Trauma-Informed Approach

We can think of the trauma-informed approach as having an awareness of trauma and utilizing this awareness when designing our lessons and activities in the classroom:

"Being trauma-informed means that individuals understand that anyone in their care could have experienced trauma which could still impact their ability to thrive or function in a space."(Kostouros, Scarff, Miller, & Crossman, 2022, p.183)

There are several key principles to keep in mind when approaching your teaching with a trauma-informed approach:

1. Safety

2. Trustworthiness

3. Choice

4. Collaboration

5. Empowerment

(Wilson, 2022)

 

1. Safety

2. Agency

3. Importance of student identities

4. Recognition of strengths

5. Belong

6. Meaning

(Kostouros, Scarff, Millar, & Crossman, 2022)

As we can see, scholars agree that a trauma-informed classroom prioritizes safety and choice. Since the heart of trauma is a sense of powerlessness, offering choices and alternatives is one of the cornerstones of trauma-informed teaching (Wilson, 2022). As much as possible, give your students the ability to opt out of activities that may trigger trauma. Again, this is subjective and dependent on the student. Maintaining a flexibility that responds to students' needs while also upholding the academic integrity of the activity at hand is key. For example, if a student finds a writing prompt troublesome, allow them to pick an alternative topic. They may even propose a new topic altogether.

When selecting activities and approaches, research on trauma-informed pedagogy recommends:

  • Creating routine and predictability
    • This directly corresponds to the ideas of "safety" and "trustworthiness".
  • Using fun and humor
  • Developing an empathetic rather than authoritarian teaching style
    • Research show that an authoritarian teaching style not only infantilizes students but also decreases feelings of empowerment.
  • Providing encouraging feedback
  • Providing holistic support for students
  • Embedding health topics into the syllabus
  • Using relaxation techniques or mindfulness activities
  • Teaching vocabulary related to emotion or political struggle
    • Be cautious as this could also bring up traumatic memories or PTSD flashbacks. For more, consult the page  Limitations & Warnings.
  • Including art, music, and physical movement into the syllabus
    • Instructors are urged to only include activities that they are comfortable modeling themselves. (Daniels, 2022)
  • Avoiding discussions of family
  • Building trust by listening without offering solutions (Delaney, 2023).
    • This may also prevent instructors from inappropriately slipping into the role of a therapist as advised against in  Limitations & Warnings.

It is important to note that trauma-informed pedagogy does not stand in the way of teaching objectives, nor does it require additional efforts that will not also positively impact all students. Trauma-informed pedagogy benefits all.