Overview

Module Content

You can download a document that includes all content from the module, with the exception of videos. This resource can support your learning while completing the module or be saved for future reference.

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Additional Documents

Article Summary: Thomas, Crosby and Vanderhaar (2019)

History of Trauma-informed Care and Education

History of Trauma-informed Care and Education

Discussion Questions

1. Did trauma-informed approaches interest you before encountering this module? Do they interest you now? Why or why not?

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2. The concept of the "whole child" emerged early in the 20th century as one of the outlooks of progressive education. The concept is now officially embedded in Ohio's Strategic Plan for Education. What do the public documents for your school and district say about "the whole child"? Where is the effort doing good? Where is it falling short?

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3. Is there anything happening in your district, school, or classroom related to trust, security, stability, compassion, or punishment that particularly concerns you? Why?

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4. Although everyone endures traumatic experiences, some children and adolescents experience more than the usual dosage of trauma. Are they punished for it in your school and district? Why, why not, and in what ways?

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5. What are some specific ways to design academic instruction that reflects a trauma-informed outlook?

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Activities

Introductory Activities

1. To learn and grow in healthy ways, children need to feel a sense of belonging AND they need to find their academic work meaningful and satisfying. Many conditions that children confront, however, can interfere with these two requirements. The table below lists some of the most significant of these conditions and prompts a conversation with colleagues about (1) how and why these conditions interfere with healthy learning and growth and (2) ways to modify or limit the negative effects of these conditions. Over the course of two or three TBT or BLT meetings, use the prompts in the table to consider actions that your school, grade-level team, or academic department can take to blunt the negative effects of these conditions. The first entry in the table provides an illustration.

   Condition	Nature of its Interference with Belonging	Nature of its Interference with Academic Learning	Ways to Push Back
   Social media	The practice of “shaming” allows bullies to marginalize some students for their looks, other characteristics, and/or ideas.	Some children spend so much time on social media sites that they neglect their homework and sometimes even their need for sleep.	Explicitly teach social media etiquette. Convene parents to discuss ways to limit children’s time on social media sites.
   Playground or neighborhood bullying	Your Answer Here	Your Answer Here	Your Answer Here
   Insensitive school assignments (e.g., family-tree assignments)	Your Answer Here	Your Answer Here	Your Answer Here
   Insensitive curriculum materials	Your Answer Here	Your Answer Here	Your Answer Here

   Relevant Websites to Consult:

   https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/summer-2019/when-schools-cause-trauma

   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sense-belonging/202201/the-science-school-belonging

   https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/sec_schools.htm

2. The Evidence Basis of Trauma-informed Practice

   Question for this activity: Is trauma-informed education an evidence-based practice? The OIP requires that educators use evidence-based practices. (Hint: the answer isn’t simple.)

   Procedures

   1. Take a couple of minutes to read the one-page summary of the research article by Thomas and colleagues (2019). The article is in the reference list and the summary appears in the Document tab in this module.

   2. Reach a conclusion. Justify it in 50 words or less. This will take rather longer than it takes to read the abstract and discussion sections.

   3. If working in a group, discuss your reactions and justifications.

   4. Then read the "brief debriefing" that follows (but not before finishing steps 1-3!).

   Brief Debriefing

   Typical practice recognizes four tiers of evidence. See the OLAC module on Using Data Wisely for a quick review. Randomized controlled trials are considered strongest evidence. The strongest challenge for trauma-informed practice in schools, though, as Thomas and colleagues (2019) suggest is how it is conceptualized. This module has a conceptualization and it’s easily stated: helping schools become more compassionate and helping pedagogy become deeper. A trauma-informed outlook in education isn't a specific practice, however, and especially not one for traumatized children alone.

3. Unpacking a Proposed Trauma-informed Practice Gone Viral

   The following activity takes a widely publicized “empathy-building” activity and examines ways in which it was effective, ways in which it was ineffective, and ways in which it was potentially damaging to students.

   Procedures

   1. Review the article about the “Emotional Baggage” back-to-school group activity

      View the story, along with a link to the Facebook post the teacher shared publicly that details its steps.

   2. The activity seems really good and the teacher is clearly very caring and concerned. And the activity seems to work, and that’s fine. But try to be objective and reflect about the pros and cons of the activity.

   3. Individually or in your team, list the “pros” and the “cons” of this activity.

      • A pro might, for instance, be: "shows students that we all have baggage and we can 'leave it at the door.'"

      • What are some other pros; and what can you see as cons?

   4. Then reflect on the items on your list (if working alone) or discuss them (if working in a team).

   5. Conclude this activity by considering another teacher’s reconsideration of the praise she at first had for the activity.

   Debriefing

   The teacher featured for the "Emotional Baggage" activity on national television created her activity in good faith. Part of that good faith was her own good intentions. And the other part was good faith to her students. And that's where her momentary celebrity undid her good faith, in both ways. The celebrity itself compromised her good intentions, on the one hand, and on the other it violated students' confidentiality. The activity might have been described without disclosing students' stories, but that would have diminished "the story" for television's purposes.

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Advanced Activities

1. Choosing a Schoolwide Trauma-informed Strategy

   Briefing for this Activity

   This activity is a serious undertaking for a BLT rather than a mere exercise. Engaging the activity requires BLT time and resources and may tax its capacity. If the activity makes sense (e.g., based on completion of the module) but there are capacity issues, seek technical assistance from the district or (with district consent) from elsewhere.

   Introduction

   Districts that decide (through discussion in leadership teams) to adopt a trauma-informed outlook...

   • establish a district-wide view, which helps leadership teams coordinate efforts and communication across the system.

   • specify a limited set of priorities for improving student outcomes tied to district goals.

   • adopt a set of attitudes and practices crucial for all stakeholders in the school.

   Procedures

   1. Use the BLT for this activity. It will require portions of at least several meetings.

   2. Identify a schoolwide condition that could be addressed through the development of a strategy for adults and students. This is best done with data gathered for the purpose.

   3. Using the data, discuss these questions:

      1. How long has the condition been evident?

      2. Whom does it affect, and how (e.g., students, caregivers, teachers of all kinds, staff of all kinds, and leaders)?

   4. Define the problem in 200 words or less. Assign a subgroup to this task in consideration of the viewpoints in the previous discussion.

   5. What outcome would you like to see schoolwide? This is a discussion for the whole BLT.

      1. For adults?

      2. For students?

      3. In one year?

      4. In five years?

   6. What is the simplest strategy (or practice) that could address your school’s need? A BLT subgroup should prepare options, perhaps proposing as many as six.

      1. Research in-depth three or four of the six strategies

      2. Discuss and choose no more than two at a BLT meeting

      3. Share those two strategies with all TBTs and see which one each would choose.

   7. Choose one based upon input from the TBTs.

   8. Plan the implementation. Consult the Foundational Concept on Implementation Science.

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You can earn credit and contact hours for modules, webinars, and podcasts completed on the OLAC site.

For more information, visit the Credit Corner. If you’re seeking credit for the Gifted Education Professional Development Course or the Culturally Responsive Practices Program courses, you can find that information on the course overview pages.

Dr. Melinda Wolford: A Place They Go to Feel Safe

Dr. Melinda Wolford: Creating Harmonious Moments for Children Who Have Special Needs or Who Have Experienced Trauma

Introduction to Trauma Informed Practice

Kristin Souers Connection, Regulation, Self-efficacy