Support social interaction
Support ākonga to strengthen their social skills and develop positive relationships with others.
On this page:
On this page:
Current page section: Support social interaction
Go to top of current page: Support social interaction
Go to top of current page: Support social interaction
Go to top of current page: Support social interaction
Teach and practise social skills
Teach and practise social skills
- Explicitly teach non-verbal communication strategies, such as eye contact, facial expressions and body language.
- Explicitly teach skills associated with social interactions, such as joining a group, taking part in two-way conversations, and reading non-verbal cues.
- Practise skills using role plays, scenarios and turn-taking games.
- Reduce social demands in learning activities by giving options for smaller groups or independent work.
- Build a supportive peer group.
Approaches to support social skills
Approaches to support social skills
Professor Amanda Kirby describes how to help children with social and communication skills.
No captions or transcript
Foster collaboration and group work
Foster collaboration and group work
Provide opportunities for ākonga to work with others. Carefully design group or pair activities to maximise productive interactions and learning.
- Encourage tuakana-teina relationships and create a culture where students provide support for each other.
- Provide a kete of strategies to help students to listen actively to each other, share ideas, and recognise different points of view.
- Use a variety of thinking tools, such as De Bono's thinking hats.
- Assign roles such as speaker, listener, and note-taker to the group members.
- Develop cross-cultural communication skills, learning how conventions for conversation vary across cultures and contexts.
- Monitor the discussions to ensure that all students understand the task and have opportunities to participate.
Plan for successful transitions
Plan for successful transitions
Plan ahead for students changing schools, moving on to secondary school or leaving school.
- Ask the student about their concerns and their ideas about the best ways to support their transition.
- Talk to the SENCO at the new school or your school's Learning Support Coordinator to find out about the learning environments they will be moving to.
- Give the student the opportunity to spend time in their new school, meeting their teachers and other students and visiting the classrooms where they will work.
- If the student would find it helpful, work with the new school to introduce them to a buddy to support the transition.
- Support students to practise the skills needed for job interviews.
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Key areas to support”:
-
Current page Support social interaction
Return to the guide “Dyspraxia and learning”
![11448 [Dyspraxia-and-learning.jpg]](https://inclusive-live-storagestack-assetstorages3bucket-3uty0hejzw6u.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/inclusive-education/guides/featured-images/Dyspraxia-and-learning__FillWzIwOCwyMDhd.jpg)
How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Dyspraxia and learning
Understand:
Strategies for action:
-
Identify needs and how to provide supportShow suggestions for Identify needs and how to provide support
-
Key areas to supportShow suggestions for Key areas to support
- Support motor skills
- Support self-management and organisation
- Support social interaction
- Support positive behaviour
-
Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8Show suggestions for Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8
-
Helpful classroom strategies year 9-13Show suggestions for Helpful classroom strategies year 9-13
