment your district might use.

In addition, you might want to take this tutorial in part because it will count as 20 hours in the elective category of the ESP Certificate. For more information on the Certificate, go to http://weaacademy.org/esp.cfm.

What does this cover?

The tutorial is a comprehensive guide to the basic skills in reading, writing and math that extend through the 8th grade level. Areas covered include:   

 

• Information sources (dictionaries, books, other references, consumer information)
• Grammar and language
• Reading comprehension
• Capitalization and punctuation
• Spelling
•  Vocabulary building and word knowledge  
• Sentence structure and clear writing
• Whole numbers
• Fractions
• Decimals
• Ratios, proportions and percents  
• Estimating
• Word problems
• Data analysis using basic statistics and probability, charts and graphs
• Measurement systems (English and metric)
• Geometric figures

How does the class work?

 The class consists of tutorial lessons, a few online articles, short responses posted on a discussion board and submitted written work.

Most of the tutorial consists of information/instructional sections of text followed by a short series of multiple-choice questions to test how well you learned the material. In the writing portion, some actual samples of your writing will be generated and submitted electronically for feedback. There are instructional guides available on how to submit your writing samples and how to post responses on the discussion board.

Pre-tests in each subject area are taken so that you can by-pass portions of the tutorial where you already know the material well enough.

Although the tutorial is self-guided, an instructor from Lakeshore Technical College will be available online to assist you if problems occur or you have questions. In addition, your writing samples are sent to this instructor who then reviews it and provides feedback to you.

You do not receive a grade for completing this tutorial. Rather, results from the tests taken throughout will be given in percentages. (Provided by Lakeshore Course Instructor)  If districts are using the results for purposes of meeting the requirement of ESEA – or for other instructional reasons – they must establish their own guidelines for what is acceptable.

Upon completion of the class, each participant will receive a Verification of Hours form to be used toward the ESP Certificate program.

How long does it take to complete the class?

 This tutorial is based upon 40 hours of learning. Because each person will work at his or her own pace, however, the time it takes to complete it will vary. To ensure as much flexibility as possible, you will have access to the course for 4 months.

How much does the class cost and how do I pay?

The tutorial costs $199.  WEAC members receive a $50 member discount for a total of $149.  Once you register with a credit card, you can begin the tutorial immediately.

Click here to register

Subject(s)

Career Development

Educator categories

ESP

 ESP Certificate Curriculum Categories

Communication, Elective

Credit Options

Non-credit