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Trauma-informed teaching and learning resource listings
Written by JJ Cloutier
Content reviewed January 2024
- Starting with self
- Understanding trauma
- Introduction to trauma-informed teaching
- Self-care and setting boundaries
- Empathy
- Incorporating trauma-informed practice
- Guiding principles of trauma-informed practice
- Content notes or trigger warnings
- Teaching strategies
- How to create a welcoming environment
- Additional resources
- Courses
- Books
- Resource recommended by Alex Shevrin Venet
- Resource recommended by Mays Imad
These resources are organized based on BC Campus Self-serve open educational resources FLO course: Trauma-informed teaching OER (Sept 21). We included an additional resources section and incorporated new resources to topics where appropriate.
Starting with self
Understanding trauma
- Website: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) information on trauma [5-10 mins]
- Podcast: Mindful things podcast – The truth about trauma [60 mins]
- Article: This is a student’s brain on trauma [12-15 mins]
- Blog post: If you can’t take in anymore, there’s a reason. [10 mins]
- Website: SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach [15-20 mins]
- Podcast: ReRooted with Francesca Maximé: Healing racialized trauma with Resmaa Menakem [53 mins]
- Video: A therapist breaks down how our bodies carry racial trauma with Resmaa Menakem [13 mins]
- Article and video lecture: Neurobiology of trauma [article 5 mins, video 108 mins]
- Article: Trauma and neurodiversity – Understanding the struggle and meeting the needs [6 mins]
- Article: Unsafe, unheard and misunderstood: Trauma and neurodiversity [5 mins]
- Journal Article: ‘It’s a symbolic violence’: Autistic people’s experiences of discrimination at universities in Australia [45 min]
Introduction to trauma-informed teaching
- Infographic: 6 guiding principles to a trauma-informed approach (download available) [2 mins]
- Dare to Lead: The braving inventory (downloadable) [2 mins]
- Presentation: Trauma-informed care on a college campus [105 slides]
- Article [PDF]: How you write is as important as what you say: A guide to trauma-informed writing
- Video: How teachers can help students navigate trauma [15 mins]
- Journal Article [PDF]: Transcending adversity: Trauma-informed educational development (download resource)
- Article: Trauma-informed pedagogy: What it is and how it can help now [6 mins]
- Video: Examining the intersections of equity, trauma-informed pedagogy, and student learning with Mays Imad [97 mins]
Self-care and setting boundaries
- Infographic: How to flourish in social work
- Journal Article [PDF]: Role-clarity and boundaries for trauma-informed teachers
- Zine [PDF]: Hell yeah self-care zine
- Podcast: Burnout and self-care in social work [52 mins]
- Article: Self-care as a trauma-informed practice [10 mins]
- Article: Weaving wellness into our everyday [5 mins]
- Tool [PDF]: Educator resilience and trauma-informed self-care self-assessment and planning tool
- Tool: Action for happiness calendar
- Tool: Box breathing technique
- Tool: You feel like shit
Empathy
- Article [PDF]: Demanding kinder classrooms doesn’t make you a snowflake
- Animation (video): Brené Brown on empathy
- Journal Article [PDF]: Teacher empathy: A model of empathy for teaching for student success
- Tool [PDF]: Choose empathy
Incorporating trauma-informed practice
Guiding principles of trauma-informed practice
- Article [PDF]: Principles of equity-centered trauma-informed education
- Article: Leveraging the neuroscience of now [12 mins]
- Tool [PDF]: Trauma-informed practices for postsecondary education: A guide [28 pages]
- Presentation: Trauma-aware online teaching by Karen Costa [18 slides]
- Article: Trauma-informed teaching strategies [13 mins]
- Tool: Trauma-aware teaching checklist by Karen Costa
- Article: Essential trauma-informed teaching strategies for managing stress in the classroom (and virtual classrooms) [12 mins]
- Blog post: Principles for trauma-informed teaching and learning [5 mins]
- Article: The how and why of trauma-informed teaching [4 mins]
- Presentation: A trauma-informed framework for higher education [10 slides]
- Article: TI-ADDIE: A trauma-informed model of instructional design [14 mins]
- Video: Trauma-informed teaching and learning (for teachers) with Mays Imad [58 mins]
- Podcast: Tea for teaching podcast – Trauma-informed pedagogy [40 mins]
Content notes or trigger warnings
- Website: Content notes
- Article: Trigger warnings [7 mins]
- Tool [PDF]: Content warnings best practices
- Journal article: Trigger warnings are trivially helpful at reducing negative affect, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance (Journal access required)
Teaching strategies
- Article: Six tips for cultivating a trauma-informed higher education classroom at the beginning of each semester [7 mins]
- Article: Leveraging the neuroscience of now [12 mins]
- Presentation: Designing a motivational syllabus [58 slides]
- Presentation: Essential trauma-informed online teaching tools [38 slides]
- Infographic: How to humanize your online class [5 mins]
- Article: Why some students struggle with group work [7 mins]
- Journal Article [PDF]: Practicing what we teach: Trauma-informed educational practice
- Article: Six tips for cultivating a trauma-informed higher education classroom at the beginning of each semester [7 mins]
- Podcast: Your humanity is an asset- Instructional videos and trauma-aware pedagogy with Karen Costa [63 mins]
- Tool [PDF]: The Missouri model: A developmental framework for trauma-informed approaches
- Video: Too hot, too cold, or just right? Strategies for creating a class climate that fosters growth [62 mins]
How to create a welcoming environment
- Article: Early Engagement Quick Tips (EEQT) [25mins]
- Article: Creating the foundation for a warm classroom climate [17mins]
- Article: Supporting students’ mental wellbeing: Instructional strategies [7 mins]
- Blog post: Building a visual syllabus [4 mins]
- Article: Todxs cuentan- building community and welcoming humanity from the first day of class [20 mins]
- Blog post: Moving towards healing – A trauma-informed librarianship primer [15 mins]
- Example: Trauma-informed syllabus strategies
Additional resources
Courses
- Self-paced online course: Trauma fundamentals for higher educators [3-4 hours] from Karen Costa $29 USD
- Magna on-demand seminars: Trauma-informed pedagogy: Teaching in uncertain times $39 USD
- On-demand course: Unsafe, unheard and misunderstood from Kim Clairy and Kelly Mahler [2 hours] $79 USD
- On-demand course: Self-care in trauma-informed organisations from Goodfellow Unit [90 mins]
- On-demand course: Racialized trauma course (Free)
Books
- Equity-centered trauma-informed education by Alex Shevrin Venet
- Trauma-informed pedagogies: A guide for responding to crisis and inequality in higher education Editors: Phyllis Thompson, Janice Carello
- Trauma-informed pedagogy in higher education a faculty guide for teaching and learning by Ernest Stromberg
Resource recommended by Alex Shevrin Venet
- The future of healing: Shifting from trauma informed care to healing centered engagement by Shawn Ginwright.
- As the world becomes trauma-informed, work to do by Kathryn Becker-Bleese
- Trauma-informed practice is a powerful tool, but it’s also incomplete by Simona Goldin and Debi Khasnabis (maybe paywalled)
- Why our trauma-informed teaching must be more culturally responsive by Helen Thomas
- If we aren’t addressing racism, We aren’t addressing trauma by Dena Simmons
- How trauma-informed are we, really? By Paul Gorski (may be paywalled)