TEACHING TIPS

This section is full of timely and evidence-based practices to apply in your teaching

This week's tips are the first in a series of trauma-informed teaching practices that will be featured over the course of the Fall 2024 semester. Our first set of tips focuses on creating an awareness of the causes and manifestations of trauma (particularly educational trauma) and how to view these behaviors through a trauma-informed lens. Click the following link for an enlarged version and full text description of the trauma-informed iceberg graphic below. This weeks tip are the result of a collaboration with ITS Learning Technology's Shannon Barr and two UNCG undergraduate students.

Over the past few years, you have likely noticed an increase in student behaviors like repeated questions, frequent absences, heightened anxiety, and spotty communication. It is important to recognize that these behaviors – while challenging or frustrating - are just the tip of the iceberg, and do not account for the complexity of experience below the surface. Visit our Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Teaching Guide for a primer on the prevalence of trauma, causes, and impacts on learning and student success. 

• Trauma’s impact on learning. Trauma impacts many aspects that affect learning and student success including impairment to attention and memory, high absences, and perfectionism. According to Elian Sorensen in The Chronicle’s February 2023 article, Teaching in the Age of Militant Apathy, “There seems to be this overwhelming fear of failure that is so paralyzing,” says Sorensen, “that instead of turning in subpar work, or work they don’t feel good about, they just don’t turn anything in.” This, of course, means that students miss out on the process of learning that inevitably involves making mistakes and working through multiple iterations when mastering a new skill. In addition, in the 2019 article, Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies, author Jessica Minahan notes, "many traumatized students interpret information through a negativity amplifier.” This can make receiving feedback from instructors and peers particularly challenging for many students, which further inhibits their learning and development. 

• Educational Trauma. In short, educational trauma consists of “trauma caused in formal education spaces that we carry with us into new learning spaces” (Imad, 2023). Dr. Kirsten Olson’s work goes further in describing seven types of educational trauma that commonly impact students we encounter in our classrooms. If you notice that students, for example, are anxious about being expressive or taking risks in their work (wounds of creativity) or uninterested in engaging in class discussions (wounds of numbness) consider how these behaviors might be rooted in previous educational experiences where it was not safe to do so. 

• Role of a trauma-informed educator.  It is important to note that trauma-informed practices are not about compromising on rigor, lowering expectations, or changing academic standards– we're merely providing students more opportunity to demonstrate that they’re capable of meeting those high expectations with adequate support. Research on trauma and resilience continuously shows that we must never underestimate the potential impact of a single supportive, safe, and positive relationship. The first step is to put on our trauma-informed lenses and shift responding to student behaviors from “what’s wrong with you” to “what happened to you.” By trading in judgement for curiosity, we can foster a deeper sense of empathy and connection with our students and create learning environments that feel safe and empowering. You don’t need to be a counselor to design a learning environment in which students who have experienced trauma feel supported to learn and grow. Provide students with resources proactively and reactively to work through their stress, anxiety, and trauma with a trained professional. Resources at UNCG include the Counseling Center, Campus Violence Response Center, the Vacc Clinic, and the UNCG Psychology Clinic. If you’re not sure of where to begin, reaching out to the Dean of Students Office can be a great help! 

UTLC FEATURED ANNOUNCEMENTS

Check out the latest updates and offerings from the UTLC.

Canvas is reporting an issue that may prevent you and your students from replying to posts in discussions. There is a simple fix. Please read this article to learn more, especially if you require replies in your discussion instructions or have heard from your students that they are unable to reply.

Our team of instructional designers and multimedia specialists in ITS Learning Technology work with faculty to develop innovative and impactful courses. Together, we can:

• Adapt your instructional content for online, hybrid, or HyFlex delivery  
• Connect your course goals, assessments, and materials  
• Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles   
• Create multimedia elements to enrich your course    

Request a consultation and let’s get started!  

The Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement has trained student Democracy Fellows that are available to facilitate a 30-minute nonpartisan Voting 101 workshop or host a voter registration drive for classrooms, student organization meetings, or campus events. If class time is not available for a workshop, faculty are invited to import the "Voting 101 for UNCG Students" Canvas module into course pages. It can be found in the Canvas Commons. Email lead@uncg.edu to request a workshop, ask questions, or for more information.

FACULTY ENGAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT

Check out these upcoming opportunities from the UTLC and other partners on campus. Additional training opportunities are available at workshops.uncg.edu.

Ongoing Opportunities

• DiversityEDU | This online module through Canvas offers faculty and staff skills-based development in areas of equity and diversity.

• Indigenous Safe Space Project on Canvas | This student-led initiative helps to prepare the campus community with basic skills for supporting our Indigenous and Native students.

• Level Up: Mental Health Education & Training | Help foster a culture of care by engaging in trainings for suicide prevention, Mental Health First Aid, Spartan well-being, and more.
• UNCG Libraries Webinars | Research and Application Webinar Series (Spring 2024 recordings) | Zotero Webinar Series (recordings)
• New to Teaching | Access this Canvas site to learn about how students learn, preparing for class, grading, office hours, engagement, active learning, and more.
• Safe and Trans Zone Training on Canvas | Enroll in this self-paced online course to complete Safe Zone 1.0, 2.0, and Trans Zone if you cannot attend an in-person workshop.
• Web Accessibility 101 | This asynchronous, self-paced course focuses on the fundamentals of making online content accessible.

Upcoming Events, Training, and Workshops

SPARTAN SPOTLIGHT

This new segment features an academic perspective on campus partners who support student success. This week's Spartan Spotlight is on the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement! Click the image below to access the full profile and learn how to integrate this resource into your course.

If you would like your office or program featured, please email us at utlc@uncg.edu.

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