Sunday, April 6, 2014

New Teachers Conference

Yesterday I spent the morning at a new teachers conference at Mohegan Sun with another new 4th grade teacher in my school. We sat in on a session titled "Common Core and You." It was so encouraging to speak with other professionals dealing with the same struggles. I was expressing my concerns that I feel like I don't utilize my paraprofessional and another teacher gave me some great advice. She suggested sending my high students to work with my para instead of my low kids. After thinking about it for a moment I realized how smart this idea was. My high kids and my para could work off a rubric, freeing me up to help my most struggling students.

And if I had known the amount of free stuff given away at these conferences, I would have signed up a long time ago...
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 8, 2014 at 2:18 PM

    I'm so glad to know it was worth it! I had a friend who went to it that wanted me to come, but I had other plans already. I love the idea of our para's working with the higher students. I think it could be something I could try in my room some days. I know now I have her reinforce additionally with the struggling students, but why not have her also support and help my excelling students. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. UnknownApril 13, 2014 at 10:51 AM

    I've been wanting to go to one of the teaching conferences at Mohegan Sun. Now, after reading your post, I am even more motivated to sign up. How many sessions are you allowed to attend during the conference? I would love to have my paraprofessional work with other students in my class room but it is not in her contract. I know many paras who will ask what they can do to help out and don't mind the extra work. Just make sure you check with your para and/or their contract before asking them to work with students that they're not assigned to!

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  3. Miss Scully's ClassApril 15, 2014 at 12:35 PM

    I am not a new teacher, but have struggled and continue to struggle with how utilize my paraprofessionals to their full potential. I really like the idea of having the para work with the high students, however that is only applicable when you have a classroom paraprofessional. I currently have a one-to-one para. I am struggling how to utilize her when her student is not in the classroom or absent. Since times are sporadic, I feel like her and I are at a loss of how to fill that time effectively! Any suggestions?

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