Academic Instructional Skills in Math, Reading, and Writing

Para eLink: Where Minnesota's Paraprofessionals Learn Online

competencies | tutorial | glossary | help | site index

Core Competency Area 9

competencies explore section review area evaluation

Area Introduction

Area 9 addresses the competencies related to Academic Instructional Skills in Math, Reading, and Writing. It is an academically oriented Area that will give you useful information on instructional concepts in areas of Math, Reading, and Writing and how these concepts are utilized in the classroom. Developing your knowledge of instruction and instructional strategies should enable you to assist teachers more effectively, as directions regarding instruction should become more understandable and your work with students more informed.

Instruction is arguably the core purpose of schools. Although instruction is affected by a variety of factors - such as student ability, student behavior, student cultural background, size of student group, resources, legislative mandates, etc. - the underlying purpose of a school is to use instruction to enable a student to meet curriculum expectations. As a consequence, an overriding goal is to develop instruction that is effective, as effective instruction will enable students to learn more thoroughly and perhaps more easily than less effective instruction.

Assessment plays an important role in this search for better instruction. Although assessment can measure the degree to which a student knows a particular subject, more importantly it tells the teacher or school if the instructional approach is working. Did the student learn what was intended? If not, another instructional may be needed. Assessment can also provide the teacher with information about a student's strengths and weaknesses so that the difficulty of the content can be adjusted to appropriately fit the student's level of understanding. If a student is having difficulty learning a particular subject, assessment can help a teacher determine what they should do to make their instruction more effective for that student.

Paraprofessionals are often in the middle of this sometimes confusing dynamic between instruction, assessment, and the pursuit of curriculum expectations. As paraprofessionals assist teachers with instructional objectives, they may be asked to work with one student, work with a group, provide assistance to students as they need it, or prepare resources for instruction, among a host of other tasks. Sometimes paraprofessionals are asked to conduct very specialized assessments, or provide the teacher with their impressions of how the students are performing. Paraprofessionals play an important role in the development and delivery of effective instruction.

The content of Area 9 is especially targ eted for the paraprofessional, including instructional content that is both general and specific. The content represents instruction that paraprofessionals may likely encounter in the field, especially in the areas of Math, Reading, and Writing. The General Instruction and Lesson Plans unit covers some of the basic, over-riding concepts of instruction, regardless of subject matter. The unit called Gathering and Recording Data about Student Performance addresses topics related to academic assessments, which enable the educator to know if the instruction they are using is working. The unit called Instructional Resources describes types of resources that can inform instruction. Another unit, called Minnesota State Standards, addresses standards and how they may affect the curriculum. And lastly, there are the core units of math, reading, and writing. Knowing the content of these units will empower the paraprofessional to collaborate with the teacher and assist students more effectively.

(Clicking the hyperlinked competency code, e.g., 1K3B, will take you to the associated training unit.)

9. Academic Instructional Skills in Math, Reading, and Writing
GENERAL INSTRUCTION
9.1MRW Ability to support and reinforce the instruction of students in math, reading, and writing following written and oral lesson plans developed by licensed teachers.
9.2MRW Ability to utilize effective developmental, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive instructional strategies in math, reading, and writing that support the instruction of licensed teachers.
MATH
9.1M Ability to support and reinforce the instruction of students in math following written and oral lesson plans developed by licensed teachers.
9.2M Ability to utilize effective developmental, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive instructional strategies in math that support the instruction of licensed teachers.
9.3M Ability to access and effectively use available resources (including technology) for supporting teacher instruction in the subject of math. (Examples: internet resources, instructional manuals, tangibles, colleagues, etc.)
9.4M Ability to support a licensed teacher in the gathering and recording of data regarding student performance in the area of math. (Examples: rubric instruments, curriculum-based measurement, etc.)
9.5M Knowledge of terminology related to the instruction of math. (There is no specific unit addressing this competency, as instructional terminology is covered throughout all units within Area 9.)
9.6M Understand how the Minnesota Standards and Testing (including state and local testing) direct the teaching of math in Minnesota.
READING
9.1R Ability to support and reinforce the instruction of students in reading following written and oral lesson plans developed by licensed teachers.
9.2R Ability to utilize effective developmental, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive instructional strategies in reading that support the instruction of licensed teachers.
9.3R Ability to access and effectively use available resources (including technology) for supporting teacher instruction in the subject of reading. (Examples: internet resources, instructional manuals, tangibles, colleagues, etc.)
9.4R Ability to support a licensed teacher in the gathering and recording of data regarding student performance in the area of reading. (Examples: rubric instruments, curriculum-based measurement, etc.)
9.5R Knowledge of terminology related to the instruction of reading. (There is no specific unit addressing this competency, as instructional terminology is covered throughout all units within Area 9.)
9.6R Understand how the Minnesota Standards and Testing (including state and local testing) direct the teaching of reading in Minnesota.
WRITING
9.1W Ability to support and reinforce the instruction of students in writing following written and oral lesson plans developed by licensed teachers.
9.2W Ability to utilize effective developmental, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive instructional strategies in writing that supports the instruction of licensed teachers.

Review

pdf

rtf

Your facilitator may ask you to turn in a written copy of the area review, in which case you can use either the pdf or rtf file. If your facilitator wants you to submit an electronic file, download the rtf file and open it in a Word Processor.

document.write(document.title)

Core Competency Area 9

Area Introduction

Review

Area Evaluation