Barbara

Lesson for engaging the online learner for para educators - Barbara Stachelski

Classmate Quiz – Conrad Chapter 5 Task: Introductory exercise for the beginning of our course for para educators Objective: Because para educators are often alone in their position at a school, this is to help you form a network of colleagues so that you can feel connected in this course and hopefully have a shoulder to lean on after. Author: “Stuart E. Schwartz, Department of Special Education, University of Florida, ses@coe.ufl.edu Method: Asynchronous Instructions During the first week of class you will post personal introductions on the discussion boards listing where you are working, the type of class you are in, and the specific needs of the children you are working with. You will read through each participant’s posting before the next class. A quiz will be given the second week to determine what you have learned about your classmates.

Barbara,

Being isolated and not having colleagues to share and grow with can be debilitating. Building a network is a great idea. Because of the situation that you outline, I would suggest a variation of what you’ve proposed. How about if instead of a quiz (which can raise anxiety further and make this seem more like “work” and “being put through the wringer” than “collegial”), you have each of them ask a minimum designated number (or all of them if they’d like) of classmates 3 additional questions about their work environment with the purpose of finding common challenges, interests, etc.? Instead of a quiz, you can have them submit to you the names of 3 people that they found particular connections with, along with what those “connecting points” are.

Those “connecting points” could be made the topic of discussion threads so that the students can collaborate in working out issues, sharing solutions, asking questions, etc. around those topics they they have identified as important to them?

LeeAnn