Full Description
Trauma-sensitive education is essential to staff and students' health, social-emotional well-being, and readiness for teaching and learning. Discover what every trauma-sensitive educator needs to know in this asynchronous virtual course from Jen Alexander: experienced educator, nationally recognized trauma expert, bestselling author, and popular teacher educator.
Consisting of nine online modules and a printed companion workbook, this unique professional development opportunity will show educators what they can do to help create safe, supportive learning environments. School staff will work through engaging lessons on these key topics:
The role of the trauma-sensitive educator
What every trauma-sensitive educator needs to know
Understanding collective stress and trauma
Using the four essentials within their role to help build a trauma-sensitive school
The importance of boundaries
Attendees will love the easy, friendly format of this on-demand course: lessons include learning objectives, video instruction from Ms. Jen, guided questions and activities, next-steps documents, and end-of-lesson quizzes that help attendees show what they learned. The companion workbook includes 20+ activities, key definitions, discussion questions, and space to collect notes and capture ideas as you create your own trauma-sensitive action plan.
Packed with practical and actionable knowledge, skills, and strategies, this online course is an important first step toward meeting the needs of all students and helping them learn and thrive.
WHY THIS COURSE?
Offers in-depth guidance on a critical topic. Every educator needs to know how trauma affects safety, health, and learning—and how to support students as well as colleagues. This course gathers all that information in one place.
Fits into busy schedules. This asynchronous, on-demand course is a perfect fit for lifelong learners who are short on time and want to work at their own pace.
Delivers expert strategies and insights. Led by Ms. Jen, a trauma expert who works with districts, schools, and educators nationwide, the course also features more than 20 videos from teachers who share their real-world experiences and insights.
Helps attendees make an action plan. Lessons align with the included course workbook, where attendees can take notes for later reference, complete activities to reinforce their learning, and draft a solid plan for bringing strategies back to their school or classroom.
Ensures that teams access the same professional learning. Individual educators can take the course to improve their own practice, and entire teams can take it too. And you can welcome new team members later with the same learning!
Contents
Course Introduction (10 minutes)
Get a welcome video and introduction from Ms. Jen, an outline of the course objectives, and key information learners need to know.
Lesson 1: The Role of the Trauma-Sensitive Educator (1 hour, 15 minutes)
Explore what it means to be a trauma-sensitive educator by discovering Ms. Jen's Four Essentials of Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, learning about the role and characteristics of a trauma-sensitive educator, asking critical questions, and reviewing the four "Rs" of trauma-sensitivity.
Lesson 2: What Every Trauma-Sensitive Educator Needs to Know (1 hour, 15 minutes)
Develop a deeper understanding of trauma, identify examples of experiences on and off campus that may cause trauma, understand common signs indicative of trauma responses, and examine post-traumatic growth.
Lesson 3: Understanding Collective Stress and Trauma (1 hour)
Learn what collective trauma is and explore the importance of feeling, dealing, and healing within school communities. Think about the potential effects of collective stress in your setting and learn how to help youth explore their feelings and needs.
Lesson 4: Using the Four Essentials to Build a Trauma-Sensitive School - Part 1 (1 hour)
Dive deeper into the Four Essentials and learn more about safety and connection. Discover how educators are implementing trauma-sensitive strategies into their classrooms.
Lesson 4: Using the Four Essentials to Build a Trauma-Sensitive School - Part 2 (1 hours)
Dive deeper into the Four Essentials and learn more about regulation and learning. Identify priorities and next steps for your work as a trauma-sensitive educator.
Lesson 5: The Importance of Boundaries (1 hour)
Understand why clear boundaries are necessary for trauma-sensitive educators and get suggestions on maintaining them. Practice one way to set a clear boundary in your professional role and learn new ideas for communicating your needs with colleagues.
Final Activity (20 minutes)
Divided into three parts, this final activity examines how the information you learned in this course will impact you, your entire school community, and your students. You'll be asked to start planning how you'll use the trauma-sensitive strategies learned in this course with your group.
Bonus Module (10 minutes)
Deepen your understanding with a video from educators who are working together to build trauma-sensitive learning environments and an infographic showcasing first steps educators have taken on their own journeys to become trauma-sensitive educators.
