Creating Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Classrooms: Teacher Strategies for Nurturing Students' Healing, Growth, and Learning

by Tom Brunzell, Jacolyn Norrish

Overview

With accessible strategies grounded in trauma-informed education and positive psychology, this book equips teachers to support all students, particularly the most vulnerable. It will help them to build their resilience, increase their motivation and engagement, and fulfil their full learning potential within the classroom.
Trauma-informed, strengths-based classrooms are built upon three core aims: to support children to build their self-regulatory capacities, to build a sense of relatedness and belonging at school, and to integrate wellbeing principles that nurture growth and identify strengths. Taking conventional approaches to trauma one step further, teachers may create a classroom environment which helps students to meet their own needs in a healthy way and progress academically.
Based on the successful Berry Street education strategies pioneered by the authors, this book also includes comprehensive case studies, learning points and opportunities for self-reflection, fully supporting teachers to implement these strategies within the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787753754
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	05/21/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Dr. Tom Brunzell [M.S.T., Ed.M., Ph.D.] is the Director of Education at Berry Street Victoria and Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education. His research investigates trauma-informed and wellbeing pedagogies when schools work towards educational equity in their communities.

Dr. Jacolyn Norrish [MPsychClin, Ph.D.] is a psychologist who has worked implementing wellbeing and mental health initiatives in schools, and has taught positive psychology courses at Monash University. She is the author of Positive Education: The Geelong Grammar School Journey [OUP, 2015].

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 11

Authors' Note 14

A note about privacy 14

A note on pronouns 14

Preface 15

1 Introducing Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Classrooms 23

Purpose of this book 25

This book is for you 26

What is trauma? 27

The impact of trauma 29

The healing power of the classroom 30

The cycle of trauma 31

Ready to focus 33

Introducing trauma-informed classrooms 34

Healing dysregulated stress responses 34

Support students' attachments 35

What do we mean by strengths-based? 36

Introducing positive psychology 36

Our developmental approach 38

A focus on strategies 38

An invitation 39

2 Understanding the Effects of Childhood Stress and Trauma in the Classroom 41

Understanding stress and trauma 42

Survival strategies 43

Adverse childhood experiences 44

Understanding stress 46

Stress at school 47

Enduring stress 49

The window of tolerance 50

The developing brain 52

Neurodevelopment and learning 53

Unpredictability = Risk 54

Unmet needs 56

Revisiting Kain, Rhiana, and Cassie 58

Summary and conclusions 59

Self-reflection checklist 60

3 A Developmentally Informed Approach to Learning 63

A proactive and pre-emptive approach 65

Trauma-informed, strengths-based classrooms 66

Introducing Body 67

Introducing Relationship 67

Introducing Stamina 68

Introducing Engagement 69

Introducing Character 70

Trauma-informed, strengths-based approach 71

Levels of intervention 72

Embedding the strategies 72

Creating a shared language 73

Consistent and firm expectations 74

Rhythm and repetition 76

Teacher observation and feedback 78

Revisiting Jalen 80

A long-term investment 82

Self-reflection checklist 84

4 Body 85

Introducing Body 86

Bottom-up regulation 88

Top-down regulation 90

De-escalation 92

Stress and de-escalation 94

Stress and the body 95

Mindfulness 97

Present, centered, and ready to learn 100

Learning to breathe 101

Self-regulation 103

Co-regulation 104

Decision fatigue and ego depletion 108

Ready to Learn Scale 110

Ready to Learn Plans 112

Teachers' self-regulation 114

The triage conversation 116

Revisiting Dev 117

Some concluding thoughts 119

Self-reflection checklist 120

5 Relationship 121

Beyond student interests 123

The importance of student-teacher relationships 124

Attachment theory 125

Attachment and co-regulation 129

Neuroception and polyvagal theory 130

Neuroception in the classroom 131

Unconditional positive regard 132

Pathways to unconditional positive regard 133

Power within relationships 136

Bucket and dipper theory 139

The triage conversation 141

Revisiting Sasha 143

Some concluding thoughts 145

Self-reflection checklist 146

6 Stamina 147

Building stamina in the classroom: A set of top-down strategies 148

The experience of learning 148

Micro-moments of expansion 150

Window of tolerance 150

Understanding stamina 151

Growth mindset 152

Shifting mindsets 153

Supporting growth mindsets 155

Self-reflection for growth mindsets 156

Person and process praise and feedback 156

Emotional intelligence 159

Building emotional intelligence 161

Emotional intelligence through savoring 162

Building savoring capacity 164

Resilience 166

Resilient self-talk 166

Introducing mindhooks 167

Stamina for independent learning 169

Stamina graphs 170

Stamina thermometers 171

The triage conversation 174

Revisiting Talia 175

Some concluding thoughts 176

Self-reflection checklist 176

7 Engagement 179

Student engagement 180

Uncovering our students' true motivations to change 182

The Decisional Balance Framework 184

Flow theory 188

Applying flow theory to the classroom 189

The importance of goals 192

Flow Checklist 193

The transformative power of positive emotions 194

Broaden-and-build theory 196

Positive primers 197

The triage conversation 200

Revisiting Riley 201

Some concluding thoughts 203

Self-reflection checklist 204

8 Character 205

Starting with strengths 206

Developing character 207

A focus on strengths 208

The VIA framework of strengths 209

Building understanding of character strengths 213

Signature strengths 214

Identifying signature strengths 215

Spotting students' strengths 216

Using character strengths 218

Strengths in balance 219

Strengths-based questioning 221

Gratitude 223

Hope 224

Developing waypower and willpower 226

The triage conversation 227

Revisiting Zane 227

Some concluding thoughts 229

Self-reflection checklist 230

9 Moving Forward 231

A developmental journey 233

From bottom-up to top-down 235

Bottom-up and top-down integration 236

Limitations of this book 240

Involving parents, carers, and families 240

School-community partnerships 241

Special educational needs 242

Culturally responsive pedagogy 242

A simplification of science 243

Biases in the research 244

Future directions for the field 245

Future directions for you 247

Returning to values 248

Finishing with gratitude 250

References 251

Subject Index 262

Author Index 267

Editorial Reviews

This book is a much-needed and essential addition to the expanding field of wellbeing education. Tom Brunzell and Jacolyn Norrish draw on the most advanced research and the practical wisdom of Berry Street. The result is a book that focuses on how teachers can establish trauma-informed, strengths-based classrooms. It is full examples, providing teachers with greater insight into how teachers can support students who may be struggling in and outside the classroom. Thoughtfully written case studies and vignettes connect theory into practice. This book combines comprehensive, evidence-informed strategies for teachers and school leaders alike.

Associate Professor Mathew White

This book is full of rich examples, tips, ideas, and gems of knowledge around trauma; to support schools to offer children a much more containing, calm, regulating, and supportive school experience. This books looks at some of the reasons why children might behave in certain ways, as behaviour is communication, and is curious about "what happened to you?" and "what is strong with you?" instead of "what is wrong with you?". There an array of tangible take home messages and skills which can be apply in the day-to-day school experience. It will be a valuable and enriching resource in the education world.

Dr Karen Treisman

For children and young people who have experienced trauma, school and education can be both a safe place and their best opportunity to change their trajectory towards a better future. In this highly practical and deeply informed book, Tom Brunzell and Jacolyn Norrish help teachers transform the learning environment to become trauma-informed, integrating strengths-based approaches and positive psychology, thereby providing an environment where children and young people can safely process their traumatic reactions, develop their wellbeing and build their character strengths. Better life outcomes will be the result.

Alex Linley

This book provides an exciting and unique framework for supporting learners in schools who have been impacted by complex trauma. Tom and Jacolyn draw from neuroscience and positive psychology to explain the impact of trauma on developing bodies and brains and provide easy-to-implement classroom strategies to address this harm. Above all, their work is respectful of trauma-impacted young people and those wonderful people in schools working hard to educate them. An important resource for all educators!

Dr. Judith Howard

This rigorous, yet practical, book helps teachers connect with students who may be struggling. More than that, it helps instil academic inspiration into our vulnerable students. What I love about this book is that the strategies will be effective for all students, not just those who are trauma-affected. The timing of the release is uncanny given the vast numbers of teachers across the globe who will be supporting students through the trauma, distress and social-emotional side effects of the Covid-19 global pandemic. It's a "must have" for all teachers!

Professor Lea Waters AM