Engaging All Learners through Social Interactions, Visual S…

using AAC for various pragmatic purposes continued to be lim- ited. In addition, meaningful communicative expression of aca- demic concepts as per mastered IEP goals also remained limited; these mastered concepts were only expressed in structured or predictable activities and infrequently, if at all, in spontaneous classroom communication. After years of consistent AAC intervention, this trend was disheartening. However, upon reflection, we also identified a potential correlation between slowed communication develop- ment and overall student engagement within classrooms across the district. We noted that classrooms that showed consistently higher levels of student engagement during instruction tended to have students that exhibited greater progression in communicative development, given appropriate and consistent AAC interven- tion. In these classrooms where students showed higher en- gagement, students’ communication progression included var- ied word classes, different pragmatic functions, and an increase in initiating interactions. At this time, our district was fortunate to collaborate with the GaDOE and Marcus Autism Center through a professional de- velopment grant to train educators in several Georgia districts. Using SEE-KS (Rubin, 2015) as a framework to support students’ learning, the core goal was to build teacher capacity by maximiz- ing their efforts to increase overall student engagement during instruction, rooted in Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The SEE-KS program (Rubin et al., 2022) builds on UDL principles, by incorporating UDL supports and strategies through a so- cial-emotional lens in the classroom. The key to promoting in- creased student engagement is to proactively embed classroom supports and strategies that are aligned with students’ exhibited level of social and communication development. UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING THROUGH A SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT LENS CAST (2025) defines UDL as an approach that “aims to change the design of the environment ... When environments are inten- tionally designed to reduce barriers, every learner can engage in rigorous, meaningful learning.” This mindset encourages edu-

cators to look beyond what a student can’t do and instead con- sider how the environment can be designed to promote access, engagement, and growth for every learner. UDL focuses on pro- active planning to remove barriers to learning for all students, rather than reactively responding to individual challenges in the classroom. In the SEE-KS program, the principles of UDL remain the same but they are primarily focused on social-emotional engagement. • Foster Interest and Motivation: Stimulating interest and motivation in different ways. The “Why” of learning. • Provide Multiple Means of Representation: Providing information in different ways. The “What” of learning. • Allowing Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Al- lowing students to demonstrate what they know in differ- ent ways. The “How” of Learning. Because SEE-KS focuses on social-emotional engagement, its supports and strategies must be developmentally aligned. So- cial-emotional engagement looks different based on exhibited stage of communication development and, therefore, requires supports and strategies that match level of development. SEE-KS specific UDL supports and strategies identify 3 charac- teristics that show a student is engaged in learning: Investment, Independence, and Initiation. Educators will see students invested in the lesson when it taps into their interests and motivation. Investment is the "Why" of learning. Are students emotionally hooked in the lesson ensuring Investment (Interest) in the activity? Are there available strategies that support students’ ability to persist? Educators will see increased independence from their students since their understanding is supported within the lesson and they can then independently act. Independence is the "What" of learn- ing. How can we increase student understanding to support Inde- pendence by providing information in multiple ways? And lastly, educators will see students readily initiate and act within the lesson. Initiation is the "How" of learning. How can students show what they know? Are there multiple options of expression to foster participation and Initiation throughout the activity? When a student shows all 3 characteristics, the “3 I’s,” during instruction, we now know when they are socially-emotionally en- gaged in the learning! Students are motivated to participate and understand what is taking place and what to do ... and then, they can initiate and communicate in the most effective way to show what they know. Students who exhibit limited social-emotional engagement have limited opportunity and motivation to communicate. Op- portunity and social motivation to participate are BOTH necessary for continued development of communication in the classroom. It became increasingly obvious that social-emotional engage-

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