On this page...

...we present resources that can help educators to prevent retraumatisation and to consider all students' life experiences in the planning, teaching and feedback phases 

Interactive Infographic

The below infographic explains how to practice trauma-informed higher education pedagogy. Alternatively, you can scroll down to see a text-only version, with links to relevant resources.

Text-only version

See below text-only version with links to resources.

Planning (Summary)

• Consider what you know and understand about inclusion and trauma to ensure you don’t make assumptions and are suitably prepared: Understand trauma and respond to trauma 

• Consider your diverse student audience (who, where, prior skills, interests, abilities, digital literacies, motivations etc.) so you are suitably prepared.

• Develop a detailed schedule and syllabus for your course, to create stability and transparency, and minimise anxiety.

• Plan the learning outcomes and assessments, and adapt assessments for diverse groups, if required (e.g. for international students and students with disabilities).

• Make the students visible so they feel involved and included (e.g., through the use of inclusive writing, personal pronouns, appropriate iconography, and diverse reading lists).

• Consider linguistic diversity and potential language challenges.

For more detailed information on planning, click here.

Teaching (Summary)

• Get to know your students to learn about their expectations, motivations, and backgrounds and to identify any factors that might potentially affect engagement. Click here for resource on signs of trauma and case examples. Icebreaker activities can help students get to know each other and foster a welcoming atmosphere.

• Communicate the syllabus and establish clear expectations (for students and teachers) to ensure transparency, predictability, and consistency.

• Provide a list of organisational services and (peer) networks that can support students.

• Create a safe learning environment (physical, climate and digital) to reduce stress and increase engagement e.g., by providing classroom rules, using restorative practices rather than zero-tolerance policies, and using mindful language.

• Make appropriate technology choices to ensure students do not feel excluded and can develop their digital literacies.

• Consider student diversity when adopting different teaching methods.

• Integrate all three forms of assessment into your teaching: assessment of learning, assessment as learning, and assessment for learning, to recognise diversity in student learning and ensure no student is excluded.

• Offer students choice for assessments to cater to different abilities and preferences

• Provide rubrics for all assessments for transparency and to maximise opportunities for success.

• Maximise wrap-up sessions to consolidate learning and lessen stress and anxiety for summative assessments.

For more detailed information on teaching, click here.

Feedback & Reflection (Summary)

Good feedback is:

• provided frequently and in sufficient detail.

•  timely in that it is received by students while it still matters to them and in time for them to pay attention to further learning or receive further assistance.

• appropriate to the purpose of the assignment and to its criteria for success.

• appropriate in relation to students’ understanding of what they are supposed to be doing and learning.

• received and attended to.

• acted upon by the student.

Provide opportunities for self- and peer- evaluation.

Use rubrics and checklists to reflect on and evaluate the quality of the course from a pedagogical/ inclusion/ trauma perspective and identify areas for future improvement.

For more detailed information on feedback & reflection, click here.