Trauma-Informed Teaching Infographic

Trauma-Informed Teaching

A practical guide for instructors at UNC Greensboro

Trauma is more prevelant than we think

Seeing teaching through a trauma-informed lens

60%

of adults experienced at least one type of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) before age 18

Trauma impacts learning and student success

“Neuroscientists have discovered differences in fundamental brain function among college students with co-occurring trauma and depression symptoms”

Trauma has many forms and causes

Impairments to attention and memory

Anxiety about academic performance

High absences, withdrawal, or isolation

Fear of taking risks / perfectionism

Realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery

Recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in students, instructors, and administrators

Responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices

2

Seeks to actively resist re-traumatization

4

A program, organization, or system that is trauma-informed...

3

What's wrong with you?

1

What happened to you?

Trauma

=

+

+

Event

Effect

Experience

Social Justice and Resilience

Proactive Strategies

Reactive Strategies

Campus Resources

The effects and impact of trauma and stress are highly individualized

Causes of trauma can be...

Responses to trauma can be...

Personal (abuse, neglect, loss of a loved one, housing/food insecurity, intergenerational trauma)

Collective (wars, acts of terrorism, pandemic, racism/ xenophobia, historical/multigenerational trauma)

Hypoarousal (collapse, withdrawal, isolation, helplessness, disassociation)

Hyperarousal (defensiveness, anxiety, confrontation, anger, fear)

Hover over each word for more information

Full Text & References

Click icons for more information

MORE INFO

Learning Brain vs. Survival brain

Click each number for more information

What do student behaviors look like with our trauma lenses on?

MORE Behaviors

types of trauma

trauma defined

of college students experienced a traumatic or very difficult situation in the last 12 months

47%

85%

of surveyed college students had experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives

Discover more

Reading list

Window of tolerance

Physical, Emotional, Social, and Academic

Polyvagal theory Explained

subtle causes of trauma

Cite this resource: Guzman, S.B. (2022). Trauma-informed teaching: A practical guide for instructors at UNC Greensboro [Infographic]. Genially. https://view.genial.ly/631381ffafcbb10019cbf71a/interactive-content-trauma-informed-teaching-infographic

Questions, feedback, suggestions? Email Stephanie Guzman at sabrabec@uncg.edu

As an inclusive teaching practice, it is essential that we learn about the ways in which certain populations have been disproportionately impacted by forms of collective and historical trauma. Here are a few ways to begin the process of becoming more aware of these impacts:

• Examine your own place in this: Take stock in the privileges and power you hold (especially in a classroom space). You can complete a bias evaluator from Project Implicit or one from Tolerance.org to help identify blindspots.

• Be aware that higher education is a major reproducer of White Supremacy/Power-over Culture (Okun): Visit DismantlingRacism.org or ShowingUpForRacialJustice.org to learn more about the ways in which education is a colonized system and engage in (un)learning to address this fact.
• (Re)explore work on Inclusive and Culturally-Responsive pedagogies:
  • Participate in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Institute in the Fall
  • Review the On Demand resources from the UTLC
  • Join a literary circle around these topics
  • Seek out your School or College’s EDI Committee or Council

The more we understand about the ways in which trauma can manifest itself, the better we can respond and support students exhibiting trauma behaviors. Remember, responses to trauma and stress are highly individualized, so we cannot project our own assumptions or experiences onto others. Specific behaviors to be aware of in the classroom include but are not limited to:

• Impairments to attention and memory (difficulty focusing, attending, retaining, and recalling)
• Tendency to miss a lot of classes and/or assignments
• Challenges with emotional regulation
• Fear of taking risks
• Anxiety about deadlines, assessments, group work, or public speaking
• Anger, helplessness, or dissociation
• Withdrawal and isolation
• Perfectionism and/or wanting explicit details about assignment expectations

It is important to understand that the best way to support students is to create departmental and institutional strategies to support students. The following resource is a great place to start thinking through what this could look like: Review Tool for School Policies, Protocols, Procedures & Documents: Examination through a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Lens

In the literal sense, retraumatization refers to traumatic stress reactions or symptoms that develop after multiple exposures to events that are perceived as traumatic. Retraumatization also refers to the triggering or reactivation of traumatic stress reactions or symptoms in response to a situation that mirrors prior experience or relationship dynamics.

• (Re)traumatization is often about conflict between educators and students. This can occur in environments and/or interactions perceived by students as threatening, abusive, oppressive, neglectful, abandoning, unfair, or in which punishment for behaviors or performance feels unfair or disproportionate
• Recent research demonstrates that trigger warnings presented immediately before content that could evoke an intense emotional reaction are not as effective as once hoped/believed
• Alternative approaches
  • Preview content to ensure alignment with learning objectives - only show something you feel to be absolutely essential to learning
  • Add content advisories when appropriate (see Nicole Scalissi’s inclusive teaching lightning round presentation from Adapt 2022)
    • Notating on the course calendar in advance when students may encounter (re)traumatizing content
  • Opening a conversation for students to privately seek alternatives to the content that still results in meeting learning objectives
  • Outline options for students to communicate - verbally or nonverbally - that they are experiencing a trauma response when presented with particular material (this conversation could be part of setting ground rules for the class)

circumstances and frequency

physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, social, and spiritual changes

When students are experiencing high stress and/or trauma, here are a few ways to respond:

• Recognize that the behavior your seeing may be a trauma response and act accordingly
• Reassure the student(s) by validating their sentiments and deescalating the situation
• Respond within your means by making needed accommodations and adjustments to course materials and/or deadlines
• Refer the student(s) to the appropriate campus resources to ensure they get the professional help they need

After addressing the immediate situation, make sure to check on your own mental health and get the resources you may need as well!

Your partners in creating a culture of care include (but are not limited to):

• Dean of Students Office (Suite 210, EUC)
• Counseling Center (Gove Student Health Center, Gray Dr.)
• Spartan Open Pantry (corner of Tate and Spring Garden)
• Office of Intercultural Engagement (Suite 062, EUC)
• Campus Violence Response Center (Gray Dr.)
• Office of Accessibility Resources and Services, (Suite 215, EUC)
• Starfish early alert system and the Students First Office, (101 Forney Student Success Commons)
• Other resources and services for students

There are many (small) things we can do in our teaching to lay a trauma-informed foundation:

• Creating an inclusive, welcoming, trauma-informed syllabus
• Creating opportunities for students to build connection with each other, the instructor, and within the campus or greater Greensboro community
• Building choice into assignments so students can explore personal interests and real-world issues
• Adding content advisories (sometimes known as trigger warnings) before introducing material that students may find (re)traumatizing
• Establishing (or co-creating with students) class policies related to attendance, assignments, and assessments that balance flexibility and agency with clarity and transparency
• Applying policies consistently across all students
• Collectively setting community guidelines or ground rules
• Establishing class routines so students (generally) know what to expect each time they come to class
• Seeking and responding in a timely manner to student feedback and providing wise feedback makes students' concerns feel validated while also being clear about policies and/or assignments that cannot be changed
• Being transparent when introducing an assignment or policy
• Modeling or suggesting various grounding approaches to use when students feel heightened emotions
• Responding promptly and courteously to emails, and setting realistic expectations up front for students to receive correspondence (ex. 1-2 business days)
• Adding the Find Your Well-Being Here module to your Canvas courses so students have easy access to this information and are aware of the resources available to them
• Creating space to share resources and community events, acknowledge the accomplishment of personal goals and successes, and/or provide kudos to fellow classmates during class or on Canvas
• Reframing office hours to student hours and adopting other approaches to make office hours more accessible

Additional strategies are available for specific contexts:

• Considerations for Teaching Online
• Principles and Practices during a Global Health Crisis
• Teaching and Learning Examples

The recommendations and approaches for trauma-informed pedagogy align closely with other inclusive, student-centered teaching and learning frameworks such as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines, culturally responsive teaching, and anti-racist pedagogy. These principles were modified from: Carello, 2020. See also this document with examples.

Now that you have your trauma-informed lenses on, take another look at these common classroom challenges: Trauma Glasses Off "What's wrong with you?"Trauma Glasses On "What happened to you?"ManipulativeGetting needs met in ways that have worked in the past. Doing whatever is necessary to survive. LazyOverwhelmed. Lacking the skills to make decisions about what to do first or to organize ResistantMistrustful of others due to history of being hurt by others. Scared to make progress and then lose everything. Unmotivated/DisengagedDepressed. Fearful. Overwhelmed. “Frozen.” DisrespectfulFeeling threatened, unsafe, out of control.Attention-SeekingFeeling disconnected, alone, or unheard by others. Looking for connection. See page 16 of this handout for more information.

Herman (1997) found that, "traumatic events overwhelm the ordinary systems of care that give people a sense of control, connection, and meaning." As a result here are are some common classroom behaviors to be aware of that can be a result of trauma:

• Impairments to attention and memory (difficulty focusing, attending, retaining, and recalling)
• Tendency to miss a lot of classes and/or assignments
• Challenges with emotional regulation
• Fear of taking risks
• Anxiety about deadlines, assessments, group work, or public speaking
• Anger, helplessness, disruptive behavior, or dissociation
• Withdrawal (non-responsive to communication) and isolation
• Perfectionism and/or wanting explicit details about assignment expectations
• Confusion related to simple or complex tasks

The 2014 SAMHSA report (p. 7) defines trauma in the following context: "Individual trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being...As such, trauma is completely relative to each individual; what is overwhelming on someone’s coping system may not be overwhelming for another student or colleague” It is important to know that trauma is not equivalent to someone feeling upset or discomfort.

Acute Trauma, PTSD

• Survival traumas
• When a traumatic event happened once and stopped
• e.g. rape, car accident, natural disaster
• Learn more about PTSD

Complex Trauma

• Personal identity and attachment traumas
• When a traumatic event happened several times in the past and stopped
• e.g. abuse, combat, trafficking, torture

Continuous Traumatic Stress

• Collective identity traumas
• When a traumatic event happened continued to happen, and did not stop
• e.g. racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, poverty

Adapted from Kira et al, 2013; SAMHSA, 2014

Further information about the prevalence of trauma in our society: "Exposure to potentially traumatic events is common among young adults. Notably, rates of trauma exposure have been shown to peak sharply between 16 and 20 years, which overlaps with the ages of the average college population...estimates in this population have been as high as 84%" (Cusack et al., 2019) The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study revealed that nearly two-thirds of adults (61%) have at least 1 ACE (Felitti et al., 1998). Females and several racial/ethnic minority groups are at greater risk for experiencing 4 or more ACEs (CDC, 2022) In a 2019 study of college students, 75% of current college students said that they need help for emotional or mental health problems (The Healthy Minds Study)

how a person makes meaning of the event, often influenced by their development and culture