Facilitated by Toni Jaudon, Rachel Newcomb, Susanna Weygandt, Heidi Syler, Molly Brookfield and Leslie Zorwick.
In a recent Chronicle article, Beth McMurtrie describes the “stunning level of student disconnection” instructors are witnessing in their classrooms. For many students, this disconnection is a response to the chronic stress and isolation of the last three pandemic years, or to other traumatic events in their lives.
Trauma-Informed Pedagogy is a set of practices designed to help students learn amid these stressors. Rather than asking instructors to step in as therapists, trauma-informed pedagogical practices allow students to connect with others and learn course content, under conditions that support their agency, autonomy, and safety.
The ACS Trauma-Informed Pedagogies Working Group held a roundtable discussion and Q&A introducing trauma-informed pedagogies on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
View resources and a recording of the workshop below.
Supporting Resources:
Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Resource Guide: https://library.sewanee.edu/traumainformedpedagogy
Getting Started With Trauma-Informed Pedagogy (one-page executive summary)
Opening agreements and other starting conventions for ground rules:
- “The Seminar” by Kahn. https://ibis.geog.ubc.ca/~ewyly/g552/Kahn(1971).pdf
- Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation by Killerman and Bolger
Alex Shevrin-Venet’s Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education–written for a K-12 audience, but helpful suggestions that can translate to higher ed as well.
Here’s a great ACS conversation with Cia Verschelden (March 2021): https://www.acsouth.edu/event/bandwidth/
Resmaa Menakem – My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies