Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies Can Benefit All Students

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While our communities strive to remain safe, nearly half of all American children have experienced some type of trauma. Some of these include everyday Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), such as bullying, witnessing violence, experiencing physical, verbal or sexual abuse, or neglect. According to the National Childhood Trauma Stress NetworkThese experiences can provoke strong emotions and physical reactions that can persist long after an initial traumatic event.

Traumatic events can cause a variety of physical and emotional symptoms and can affect children at home and at school. In addition to having difficulty with schoolwork, children who have experienced trauma may overreact to routine requests, have negative outbursts or aggression, show signs of sadness, have difficulty concentrating, and may have difficulty interacting appropriately with peers. and teachers.

Educators do not necessarily know which students have been affected by trauma. However, because it affects such a large number of students, you can use specific strategies to help all students develop resilience and improve emotional regulation. Below are some trauma-informed teaching strategies you can use to intentionally strengthen your relationships with students and support their success.

Create classroom routines

Investigation focused on classroom norms and expectations shows that students want and need academic and behavioral expectations from their teachers. Establishing simple daily routines for your students, such as daily warm-ups or icebreakers, and establishing procedures for asking questions and turning in work in class create a sense of stability and predictability. When you create predictable routines, it will be easier for your students to understand what steps they need to take to be successful in your classroom.

Set clear expectations

More than 25,000 schools throughout the country already use Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) frameworks to support the behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health of students. By extending your school's PBIS framework to the entire school, your teachers can maintain consistent expectations and reward students for their progress and achievements. For example, some PBIS solutions allow teachers and staff to immediately recognize positive student behavior from mobile devices. Students earn PBIS points, which can then be tracked and redeemed. This helps teachers eliminate paperwork and manual reporting, increasing instructional time.

Adopt restorative, rather than punitive, practices

Zero-tolerance classroom policies that focus on disciplinary actions do not equip students with the skills they need to improve relationships or reduce conflict. Instead, they remove students from their learning environments and deny them the opportunity to make positive changes. In contrast, restorative practices, such as mediation or peer conflict resolution, allow students to take responsibility for their actions, interact with others, and develop empathy and understanding.

Introduce calming techniques.

Students who have experienced trauma face significant challenges with emotional regulation. Research suggests that early exposure to trauma fundamentally alters the way children process and prioritize emotional information. Other behavioral studies analyzing the behavior of children with traumatic histories show “increased attention and difficulty disengaging from emotional stimuli (Tottenham et al., 2010).” By encouraging students to engage in mindfulness practices, you can help them better manage their emotions and behaviors. Some techniques include walking meditation, body awareness, and breathing exercises.

Engage in social emotional learning (SEL)

Children who have experienced traumatic events may have an even greater need to master social-emotional learning skills. A strong SEL curriculum not only benefits these students, but also builds skills throughout the school. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the fundamentals of social-emotional learning include:

• Develop knowledge, skills and attitudes to create healthy identities.
• Manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals.
• Feel and show empathy for others.
• Establish and maintain supportive relationships.
• Make responsible and supportive decisions.

For SEL to be effective, curricula must be supported by evidence-based research, be age-appropriate, and engaging for students. Solutions must also be flexible enough to allow districts to adapt their programs to meet the diverse needs of their students. The overall goal of SEL is to make all students feel safe and supported, which leads to better mental health and greater engagement for all students, including those who have experienced trauma.

Encourage and regularly recognize your students.

Trauma significantly affects a child's self-esteem and sense of self-worth. People who lack security or a sense of belonging develop survival skills to better cope with their situation, according to Psychology Today. These adaptive behaviors can make children prone to loneliness, depression, anxiety, or other self-sabotaging behaviors. By taking the opportunity to recognize their contributions to your classroom so that they feel valued, capable, and successful, you can help them develop a positive self-image.

The prevalence of childhood trauma does not have to result in power struggles, behavioral problems, or academic deficiencies.. Reaching students who have experienced trauma requires education, patience, compassion, and creativity. By creating welcoming spaces and using proven tools and techniques to help you get to know all of your students better, you can guide them to academic and lifelong success.