Preparing Future Teachers in Trauma-Informed Practices (TIP)

Between one-half to two-thirds of all school-aged children experience trauma, and more than 30 percent of children have multiple traumatic experiences¹. Children who have experienced trauma can develop emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and relationship difficulties that can adversely impact their ability to learn and impede general success in school.

Schools and teachers often do not have the opportunities to learn how to address the unique behavioral and learning needs of these children, while simultaneously meeting their many other demands. Teachers and other school staff may experience helplessness, overwhelm, and/or secondary traumatic stress.

Metropolitan State University Denver School of Education is partnering with Resilient Futures to build the capacity of teacher candidates to develop resiliency and understand and address trauma triggers in school environments with pre-school and school-aged children; and secondary trauma in themselves and their coworkers. New teachers will enter the workforce better prepared to address their own needs and the needs of the children and families they serve.

¹ Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Adverse Childhood Experiences Resources. Retrieved 4/14/20 from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/resources.html

Questions about TIP?

Contact the TIP team at tip@msudenver.edu

How to Support

Please visit the Trauma-Informed Practices giving page if you would like to donate to this initiative.

What We Do

The School of Education began the Preparing Future Teachers in Trauma-Informed Practices initiative in 2018 by providing Resilient Futures professional learnings on trauma-informed practices to students, faculty and staff. These professional learnings continue to this day.

Thanks to the generous support of local foundations and philanthropes the initiative been able to expand. The School of Education is now integrating trauma-informed practices into coursework so all students, regardless of program, graduate with the skills to recognize and address trauma in school settings. Faculty are provided with consultation and resources to build their capacity to teach and implement trauma-informed practices in their courses.

In addition to course integration, faculty are undergoing research to examine the impact of trauma-informed practices on teacher wellness. Staff are provided with training and resources so they can implement these practices within their teams as well as inform prospective and current students about the initiative.

Through this process the School of Education will design a replicable approach to building new competencies in the next generation of educators – today, and for the long-term.

Ultimately, the School of Education will be a central hub, extending learning opportunities in trauma-informed practices to education stakeholders in teacher preparation and PreK-12 education across Colorado.

Announcements

8/31/20: School of Education students, alumni, faculty and staff have an opportunity to attend a FREE 4-part professional learning series on creating trauma-informed and equitable learning environments! See the TIP Professional Learning Series listing on our Events page to learn more.

5/28/20: CALL FOR PROPOSALS for the edited text Developing Trauma-Informed Teachers: Creating Classrooms that Foster Equity, Resiliency and Asset-Based Approaches. Apply to submit a chapter by July 15, 2020.

4/2/20: The trauma-informed practices initiative was accepted to present at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention in November 2020.

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