The objectives of this session are to support educators in applying trauma-informed practices as collective, justice-oriented classroom strategies. By the end of the session, participants will be able to identify trauma-informed responses to common classroom challenges such as silence, disengagement, emotional regulation, and conflict, and apply concrete strategies that foster safety, belonging, and student agency across different language classroom contexts. Participants will also design level appropriate student inquiry or action activity that positions community care as a form of resistance and aligns with principles of equity and human rights.
This session is grounded in trauma-informed educational frameworks that emphasize safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and skill building (Harris & Fallot, 2001; Minahan, 2019). Trauma is understood as shaped by both individual experience and structural conditions, with significant impacts on attention, memory, emotional regulation, and learning (SAMHSA, 2014; Perry, 2006). Drawing on research in trauma-informed education and language learning, the session adopts a critical orientation that resists deficit perspectives and reframes trauma-informed practice as ethical, relational, and collective pedagogical work rather than therapeutic intervention (Carello & Butler, 2014; Boylan, 2021). Classroom strategies emphasize multimodal learning, predictability, and non-disclosure-based participation to avoid retraumatization while supporting engagement and agency
This highly interactive session engages participants in hands-on trauma-informed activities used in real classrooms, including short regulation and grounding practices, selective attention listening tasks, and multimodal expression activities. Participants analyze real classroom scenarios, practice trauma-informed teacher language, and collaboratively redesign a familiar lesson to include choice, flexibility, and community-building structures. The session concludes with participants co-creating a simple, developmentally appropriate student inquiry or action project connected to equity and justice.
Participants will leave with practical classroom activities, adaptable lesson structures, sample trauma-informed language, and a clear framework for supporting student engagement and collective action without requiring personal disclosure.
References:
Boylan, M. (2021). Trauma informed practices in education and social justice: towards a critical orientation. International Journal of School Social Work, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/2161-4148.1071
Carello, J., & Butler, L. D. (2014). Potentially Perilous Pedagogies: Teaching Trauma Is Not the Same as Trauma-Informed Teaching. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 15(2), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2014.867571
Harris, M., & Fallot, R. D. (2001). Envisioning a trauma-informed service system: A vital paradigm shift. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 2001(89), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.23320018903
Minahan, J. (2019). Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies. Educational Leadership, 77
