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The following thread about trauma-informed pedagogy was composed by @GCTLC fellow Miranda Fedock.
In the midst of this extra-stressful week in this difficult month during this traumatic year, we’ll be sharing a series of threads on the relationship of trauma to our teaching/learning, intended for CUNY educators & GC students.
We hope these help you learn more about this relationship, & take care of yourself and those around you.
For many CUNY educators, our worlds broke open in March, and then again…and then again. We may have felt fearful, helpless, hopeless. Many of us still do, even as we go about our research and teaching. This thread is about the relationship of trauma to our teaching.
2020’s crises have been repeatedly traumatic: experiences that overwhelm our ability to cope, and change how we perceive safety and danger. Though traumatic events happened in the past, they stamp themselves onto our minds and bodies, shaping our everyday lives.
Even before 2020, trauma histories were widespread throughout the US. For example, in studies done in the early 2010s, 66%-85% of US college students reported having trauma histories. Now, those numbers are likely closer to 100%. (See podcast link below.)
Trauma affects our ability to teach and learn because it impedes basic and higher-order executive functioning. Trauma can make it hard for us to concentrate, make decisions, communicate, manage our time, or be still and reflect.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be tweeting about trauma-informed pedagogy: what it is, why it matters, and how it can help you and your students. I’ll give some background, suggest practices, and invite brainstorming and discussion.
To start, check out @karenraycosta's interview at http://teaforteaching.com/131-trauma-informed-pedagogy/ and @janicecarello's website https://traumainformedteaching.blog for more on #TraumaInformedTeaching in #highered.
Don’t worry, this isn’t a whole new area of expertise you need to master! TIP is approachable, adaptable, and easily integrated into your existing teaching/learning approach. TIP offers a variety of ideas and strategies that you can choose to use.
What’s the most important takeaway here? Trauma matters. It’s common, it affects teaching and learning, and there are things we as #CUNY educators and students can do about it. Trauma is everyone’s problem, and everyone is able to help provide a solution.
To begin thinking about TIP, ask yourself about one time that you felt *safe* in a school setting? What were the qualities that made you feel safe, and are you able to create them in your own teaching? Feel free to share in response to this thread, or just to reflect on your own.
More to come on this important topic very soon. Stay safe!
