Q&A on the Basics of Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning

What is trauma?  

Definitions vary, but the core idea is that trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event ​(American Psychological Association, 2022)​.  

It can also be helpful to break trauma into three E’s: Event, Experience, and Effects (SAMHSA, 2014). This definition helps us to understand that a particular event or series of events that might be traumatic for one person might not be experienced the same way by another and might not have the same effects. For example: whereas compounding trauma can increase the likelihood of lasting negative effects, other factors, such as supportive relationships and stronger coping skills, can decrease the likelihood of negative effects. 

What does it mean to be trauma-informed? 

What does it mean to be trauma-informed?  

In general, a trauma-informed approach can be described using four Rs (SAMHSA, 2014):  

  • Realize: Just by reading this article, you are building your awareness of trauma and how it can affect your students.  
  • Recognize: Notice signs of trauma that may appear in your students.  
  • Respond: Check in with your students when you have concerns about their behavior or performance and support them using the seven principles described below.  
  • Resist Re-traumatization: Avoid recreating the kinds of stressful conditions in your classroom that could exacerbate trauma, such as requiring students to sit through videos depicting violence or making students feel ashamed for failure. Instead, aim to make your instructional space safe, inclusive, supportive, and focused on your shared learning goals.  

Am I expected to provide mental health support?  

Being trauma-informed is not the same as providing trauma-specific treatment, which should only be conducted by a mental health professional. The Student Health and Wellness Center is a great resource for students in need of mental health support. 

What are the odds that my classroom is affected by trauma? 

Extremely high! By the time they reach college, 66 to 85 percent of youth report lifetime traumatic event exposure, with many reporting multiple exposures (Read, Ouimette, White, Colder, & Farrow, 2011; Smyth, Hockemeyer, Heron, Wonderlich, & Pennebaker, 2008).  

Moreover, with the collective trauma of the pandemic, mental health concerns have been on the rise. Arthur Evans, CEO of the American Psychological Association, was quoted as recently as April 2022 saying, “We absolutely are experiencing a mental health tsunami… And we expect that it will grow even more … so we haven’t even crested this tsunami yet” (Lonsdorf, 2022, para. 23). 

How can trauma impact my students’ ability to learn? 

Traumatic stress shifts the mind from a more open, curious “learning brain” mode into a reactive survival mode​ (Ham, 2017)​. Survival mode shuts down non-essential body processes and focuses the brain on threat and self-protection. While any of us can experience the kind of stress that can shift us into survival mode at any time, for some people who have experienced trauma, the brain remains in that reactive state over time, and learning can become quite difficult​ (Rosenthal, 2020)​.  

A common saying that can be helpful is that students need to “Maslow before they can Bloom.” This reminds us that, as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs indicates, students must feel a sense of safety and belonging before they can begin to learn effectively​ (Berger, 2020).

What are some signs of trauma that I might see in my students? 

  • Difficulty focusing, attending, retaining, and recalling  
  • Tendency to miss a lot of classes  
  • Challenges with emotional regulation  
  • Fear of taking risks  
  • Anxiety about deadlines, exams, group work, or public speaking 
  • Anger, helplessness, or dissociation when stressed  
  • Withdrawal and isolation (Davidson, 2017, p. 8)

How can I teach in a trauma-informed way?

Building on the work of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (2014) and others, Janice Carello (2022) offers the seven principles below.

While the principles below were written specifically for those experiencing the effects of trauma, infusing them into your teaching can help to create an effective learning atmosphere for all students.  

  1. Safety: Create an environment that respects all individuals and helps them feel safe enough to take risks and learn from mistakes.   
  2. Trustworthiness & Transparency: Make expectations clear, ensure consistency in practice, maintain appropriate boundaries, and minimize disappointment.  
  3. Support & Connection: Connect students with appropriate peer and professional resources to support academic, personal, and professional success.  
  4. Collaboration & Mutuality: Act as an ally rather than as an adversary. Create opportunities to share power and make decisions.  
  5. Empowerment, Voice, and Choice: Build in opportunities to make choices, be heard, and build skills to communicate confidently and assertively.  
  6. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Strive to be aware of and responsive to issues of privilege and power. Respect one another’s diverse experiences, perspectives, and identities.  
  7. Resilience, Growth & Change: Recognize strengths, build resilience, and provide feedback to help each other grow and change. 

​​References

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