When possible, she also gave Trevor extended time to comply with directions to avoid power struggles, asking, for example, “Can you please pick that up before lunch?” rather than, “Pick that up now” (Minahan, 2019). According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, children experiencing traumatic stress can have difficulty self-regulating emotions, may be aggressive, skittish, impulsive, or require extra attention while simultaneously remaining fearful of new or unfamiliar situations or people. Another strategy for providing predictable attention, especially for middle and high school students, is to hand an anxious or traumatized student a sticky note with a time on it as they walk into class each day. These switching activities are called cognitive distractions or thought breaks and are incompatible with negative thinking. It’s about getting to the root of a student’s triggers, underlying issues, and motives, teaching healthy communication skills,” says Gina Angelillo-Farieri, a Restorative Justice Coordinator in the New York City Department of Education. If so, you are already well on your way to having a trauma-informed teaching environment. This in turn can result in fatigue, as the teacher is guarded and unable to predict what will happen from one moment to another. On the other hand, Ms. Carlton responded to such moments at the beginning of the year by validating Trevor’s feelings (“I am sorry you are upset” or “I see that you are angry”). 6. There are two must-dos to begin addressing trauma: (1) Keep a constant lens on basic needs and (2) create a classroom with routines and personal connection. Add to that, the stresses caused by COVID-19, adjustments for distance learning, and increasing political turmoil. Yet the impact could have been greater had she written and shared those strategies with Ms. Finch and the rest of Trevor’s team via a shared document, behavior plan, or student success plan (Minahan, 2019). Trauma-Informed Teaching During COVID-19. According to the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center, awareness is the key to managing secondary traumatic stress. “Relying solely on punishment leaves out the important and healing lessons that students of trauma so desperately need.”. The good news: beyond these tips below, there are professional development opportunities that can greatly help you support your students (and yourself). An Explainer on Trauma-Informed Teaching. When teachers are proactive and responsive to the needs of students suffering from traumatic stress and make small changes in the classroom that foster a feeling of safety, it makes a huge difference in their ability to learn. Consider this scenario drawn from schools I’ve worked with: Trevor, a 6th grader whose father overdosed on heroin two years ago and who has witnessed ongoing domestic abuse throughout his childhood, was in Ms. Carlton’s class for part of the day and Ms. Finch’s class for the other part. . First, teachers must learn to put students' reactions into context—and not to take them personally. Share trauma-informed strategies with all staff—from bus drivers to parent volunteers to crossing guards. Mays offers trauma-informed teaching strategies to support students in remote classrooms. We all know the commonly held belief that in order to help someone else, you must first help yourself. Unfortunately, during these breaks, students can ruminate on negative memories, current stressors, angry thoughts, or worries. ➛ Think about one of your students who struggles with behavior. During independent work time, if a teacher says to a student “Great work! Here are some examples. Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies - Educational Leadership on Leadership Resources for school leaders curated by Chris Thomas When they are with a safe and supportive adult, their behavior reflects that. A teacher’s behavior can also feel unpredictable to traumatized students. Ms. Carlton had taken the time to build a trusting relationship with Trevor and learned to give directions in a way that he would respond well to. https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/trauma-informed-teaching-tips/. When students are working independently and quietly—doing what they are supposed to be doing—they don’t know when they will get the teacher’s attention. You have another new student, Max, who is always fighting and disrupts lessons by calling out. Trauma informed teachers need the emotional support from their colleagues and administrators to stay grounded. I have no idea where her reaction came from.” This uncertainty leaves the teacher in a constant state of hyper-alertness when interacting with the student. Build a Safe Learning Environment Ms. Carlton instinctively knew that a more private nonverbal direction could be less confrontational for a student in “fight or flight” mode. Build relationships. Community and collaboration / School culture. Severe physical harm or injury, including sexual assault. Teaching students to recognize negative emotions, pause, and process them before they manifest into negative behaviors also builds coping skills and reduces the need for disciplinary measures. Witnessing or learning of violence to a loved one. Yet for traumatized students, the ability to learn and behave appropriately can be person-dependent. I have a bad knee! Ms. Finch would ignore Trevor when he was expressing anger, such as by crumpling up a paper, growling, or slinging a book from his desk onto the floor. First, teachers must learn to put students’ reactions into context—and not to take them personally. Because predictability is comforting to students with anxiety and trauma histories, they may resort to getting the teacher’s attention through inappropriate means. These switching activities are called cognitive distractions or thought breaks and are incompatible with negative thinking. The Trauma Informed Teacher View all posts by The Trauma Informed Teacher Posted on October 26, 2018 March 2, 2019 Author The Trauma Informed Teacher Categories Understanding Trauma Tags grief , Relationships , teaching strategies , trauma When you’re in the heat of the moment in a difficult situation with a student, try to take a deep breath and step back from your emotional response. We need to remember that when some of our students were young and cried, no one came. It is important that students experience competence to develop a more accurate self-narrative and to begin to create a positive future picture of themselves. Trauma-Informed Teaching: Strategies to Support Teachers Speakers GINA MIKEL PETRIE and JANINE JULIANNA DARRAGH College of Education, Health and Human Sciences University of Idaho Nearly half of all children have experienced some sort of trauma; for teenagers and adults, that number is even hig Traumatized students often engage in inaccurate thinking, tending to focus on the negative. Neurobiologically, students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe, known, and cared for within their schools (Aupperle et al., 2012). Using predictable positive attention, however, the teacher can say, “I am going to check on you in 10 minutes,” put a timer on the student’s desk, and add, “Come tap me on the shoulder when the timer goes off.” If the teacher has many students in the class that could benefit from this, she could transfer the strategy to small groups: “I will check on this desk group at X time.”. When a teacher says, “Please correct the first problem,” the student might hear, “You are stupid.” Or a student might report that the teacher screamed at her when the teacher was really using a calm tone, as even neutral facial expressions can be misinterpreted. Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies. If Ms. Carlton had written down the successful strategies she used with Trevor, the list might have started with avoiding authoritative directives such as, “Pick that up.” To give Trevor a sense of control, Ms. Carlton always embedded choice in her directions, asking, “Do you want to be in the front of the line or the back of the line?” instead of simply telling him to “line up.” This helped prevent a poor reaction (Minahan, 2019). To support a more accurate self-concept, teachers can provide what Robert Brooks calls “islands of competence” for students swimming in a sea of inadequacy (2003). As teachers are the adults who see students for the longest periods of time throughout the day, they play a critical role in recognizing the symptoms of trauma and treating it at the classroom level. Jessica Minahan is an educator, author and ASCD contributor. Poverty, violence, hunger, abuse, and an unstable world are causing chronic stress for our nation’s kids. All Rights Reserved. When it comes to student trauma, there is much that is beyond educators’ power, but there is also a great deal they can do to build a supportive and sensitive environment where students feel safe, comfortable, take risks, learn, and even heal. All school leaders can educate teachers on a trauma-informed approach to learning. Behavior is communication, and we’ve looked at how traumatized students often communicate feelings through their behavior. They say things like, “But he was fine this morning, I didn’t see that coming!” or “She normally loves playing the drums in music class. Not knowing what is coming next can put anyone on high alert, especially traumatized students. Common teacher practices such as ignoring inappropriate behavior, sending students to the office, or sending younger kids to sit alone at a back table or in the hallway can unintentionally trigger students who have experienced abandonment or neglect. Trauma-aware practice is becoming ever more popular in schools as teachers attempt to find new ways of tackling challenging behaviour and supporting vulnerable young people. It is helpful when school staff receives training on multi-tiered, research-based strategies to support students who have experienced trauma. Interaction strategies are a type of accommodation that typically go unnamed and unwritten, but they were the reason that Trevor could feel safe and access the curriculum (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012). Normalcy is profoundly healing and comforting, particularly for students who do not feel in control of their lives. For example, a principal might say, “If you get all your homework done this week, you and I will have lunch together!” The problem with this is that if the student doesn’t get all their homework done, then the principal withholds their attention and time. I’ll be back to check on you,” the student has no way of predicting how long they need to wait—and from past experience they know that the teacher may forget to return altogether. Students with trauma histories can react and behave in seemingly unexpected ways, such as having a sudden outburst during a favorite activity or crying out of the blue one second after laughing. One little box, holding one little note, could change one student's whole world, believes teacher Sophie Kasahara. Another practice to be cautious about is using time with a preferred adult as an incentive. How could you help him “switch the channel” when he is upset? The Editorial Team. She never speaks in class or to other children, puts her head on her desk during lessons and seems to be off in her own world, unreachable. This site uses cookies and similar technologies to store information on your computer or device. ➛ Watch a webinar on integrating social-emotional learning into content instruction here. Some tips for setting consistency with online students include: setting expectations together, develop and repeat a class mantra, defining digital learning experiences, and conducting regular surveys with your virtual pupils. Ms. Carlton skillfully used relationship-building and interaction strategies to work with Trevor. Trauma is possibly the largest public health issue facing our children today (CDC, 2019). Instead, Ms. Carlton could have told Ms. Finch that she greeted Trevor every day at the classroom door and asked him about the Avengers or basketball. This decreases the stress and uncertainty caused by classroom activity transitions and the roll-out of assignments. Trauma can be broken down into these eight categories, according to the work of Bonnie L. Green, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Georgetown University (Wilson & Sigman, 2000/Green, 1993): For young students, traumatic stress can severely impact a student’s ability to learn, function in social environments, or manage their emotions and behaviors. Remind everyone: “The child is not his or her behavior,” says Soma. These actions can feel antagonistic to teachers who don’t understand the root cause of the student’s behavior, which can lead to misunderstandings, ineffective interventions, and missed learning time. Small changes in classroom interactions can make a big difference for traumatized students. Several educators recommended connecting trauma-informed practices to the existing compassion and empathy among teachers: “You show them what they are already doing. In this podcast, Karen Costa discusses how trauma-informed pedagogy can be used to help students during times of crisis. I don’t want to trip and fall!” Ms. Carlton would say, “Oh dear, I hope I don’t fall. This is for the benefit of students and teachers … Subscribe To Our Newsletter To Get Content Delivered To Your Inbox. Jessica Minahan. They recommend regular small group check-ins, regular exercise, a healthy diet, and sufficient sleep. “Restorative Justice is particularly impactful for traumatized students because it prioritizes de-escalation. “Typically there is something underneath that driving that to happen, so be sensitive. Simply put, trauma-informed mindfulness is practicing and/or teaching mindfulness in a way that doesn’t violate the basic premises of trauma-informed care. Employ Thoughtful Interactions. Tea for Teaching Podcast, “Trauma-Informed Teaching with Karen Costa,” April 22, 2020. Traumatized students often behave in ways that may interfere with teaching … They often haven’t learned to express emotions healthily and instead show their distress through aggression, avoidance, shutting down, or other off-putting behaviors. According to University of Texas Psychology professor and social psychological researcher James Pennebaker , reflective writing activities can make it easier for students to build emotional intelligence and resilience. While I was reporting my latest story about a possible return to campus this fall, ... to help devise strategies for your classrooms. She would also point out in a written note to Trevor that he was the first student to finish a math activity. Could you please move your backpack?” Stating the reason first assured that Trevor knew the context (and necessity) of the demand. We want them to say, “I really helped that student with her artwork. Whenever possible, provide students with choice and ‘a way out.’ This will create a safer classroom environment and minimize explosive outbursts from students who have experienced trauma. Trevor could get Ms. Finch to react immediately by flipping his water bottle noisily, but could go 20 minutes without so much as eye contact from her when he was quietly reading. It is better to use one-to-one time with students in a noncontingent way. By using trauma-sensitive strategies in the classroom, we can help reduce the times our students are “shaken.”. Mindfulness Printables for Virtual Learning Success. Students can’t learn unless they feel safe. Up to two-thirds of U.S. children have experienced at least one type of serious childhood trauma, such as abuse, neglect, natural disaster, or experiencing or witnessing violence. Ms. Carlton often asked Trevor to help a younger student or a peer who was struggling in an academic area Trevor was strong in, or had him fix the stapler when it was malfunctioning. Trauma-Informed Teaching Toolbox : A collection of concrete strategies, tips, policies, practices, assignment prompts, and activities for teaching during times of crisis (400-800 words). Teachers seeking to become trauma-informed can focus on developing these universal supports without seeking details about a particular student’s trauma. Here are seven key principles educators can implement now: Recognize your own feelings first. Tips for Teachers and Classroom Resources, 101 Trauma-Informed Interventions: Activities, Exercises and Assignments to Move the Client and Therapy Forward, Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress, Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything, Implementing Restorative Practice in Schools: A Practical Guide to Transforming School Communities, Trauma-Informed Best Practices in Schools, Stress Responses: Teaching Resilience for Trauma and Everyday Crises, Powerful Resources for Teaching Through Trauma or Tragedy, Activities for Teaching Tolerance in the Classroom, Trauma-Informed Strategies to Use in Your Classroom, Teaching Licensure & Certification Per State. I could be a mechanic someday.”. Educator teams need to ask themselves, “Does the student feel competent during the day?” If the answer is no, contriving an island of competence for the student is in order. Watch what the student is doing. Recognizing areas of strength in students is a powerful way to combat the poor self-concept and negative thinking associated with trauma (Jennings, 2018). Models of trauma-informed practice show the importance of educators, family members/carers and health professionals collaborating to support children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. This is a much more empathetic approach, will preserve the relationship, and will avoid triggering a trauma response in the student. Trauma Informed Teaching Strategies That Are Good For All A comprehensive list of traumatic stress symptoms can be found in the NCTSN Toolkit for Educators. She could have told Ms. Finch how she used the “two by ten” rule; she talked to him for two minutes a day for 10 days in a row about topics unrelated to academics or behavior. Conversely, Ms. Finch would often go up close to Trevor, tower over him, and say in front of his peers, “Stop tapping your pencil!” This typically ended in a power struggle and Trevor’s escalating behavior. By clicking Submit, you agree to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Privacy and Cookie Notice. Teachers can use the same principle for kids with trauma and anxiety: Teach students that their brain is like a remote control that they can use to “switch the channel” to help them calm down (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012). We need to counter this effect with positive experiences. As we’re sure you can imagine, providing classroom consistency, daily structures, clear expectations, and reliable warmth and love help stressed students feel safe. Traumatized students are especially prone to difficulty in self-regulation, negative thinking, being on high alert, difficulty trusting adults, and inappropriate social interactions (Lacoe, 2013; Terrasi & de Galarce, 2017). Common classroom management strategies often only exasperate this tendency. When I grow up, I could work with kids.” Or “I am good at fixing things. Students who experience trauma can feel triggered by a lack of clear structures, boundaries, and routines. Trauma-Informed Strategies to Use in Your Classroom Look beyond the behavior. ➛ Read more from ASCD’s recent issue of Educational Leadership, all about trauma-informed teaching, right here. He began to scream, kick chairs and hide under his desk. Equity-driven teaching always takes knowledge and care, and the prospect of using inclusive, affirming teaching strategies to support our students, both in-person and online, is challenging. Finding the Boundary While teachers play many roles in students’ lives, psychologist should not be one of them. Ignoring them can trigger a trauma response and make them feel the teacher doesn’t like them or is even happy that they are upset. You have a new child in your classroom. 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