Trauma-informed teaching

Trauma-informed teaching uses strategies to help students who have experienced distress work through their trauma. Educators who use trauma-informed teaching try to recognize students who have experienced trauma and implement strategies to help those students, as trauma can hinder students’ ability to learn and make them more likely to take part in negative behavior. Trauma-informed schools use systems and processes to accomplish the same goals. Trauma-informed education grew out of trauma-informed care, which originated in health care and social work. This method became a popular tool in the American educational system in the 2010s and 2020s, but few peer-reviewed studies about the efficacy of trauma-informed teaching have been completed. Supporters of trauma-informed teaching assert that its practices help all students, but some opponents believe that this teaching method has not been researched enough to know whether it is effective.

Overview

Trauma-informed teaching and education grew out of trauma-informed care (TIC), which began in therapy, medicine, and social work. TIC, like trauma-informed teaching, is meant to inform caregivers’ frame of reference so that they interact with patients in a way that takes their trauma, or possible trauma, into consideration. TIC started to become part of health care in the United States in the 1990s. TIC did not suggest specific treatments or medical practices. Instead, it gave practitioners principles to think about when developing care plans and interacting with patients. The CDC lists the TIC principles as (1) safety; (2) trustworthiness and transparency; (3) peer support; (4) collaboration and mutuality; (5) empowerment and choice; and (6) cultural, historical, and gender issues. People adapted these TIC principles to develop other trauma-informed practices (“6 guiding principles,” 2020).

Experts developed trauma-informed practices because many people in the United States and around the world deal with the effects of trauma. Trauma is a physical and mental response to dangerous or deeply upsetting situations. The United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) states that trauma happens due to the three Es: event, experience of the event, and effect. People experience trauma because of the events that they live through, their experiences of those events, and the effects that those events have on them (“SAMHSA’s concept of trauma,” n.d.).

Trauma can happen to people at any point in their lives, but childhood trauma has lasting effects that can cause major challenges for students in school. Children can experience trauma because of abuse, accidents, neglect, poverty, discrimination, violence, and more. Children who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are most likely to be affected by their trauma later in life. Children who experience ACEs are more likely to develop negative behaviors in school and other parts of their lives. Children living in poverty or whose family members are sick or incarcerated are even more likely to experience ACEs. As of 2019, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that roughly 60 percent of American adults experienced ACEs, indicating that many children experience childhood trauma (“Identifying, preventing, and treating”).

Children who experience trauma—and especially ongoing or repeated trauma—face difficulty in school because trauma can prevent them from learning. For example, they may have difficulty concentrating and remembering information. In addition, children who experience trauma are also likely to exhibit negative behaviors. These negative behaviors make learning more difficult and can negatively affect relationships with educators, other students, and other people at school.

Trauma-informed educators and schools use trauma-informed teaching strategies and processes for all students in a school. SAMHSA suggests that professionals using a trauma-informed approach in caring for people use the four Rs: realize, recognize, respond, and resist. Realize means that professionals need to understand that trauma is widespread in society and has numerous effects on people. Recognize means that professionals should look for and try to recognize signs of trauma in other people. Respond means that professionals should incorporate their knowledge of trauma into their policies and practices. Resist means that professionals should avoid re-traumatizing others.

Although teachers play an especially important role in trauma-informed teaching, they also rely on the help of other professionals to create trauma-informed schools, such as school psychologists, counselors, and social workers. However, creating trauma-informed schools requires buy-in and participation at every level. Educators are often on the front lines of trauma-informed teaching and schools, as they implement classroom management and instructional practices to make learning more accessible and enjoyable for all students, including those who have experienced trauma. It is also vital that administration in schools develops trauma-informed practices, especially concerning discipline. For example, restorative and positive responses to behavior are important parts of trauma-informed teaching, and the discipline programs in schools and classrooms should be coordinated. School staff and teachers may benefit from professional development dealing with trauma-informed practices, which means that the schools and administration will have to prioritize such development in funding and scheduling. School medical professionals, such as nurses and counselors, must also be part of trauma-informed processes. Teachers, administrators, and staff should have medical professionals they can talk to when they feel that a student needs help beyond what the school can offer (Oehlberg, 2008).

Applications

Professionals who use trauma-informed teaching should begin by thinking about the four Rs. They should realize that trauma is widespread and will affect at least some, and possibly most, of the students they teach. They should next focus on recognizing students who have experienced trauma. Identifying people who have experienced trauma can be difficult because people do not all exhibit the same behaviors when dealing with trauma. Nevertheless, some behaviors are common indicators that a person has experienced trauma. Fighting, fleeing, and freezing are often clues that a person has experienced trauma. Fighting behavior can include physical violence, breaking school rules, and refusing help from others. Fleeing behavior can include being distracted by outside thoughts or unable to concentrate on a specific task. Freezing behavior may include a lack of attention or falling asleep in class. Once educators identify students who have most likely experienced trauma, they can use trauma-informed teaching strategies to deal with the student’s behavior to avoid retraumatizing him or her.

Educators and others should also be aware that identifying trauma can be difficult because trauma responses are influenced by culture, family, religion, and other health conditions. For example, a student who has difficulty paying attention in class may have a medical condition, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and may not have experienced trauma. Nevertheless, such medical conditions can also make identifying trauma challenging because people who experience trauma are also more likely to experience such medical conditions. Getting to know students and building relationships with them and their families is one tool that teachers can use to help them determine if students are experiencing trauma or something else.

Educators can develop specific strategies to use in the classroom to respond to trauma and resist re-traumatization. The most common strategies used in schools and classrooms to achieve trauma-informed teaching relate closely to the trauma-informed principles that were developed as part of TIC.

The first two principles that guide trauma-informed teaching are safety and trust. Students who experience trauma, bias, or bullying are likely to feel unsafe, but administrators and teachers can create physical, social, and emotional safety for students in classrooms and schools. For example, teachers can help establish safety in the classroom by making the physical space clean and organized. They can also make a space safe for students who have experienced trauma by providing for their needs. For example, teachers can provide students with specific places they can go to when they are dealing with negative emotions and can give them extra time to deal with their emotions.

Building relationships with students is another important way to create a sense of safety and build trust. Teachers can build relationships by practicing active listening, making eye contact, and showing interest in students’ lives. Teachers can also practice recognizing different emotional states and helping students deal with their emotions. For example, an overwhelmed student is likely to exhibit negative behaviors. If a teacher recognizes that a student is overwhelmed, the teacher could suggest that the student get a drink, count backward, or write in a journal to help him or her deal with the emotions.

Educators should also help build trust by helping students manage their expectations and use routines. Teachers can clearly state classroom rules to students, reviewing them often so that students clearly understand what is expected of them. Schools and teachers should also have a clearly defined process for addressing negative behaviors so that students understand what will happen if they take part in those behaviors. Some students might also benefit from reviewing daily school routines.

Another principle that guides some trauma-informed teaching strategies is support. Students are more likely to succeed when they have support, including peer support. Educators can give younger students opportunities for group play, which will help them build peer relationships and learn to mediate conflicts. Teachers of all students can model conflict resolution strategies and congratulate students who take part in positive social interactions. Teachers can also present stress-management strategies to help students deal with stress and negative emotions. Teachers should also consider whether their classroom management policies could negatively impact students who have experienced trauma. For example, a teacher should consider how sending students to sit by themselves or out of a room might make them feel abandoned, retraumatizing them.

Another principle of TIC is that people who have experienced trauma benefit from empowerment and choice. Children who have experienced trauma may become defiant and attempt to assert control in certain situations. For this reason, teachers should try to give students control through choice options when possible. For example, a teacher could ask a student if they want to do a particular task before or after another task. This choice shows the student that they are expected to complete both tasks but also allows them to choose the situation. Teachers can also help empower students by helping them understand their own emotions. For example, teachers can ask students about what emotions they are experiencing. Allowing students to think about their emotions and connect their emotions and actions can help them make better decisions and feel empowered.

Understanding cultural, historical, and gender issues is another principle of TIC. Educators using trauma-informed teaching should strive to understand these issues. They should also strive to make their classrooms welcoming to students from different groups. Teachers should recognize that students from certain minority groups, including racial minority groups, are more likely to experience trauma because of bias and discrimination, which can themselves be traumatizing. Teachers need to understand different perspectives, so they can resist re-traumatizing students from different backgrounds.

Although classroom management strategies are most often thought of as opportunities to use trauma-informed strategies, teachers can also use trauma-informed principles to develop instructional strategies. For example, teachers can clearly organize the information presented in lessons. They can review the steps or processes used in a task multiple times to help students know what to do and expect. They can also use physical movement and visual aids to help keep students engaged and focused. Teachers should also consider trauma-informed principals when they give students feedback. Students who have experienced trauma can be defensive when they receive feedback. Teachers can use specific strategies to give effective feedback. For example, they can use the sandwich method, in which teachers give one positive piece of feedback, one negative piece of feedback, and another piece of positive feedback. A student might be more likely to accept the feedback when it is presented in this way. Furthermore, teachers should give feedback with a positive attitude, including a smiling face and positive demeanor.

When educators recognize and respond to other people’s trauma, they can sometimes overlook their own needs and experience secondary traumatic stress (STS)—a common reaction in people who help individuals who undergo trauma. For example, teachers may listen to students talk about traumatic experiences or learn about the trauma that a student has experienced in the past. STS can have negative consequences, such as professional burnout, mental and physical health problems, and strained relationships. Educators should use appropriate stress-management routines or seek professional help if they experience STS (Resilient Educator Editorial Team, 2021).

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many districts and educators implemented forms of trauma-informed teaching, both virtually and in-person, particularly once schools continued in-person learning. Not only did many students struggle with virtual and asychronous learning, but many were also negatively impacted by COVID-19. Educators across the US and the world were forced to help students cope with their experiences throughout the pandemic, and trauma-informed teaching was one way of gradually reintroducing students to in-person learning. Because the pandemic affected everyone, including educators, TIC was implemented from the classroom up to the district level as a means of combating STS.

Viewpoints

Trauma-informed teaching became popular in the United States in the 2010s and 2020s. Many schools adopted systems and programs meant to address trauma and help students who experienced trauma. However, some people doubt the effectiveness of trauma-informed teaching. A review of evidence published in 2019 found a lack of peer-reviewed studies exploring the efficacy of trauma-informed teaching (Maynard et al., 2019). The authors conducting the review asserted that more studies need to be completed before researchers have definitive answers about the usefulness of implementing trauma-informed teaching. The authors also noted that they believed it is important for this research to be done because many schools in the United States and around the world use trauma-informed teaching strategies.

People who support trauma-informed teaching point out that the strategies, such as building strong teacher-student relationships, can benefit all students, making trauma-informed teaching a useful tool for all educators and students (Shevrin Venet, 2017). Furthermore, proponents of trauma-informed teaching argue that trauma-informed teaching can only benefit students and schools because the negative effects of trauma on education have been well documented (Oehlberg, 2008).

About the Author

Elizabeth Mohn earned a BS in communications in 2006. She has developed social sciences content for more than a decade.

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