Creating a Safe Classroom Environment

Based on my findings, creating a inclusive classroom environment is one of the primary things that teachers can do to contribute to providing support for students who have experienced forms of trauma. An inclusive environment is establishing safety and trust, maximizing choice, collaboration and prioritizing empowerment (Carello & Butler, 2015). However, creating such an environment cause be quite a challenge for teachers working with young adults.

The following are domains in which awareness of issues of safety in the classroom need consideration (Carello & Butler, 2015).

  • Individual characteristics of a specific student
    • Instructors be conscious that there will be students in their classrooms who will have a higher risk of re-traumatization
  • The content and context of how the material was taught
    • As teachers, it is possible that there will be material that has potential of reminding students of past incidents. It is important that teachers preview the content for appropriateness and avoid sections or information that may be of some disturbance.
    • Verbal or online warnings or discussions in class regarding the content is also extremely important when creating a safe environment.
    • Providing regular “check-in” periods when discussing more difficult material
    • Being aware that students who are reluctant to participate may be demonstrating a “lack of engagement” in order to self-protect
  • The requirements of assignments

    Students may push their own emotional limits in an effort to please the instructor or to excel in the assignment (Carello & Butler, 2015).

    • Assignments that require personal reflection by students should be critically examined and their is legitimate rationale and objectives.
    • Can the assignment be adjusted to respect the personal boundaries of every student?
    • Implement policies that help avoid students from feeling embarrassed. Ex. Late-day policy (late without penalty), having students produce drafts of their work in order to provide feedback etc..
  • Aspects of both instructor and student behavior and interaction
    • Avoid being minimizing or dismissive of conversations that students initiates or their concerns
    •  Use neutral language and strength-based perspectives (Carello & Butler, 2015) when communicating with your students.
    • Provide the students with all aspects of feedback, positive or negative.
  • Characteristics of the classroom setting
    • Avoid abrupt or continuous changes within the classroom. Ex. Lighting, movement of furniture etc…
    • Avoid hovering around students as it can be a threatening gesture to some students.
    • Ask students for feedback on the overall physicality of the room. Ask them what makes them feel comfortable and safe.
  • Instruction on and practice of self-care
    • Include a self-care statement or section within your syllabus, discuss it with your students when discussing expectations of your classroom.
    • Providing resources on the syllabus for addition self-care and social emotional assistance.
    • Discussing the professionalism and ethics rationale behind self-care, well-being and social emotional awareness can also be valuable for your classroom (Carello & Butler, 2015).
Crisis or trauma can be long term for a student and there is only so much that teacher’s are capable of doing without the proper counselling requirements. With that being said, it is in the power of the teacher to make their students feel welcome, safe and as comfortable as they can while in their classroom. It is also crucial that schools develop robust communication strategies, so that all of the adults within the school are supporting their students with the same level of expectations (Green, 2015).

10 Ways & Strategies Teachers Can Help Students Who Experienced Trauma

Sequencing

A way for students to improve their critical thinking skills is to discuss sequential process.

  1. Use of timelines of sequenced events. Ex. This can be historical timelines or something as simple as drawing images of a story that they read or someone read to them.
  2. Reversing the order of events or a story can also help students with their reading and story comprehension.

Problem-Solving

According to (Lellai, 2014) students who live in an unstable or unhealthy environment potentially experience inconsistency and could potentially struggle with developing the appropriate skills to solve basic problems.

  1. Teachers should emphasize the importance of brainstorming to reinforce problem-solving techniques.
  2.  Have students make predictions at the beginning of their work and during their work. This will allow them to think critically while assessing their predictions as they proceed.

Receptive Language

Those who have experienced trauma may sometimes struggle with receptive classroom language. Typically these children have developed a heightened state of anxiety of arousal which, can limit their ability to process specific language in the classroom. These students may also lack the ability to engage in taking a specific perspective and comprehending inferences. It is also considerably more challenging for students to apply content to the text that they are reading which, makes completing reading assignments difficult to finish.

  1. Visual aids allow these students to follow directions with a little more ease

Expressive Language

Children who have been exposed to domestic violence often encounter a lack of expressive language and may have difficulty effectively expressing their feelings or thoughts. This can them make expressive language strategies significantly more difficult (Lelli, 2014). This issue can translate directly to students having difficulties with sequencing information when they are writing papers (review sequencing section).

The following are three ways to help students increase their expressive language:

  1. To help these students develop better expressive language skills in their reading and writing, teachers can use methods as simple as graphic organizers to help students categorize information (Lelli, 2014).
  2. Another method to increase expression is to provide them with words that they can use to help resolve problems (Lelli, 2014).
  3. Have students fill in the speech bubbles of a cartoon. This will allow them to be creative through internal expression and thought (Lelli, 2014).

Information Storage

There are two ways for information to enter the brain to be processed: implicitly or explicitly (Lelli, 2014). Implicit memory is defined as the information that is processed in a step-by-step fashion that one does unconsciously and explicit memory is a conscious act and includes information of an event or situation that has previously occurred (Lelli, 2014).

Some information that a child may retain could be the smell of the room, time of day, the weather outside or the clothes they were wearing when the event took place. It may not seem relevant to a third party however, these memories can play an impactful role in the child’s ability to process any other information.

These two concepts will help students remember, retain and process information implicitly and explicitly:

  1. Concept maps can help students develop which ideas are key ideas and which ideas are less critical.
  2. Multisensory approach which will help students remember and store information easily.

Memory Retrieval

Students have two primary channels to retrieve knowledge, information and memory. These two channels are defined as recall and recognition (Lelli, 2014). Recall is a child’s ability to retrieve a skill or specific fact quickly which can be difficult for students who have experienced trauma because they have a higher chance of being distracted and a lower tolerance for being frustrated. Recognition is the ability to differentiate between critical and important facts to information that may not be as relevant.

A safe and positive classroom will actually increase memory storage in students by freeing up space in the working memory that was previously occupied with anxiety regarding safety (Lelli, 2014).

To enhance recognition or recall teachers can:

  1. Brainstorming concepts that are connected to the topic in either big or small groups.

Emotional and Behavioural

As stated previously, students who have witness domestic or any form of violence oftentimes have troubles expressing their feelings, controlling their emotions and regulating their behaviours (Lelli, 2014). These children are typically more sensitive to potential threats of danger which then makes it difficult to regulate their behaviours.

The following are techniques that teachers can use to help encourage students to self-regulate their behaviours:

  1. Role plays: this allows the student to help self-talk and develop new behaviors that they can emulate in new situations.
  2. Encourage and teach students to think before acting.
  3. Create a safe and quiet classroom environment for students to calm and organize their thoughts.

Focus and Attention

Past traumatic experiences can cause children to be involved in unpredictable or dangerous situations that interfere with their overall ability to maintain focus in class. This can cause a continuous struggle when learning new material (Lelli, 2014).

Ways to increase overall focus within the classroom:

  1. Incorporate physical activities and movements during lessons. This could be as simple as having the students get up and meet with a specific person in the class for a “think, pair, share”
  2. Providing the students with both written and oral directions
  3. Teaching all students stress management techniques and skills. Examples of this are: deep breathing and yoga or stretching movements.

Sense of Security

As previously stated, the inconsistency of a stable home can increase the anxiety the child will face, can make the student feel on edge and creates issues regarding overall focus in the classroom.  These issues are extremely difficult for a student to overcome so they are capable of learning new concepts in class (Lelli, 2014).

Classroom security:

  1. Providing consistency, routines, developing or establishing clear expectations
  2. Focusing on the strengths of each student, teaching to students with multiple learning styles.

Collaboration Skills

Behaviours that students may find successful in the most terrifying parts of their lives may be considered a problematic or dysfunctional in an educational setting. The students in need of a supportive outlet are often times expelled from the classroom for those same behaviours that protect them in life outside the walls of a school (Wright, 2013).

Additional Tips for Parents & Teachers

Recognize the impact trauma has had on your child
Children’s behaviours and reactions to events and experiences that they feel are traumatic begin to make sense once they are viewed from the eyes of the beholder. Providing your child or student with foundation of understanding can help provide him or her with the appropriate coping skills.
Help your child to feel safe
Students who are physically safe, still may not feel psychologically safe. It is crucial for teachers to create an environment in which all students feel safe.
Help your child to understand and manage overwhelming emotions
Anger, fear and helplessness are just a few of the overwhelming emotions that children feel when they experience trauma. This feelings can hinder the development and ability to identify, sequence, express or manage their emotions. Providing children with a consistent, calm and nurturing environment can help them grow the skills to express and manage those exact emotions.
Help your child to understand and manage diffcult behaviors
Often younger children who have experienced trauma find it difficult to make a connection between their feelings and the behaviours that they are demonstrating.  Providing the children with that link can help them better channel their emotions.
Respect and support the positive, stable, and enduring relationships in the life of your child
The relationships that children build allow them to figure out their purpose. These connections provide them with positivity, stability and play a vital role in helping the healing process.

Often times those who have experience trauma may find it difficult to find ways to attach to other people. This can sometimes lead to clingy behaviours which can then disrupt the relationship. It is pertinent that teachers and parents help coach children to understand the positives behind a specific relationship.

Help your child to develop a strength-based understanding of his or her life story
It is common in many situations that one needs to love themselves before being able to love someone else. It is also the case with students who have experienced an unhealthy up-bringing. It is important for children to know that the situations that may have occurred, are not their faults and it is healthy to discuss how they are feeling. However, developing the strength to do so can be challenging. Teachers can help this situation by being a safe listener when their students are sharing and help them understand their feelings more deeply.