How are Campuses Already Using Trauma-Informed Practice & Care?

University of Waterloo

*The following was written by the University of Waterloo – LITE (Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Enhancement) – Centre for Teaching Excellence)

In the current sociopolitical landscape, students are hyperaware and hypersensitive to topics that broach themes of violence, oppression, and power (Garcia et al., 2012). The alertness of students poses an interesting challenge for instructors who need to balance student socio-emotional needs with essential content. The work that we conducted as part of our first LITE (Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Enhancement) grant, through the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, explored how the incorporation of trauma informed care (TIC) and feminist pedagogies (FP) into the university history classroom can support the overall socio-emotional wellbeing and resilience of students learning about traumatic subjects. This approach is called TIFP. Through a combination of innovative assessments and engagements that empowered voice, choice, and agency, students were offered multiple entry points to engage with the subject of gender-based violence in early modern Europe. As part of this initial project, a fourth-year history course and graduate level seminar were redesigned to promote higher order historical thinking and skill development, with a particular emphasis on the digital humanities to empower students to “make history” (Seixas, 2013). In doing so, scaffolding mechanisms were mobilized, observed, assessed, and articulated. These mechanisms equipped students with competencies and confidence and provided safe and collaborative learning environments to address complex and difficult topics in the classroom.

For the second LITE grant project, CTE sought to build on this work and turn our attention to instructors. In this ongoing project, CTE intends to provide instructors with resources to support the implementation of these TIFP strategies in the classroom. To begin this process, we have distilled our research into three instructional strategies.

• EXPLAIN the purpose of the material and the strategy behind its study.
• EXPLORE the skills, methodologies, and disciplinary norms of the field of study and how it has
  changed over time.
• ENHANCE student experiences with choices, and on and off ramps for connecting with the materials. They can invest their skills and grow with their own interests as they are able, on their own terms.

Each strategy helps to build trust between students and instructor. In explaining our instructional thinking, we build trust and develop ownership in the learning process. We can also support students’ engagement with the material by emphasizing higher order methodological skills. This informs learners about how scholars engage with these materials in a way that supports their wellbeing and highlights the knowledge creation process. Finally, by providing students with choice and agency in the learning process we support the development of agency, self-directed learning, and the creation and communication of professional boundaries and competencies. In short, students who understand WHY and HOW we study difficult subjects, and build the SKILLS to participate critically, are better equipped to both care for their own socio-emotional needs and learn about traumatic subjects.

TIFP practice in the classroom involves the interrogation of entrenched ideas about education practice and the relationship between students and the instructor. We are still learning and growing our practice as we engage with different ideas and strategies. We hope that the three instructional strategies outlined above contribute to this fantastic resource and give campus staff and faculty a place to start as they engage with TIFP practices in the classroom.

Works Cited

Garcia, Carolyn M., Kate E. Lechner, Ellen A. Frerich, Katherine A. Lust, and Marla E. Garcia, C. M., Lechner, K. E., Frerich, E. A., Lust, K. A., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2012). Preventing sexual violence instead of just responding to it: Students’ perceptions of sexual violence resources on campus. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 8(2), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-3938.2011.01130.x

Seixas, Peter C. (2013). The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts. Toronto: Nelson Education.

Recommendations:

• Focus on what happened to the individual, not what the individual is doing – ask, “What has happened to you?” instead of “What is wrong with you?”
• Recognize the benefits for students, staff, and faculty of taking on a trauma-informed lens – everyone has greater opportunities for safety and learning.
• Focus on building in “protective factors” to prevent trauma for students during the high-risk transition period between secondary and post-secondary.