Gauging engagement

Key Points

This strategy contains ideas and ways that you can check in to see if your student is learning, even if it does not look like conventional learning or attention

How is this tweaked for flex?

Children who flex is designed for may struggle to pay attention, and when they are paying attention it might not "look" like it! This strategy is to give both you and the child a system for checking in, giving them freedom to learn their way but reassuring you that they are engaging with the lesson

Plan

Take the gauging engagement quiz to learn more about how you can check if a child is engaged in learning
Explore the what learning looks like and what engagement looks like mythbusters
Use the planning template (simple or more detailed versions) to think about the student you are using the toolkit with and what signs would show that they are engaged with learning, whatever else they might be doing as well
Consider when it’s OK for them not to be engaged

Talk with your student about what you can say or do to check they are engaged in learning e.g. can you ask them a question about the work, or can you use a phrase or question that they can respond to – “are you checked in?”
Develop the agreed cues template with them to note ways that you can check in to see if they are engaged in a positive way, put it somewhere you can both see it, and use these
When you are worried about engagement, attempt to re-engage by changing activity, adding in a movement break or tailoring the task more to their interests

Review

After a few days, reflect on how the engagement check-ins are going in terms of how you feel about it, and how the child responds to it
Do you need to make any changes? List them on the reflection template
This strategy is about allowing the child to move around and engage differently than might be the convention in your school
Discuss any concerns or problems that have come up with your SENCo, other colleagues and the child’s family and get their help to problem-solve with you

Resources

Related strategies: See also Feet Off the ground, InterACTIVE tactics and Moving is grooving (activity menus)