Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies
Small changes in classroom interactions can make a big difference for traumatised students.
Trauma is possibly the largest public health issue facing our children today (CDC, 2019). Up to two-thirds of U.S. children have experienced at least one type of severe childhood trauma, such as abuse, neglect, natural disaster, or experiencing or witnessing violence. 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). They often haven’t learned to express emotions healthily and instead show their distress through aggression, avoidance, shutting down, or other off-putting behaviours. These actions can feel antagonistic to teachers who don’t understand the root cause of the student’s behaviour, which can lead to misunderstandings, ineffective interventions, and missed learning time.
Neurobiologically, students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe, known, and cared for within their schools (Aupperle et al., 2012). 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. Here are some examples.
DATA
- CategoryMethodologies and pedagogical approaches
- CountryUSA
- LanguageEnglish
- Type of resourceWebsite
