Resume guide · Job Zone 3

Teaching Assistants, Special Educationresume guide.

Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher to provide academic, social, or life skills to students who have learning, emotional A strong Teaching Assistants, Special Education resume shows active listening, social perceptiveness and speaking, and names the tools you have worked with, such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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Sample resume

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  1. 1Turn behavior support into a number."Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement" is a top task in this guide. Fewer incidents over a school year shows it worked.
  2. 2Show that your data gets used."Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress" is a core task here. Saying the teacher used your graphs at IEP reviews proves the data was good.
  3. 3Name the devices you support.Giving students assistive devices and supportive technology is a core task in this guide. AAC work with a speech-language pathologist, plus the growth in requests, shows the skill clearly.
  4. 4Clinic work counts for school jobs.Carrying out therapy plans under a specialist's supervision is a task this guide lists. Schools short on special education staff value someone already trained in ABA.
  5. 5Spell out each credential and who issued it.Write Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) with the BACB, and CPI training with its current status. Districts short on staff often pay a stipend for these, so name them clearly.
  6. 6Keep education to one line.Many people in this job have some college or a degree, and an associate degree is plenty. One line covers it.

Sample resume. The candidate is fictional; the layout and templates are real.

Inés Kawabata

Special Education Paraprofessional, RBT

[email protected] / (775) 555-0135 / Reno, NV

Summary

Special education paraprofessional with six years supporting students with autism, intellectual disabilities and emotional disabilities. Registered Behavior Technician who carries out behavior plans, collects IEP data and supports students who use AAC devices. A calm presence during escalations, with CPI training and a clean safety record.

Experience

SPED Paraprofessional, Autism Program
Sagehen Flats Elementary, Comstock Valley School District / Reno, NV
Aug 2022 - Present
Carry out behavior intervention plans for 6 students in a K-3 autism classroom using positive reinforcement and token systems; incidents needing office support fell from 11 a month to 3 over one school year.
Collect daily behavior and trial data on IEP goals and graph it weekly in Microsoft Excel; the special education teacher used the graphs in all 12 annual IEP reviews last year.
Program and model core vocabulary on AAC devices with the speech-language pathologist for 3 nonspeaking students, who grew from about 5 to 40+ independent requests a day.
Tutor small reading groups of 3 to 4 students with a structured phonics program; 5 of 7 students moved up a full reading level by spring.
Supervise recess, lunch and bus loading for 60+ students a day with zero injury reports in two school years.
Behavior Technician
Pinyon Hollow Learning Center / Sparks, NV
Jun 2020 - Aug 2022
Delivered 25 to 30 hours a week of one-to-one ABA sessions for children ages 3 to 8 under a BCBA, scoring 95% or higher on monthly treatment fidelity checks.
Taught daily living skills like handwashing and toileting with visual schedules; 4 of 6 clients met their independent toileting goals within six months.

Skills

Software:Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel, Student information systems SIS software, Google Meet, Seesaw, ClassDojo
Student support:Behavior intervention plans, positive reinforcement, IEP data collection, de-escalation, small-group tutoring, personal care and toileting support
Assistive technology:AAC devices, Text to speech software, Screen reader software, visual schedules

Licenses & Certifications

Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
CPI Safety Intervention, Crisis Prevention Institute, current
ParaPro Assessment, ETS, passed
CPR and First Aid, American Red Cross

Education

Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education
Galena Creek Community College
2020

01Also called

O*NET
Assistant InstructorCo-TeacherEducational AssistantParaeducatorParaprofessional (Para)SPED Aide (Special Education Aide)SPED Para (Special Education Paraprofessional)SPED TA (Special Education Teacher Assistant)TA (Teacher's Assistant)Teacher's Aide

02Skills employers expect

O*NET

Importance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.

SkillImportanceLevel
Active ListeningHighIntermediate
Social PerceptivenessHighIntermediate
SpeakingHighIntermediate
Learning StrategiesHighIntermediate
MonitoringHighIntermediate
Reading ComprehensionHighIntermediate
Service OrientationHighIntermediate
InstructingHighIntermediate
Critical ThinkingHighIntermediate
CoordinationHighIntermediate

03Knowledge areas

O*NET
  • English Language
  • Psychology
  • Education and Training
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Mathematics
  • Public Safety and Security
  • History and Archeology
  • Geography
  • Communications and Media
  • Sociology and Anthropology

04Common responsibilities

O*NET

Ordered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.

  1. Provide assistance to students with special needs.
  2. Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
  3. Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
  4. Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
  5. Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
  6. Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
  7. Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
  8. Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
  9. Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress.
  10. Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.

05Software and tools

O*NET

30 tools across 16 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.

Computer based training software6
  • Schoology
  • Padlet
  • Children's educational software
  • Quizlet
  • Text to speech software
  • Appletree
+ 1 more
Data base user interface and query software4
  • Student information systems SIS softwareIn demand
  • Blackboard software
  • Automate the Schools ATS
  • Special Education Student Information System SESIS
Desktop communications software3
  • ParentSquare
  • Tadpoles
  • ClassDojo
Device drivers or system software2
  • Screen reader software
  • Screen magnification software
Electronic mail software2
Multi-media educational software2
  • Seesaw
  • Kahoot!
Video creation and editing software2
  • Flipgrid
  • Loom
Calendar and scheduling software1
  • High School Scheduling and Transcript HSST
Internet browser software1
Office suite software1
Presentation software1
Project management software1
  • Google Classroom
Spell checkers1
  • Hand held spell checkers
Spreadsheet software1
Video conferencing software1
  • Google MeetIn demand
Word processing software1

06Education and preparation

O*NET
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
39% of surveyed workers. Others report High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (25%) and Some College Courses (18%).
Preparation level
Job Zone 3 · Medium preparation
Usually vocational training, an associate degree or a few years of related experience.

07Putting it on your resume

ResumeXRays guidance
BEE · How to show it

Lead with the credential and the record. Job Zone 3 roles usually ask for training, a license or a few years of related experience. Put those on the first screen, then show what you did with them.

Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.

Show social perceptiveness and speaking, not just active listening. Social perceptiveness and speaking rank close to active listening for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.

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