Eight UNE faculty members and administrators joined together to document their experiences teaching during the pandemic. Their chapter, ‘Application of Trauma-Informed Teaching & Learning Principles in a Blended Learning Environment’ will be featured in a book, Academic Voices: A conversation on new approaches to teaching and learning in the post-COVID World, due to be published by Elsevier Ltd. in December.
Marc Ebenfield, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) responded to the call for proposals in February when he recognized that participants in a faculty learning community on hybrid teaching were combining principles of trauma informed teaching and learning with principles of online learning to essentially create a new pedagogical framework. The chapter presents Carello’s principles of Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning (https://traumainformedteachingblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/titl-general-principles-3.20.pdf) through examples of teaching techniques used at UNE to engage, motivate and promote resilience in a variety of disciplines.
Dr. Ebenfield served as the lead author. Dr. Jennifer Mandel, Associate Director of Assessment added essential background information concerning the experiences of students during the pandemic. Krysten Gorrivan, Assistant Teaching Professor of Education, who leads a working group at UNE on Trauma-Informed teaching and learning, provided details on the principles of TITL and how today’s students are affected by trauma. Dr. Glenn Stevenson, Professor of Psychology, added essential neurobiological aspects of trauma. All faculty members provided observations on operationalizing TITL principles. Gregory LaBonte, Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor, Biology established how safety and trust could be established using social media. Anuja Doshi, Assistant Clinical Professor of Dental Medicine, emphasized both social media and games as essential tools for motivating and engaging graduate students. Lane W. Clarke, Associate Professor of Education, and Christina Leclerc, Associate Teaching Professor, Psychology, extended principles to collaboration and student empowerment.
Their work applied TITL principles to a new arena, blended learning, and highlights techniques that create a learning environment in which students can overcome obstacles, build resilience and succeed despite obstacles they may encounter because of external or internal stressors.