Paraprofessional Essay

6. How is collaborating with families and/or paraprofessionals similar to collaborating with general education teachers? How is it different? Just as in collaborating with general education teachers, collaboration with families and paraprofessionals involves creating positive relationships and open communication. Special education teachers also provide instructional support to general education teachers, this is also true for paraprofessionals and families as well. Special education teachers can provide instructional strategies, feedback, and other supports to paraprofessionals and families of special needs children. Although special education teachers will collaborate with families frequently, and it usually does not involve modeling instructional …show more content…
What are the principles of communication that facilitate the communication process with families, teachers, and other professionals? One of the first principles for successful communication between families, teachers, and other professionals is having mutual respect and trust. Another principle for effective communication is acceptance. People need to feel that you accept and value what they believe, as well as, what they have to communicate. “Acceptance is communicated by how you listen, look, respond, and interact with others”, (Sharon Vaughn, 2015, p. 131). Additionally, listening and questioning are principles in creating valuable communication with others. As the text describes, listening isn’t just waiting for the other person to finish speaking, its listening to the content and feelings of the message. Successful questioning is knowing what types of questions to ask to obtain the information needed. One type of question that is effective is using open-ended questions, which allows the participant to give more detailed answers, rather than just a yes or no response. Lastly, staying directed and keeping the conversation focused on the issues or problems at hand, will lead to effective