Training | Playing Outside the Box: Supporting Thinking, Language, and a Stronger Sense of Self

Instructor

Anna Vagin, Guest Speaker
PhD

Anna received her doctorate from UC Berkeley and SFSU, writing her dissertation on the subject of mother-child interaction in children with cleft lip and palate. She provides consultation to parent groups and schools, and is a frequent speaker in the US and Canada on topics related to social cognition. She is the author of Movie Time Social Learning (2013) and YouCue Feelings: Using Online Videos for Social Learning (2015), and developer of the Conversation Paths Pack Expanded Version (2021), and additional materials to support emotional learning and social engagement.

Description

Meaningful activities bring real challenges, and for students with social cognitive and language differences, game play offers rich opportunities to try new approaches, take risks, and stretch beyond familiar patterns. In this two-hour course, we will explore how to thoughtfully use and modify a range of tabletop games to support deeper engagement. Participants will leave with concrete strategies to support students (3rd grade through young adulthood) in thinking more deeply, communicating more clearly, and developing a stronger, more adaptable understanding of themselves. The 90-day Recorded Replay Access begins at the time of Registration.

Learn More

We’ve come a long way from using games in our sessions as a break—now, the games often are the work. Meaningful activities bring real challenges, and for students with social cognitive and language differences, game play offers rich opportunities to try new approaches, take risks, and stretch beyond familiar patterns.

In this course, you will explore how to thoughtfully use and modify a range of tabletop games to support deeper engagement. You will look at the value of previewing and retrospective review, and discuss how challenges such as competitiveness, inflexibility, anxiety, and slower processing can emerge during play. These moments, however, can become powerful opportunities for learning. The focus is not just on helping students participate, but on helping them expand what they find possible within a supportive context.

At the same time, we will look beyond observable behavior to the thinking that drives it. Thought processes—and the mental state verbs (MSVs) that represent them—are invisible, yet they shape how students understand themselves, others, and their experiences. When students have language to express what they think, know, remember, or assume, they are better able to explain misunderstandings, manage discomfort, engage more meaningfully with others, and reflect on both challenging and successful moments.

We will also explore the use of visual continuums to make abstract social and emotional concepts more concrete. Ideas like flexibility, motivation, and social engagement are not fixed—they shift depending on context. When students can see these concepts mapped out visually, they are better able to reflect on where they are, consider how they might stretch, and participate more actively in their own growth and decision-making.

Throughout the session, you will draw from case examples and practical activities that can be immediately applied in school-based settings with students from approximately 3rd grade through young adulthood. Participants will leave with concrete strategies to support students in thinking more deeply, communicating more clearly, and developing a stronger, more adaptable understanding of themselves.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Describe strategies for modifying games to support student engagement, flexibility, and participation.
• Define mental state verbs and explain their role in supporting cognition, language, and academic success across diverse learners.
• Explain how visual continuums can be individualized to help students identify their current position, set goals, and consider steps toward change.
• Apply practical strategies to support students’ thinking, communication, and social engagement across activities.

Agenda (Recording):

00:00-00:10
Welcome and framing

00:10-00:40
Using and modifying games

00:40-01:00
Supporting engagement and stretch

01:00-01:10
From behavior to thinking

01:10-1:40
Mental state verbs

01:40-01:55
Visual continuums

01:55-02:00
Wrap-up and key takeaways

Credit

Continuing Education Credit

2 hours toward CE credit, if applicable. Credit may be available for this workshop and may vary by country or institution. Please verify eligibility with Social Thinking.