5 Reasons You’ll Love This NEW Virtual Course on Trauma-Sensitive Teaching

August 27, 2024

Trauma-sensitive teaching couldn’t be more important to the health, social-emotional well-being, and academic success of your students. But what do trauma-sensitive educators really need to know and do—and how can schools and districts be sure their teachers are fully prepared?

Look no further than this comprehensive, engaging new virtual course on Becoming a Trauma-Sensitive Educator. Created by “Ms. Jen” Alexander—a nationally recognized trauma expert, bestselling author, and popular teacher educator—this course is an easy and cost-effective way to teach your staff how to create safe, supportive learning environments for everyone.

Here are 5 reasons to invest in this unique professional development opportunity for your teachers:

• Offers in-depth guidance on a critical topic. Every educator needs to know how trauma affects safety, health, and learning, and how to support students as well as colleagues. Consisting of nine online modules and a printed companion workbook, this course gathers all that information in one convenient place.
• Fits into busy schedules. This asynchronous, on-demand course is a perfect fit for lifelong learners who are short on time and want to work at their own pace.
• Delivers expert strategies and insights. Led by Ms. Jen, a trauma expert and experienced teacher who works with districts, schools, and educators nationwide, the course also features more than 20 videos from teachers who share their real-world experiences and insights.
• Helps attendees make an action plan. Lessons align with the included course workbook, where attendees can take notes for later reference, complete activities to reinforce their learning, and draft a solid plan for bringing strategies back to their school or classroom.
• Ensures that teams access the same professional learning. Individual educators can take the course to improve their own practice, and entire teams can take it too. And you can welcome new team members later with the same learning!

“Take this course to start becoming a trauma-sensitive educator, use it as a refresher in your already-established journey (there are many new ideas here!), or offer it to team members who are onboarding into a school where trauma-sensitive practices are well under way. Every educator can benefit from the course!”

—Jen Alexander, M.A., NCC, SB-RPT

What Teachers Will Learn

If you’re intrigued by this virtual course and how it can support your staff, here’s a more in-depth look at the contents:

-Course Introduction (10 minutes)
Get a welcome video and introduction from Ms. Jen, an outline of the course objectives, and key information learners need to know.

-Lesson 1: The Role of the Trauma-Sensitive Educator (1 hour, 15 minutes)
Explore what it means to be a trauma-sensitive educator by discovering Ms. Jen’s Four Essentials of Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, learning about the role and characteristics of a trauma-sensitive educator, asking critical questions, and reviewing the four “Rs” of trauma-sensitivity.

-Lesson 2: What Every Trauma-Sensitive Educator Needs to Know (1 hour, 15 minutes)
Develop a deeper understanding of trauma, identify examples of experiences on and off campus that may cause trauma, understand common signs indicative of trauma responses, and examine post-traumatic growth.

-Lesson 3: Understanding Collective Stress and Trauma (1 hour)
Learn what collective trauma is and explore the importance of feeling, dealing, and healing within school communities. Think about the potential effects of collective stress in your setting and learn how to help youth explore their feelings and needs.

-Lesson 4: Using the Four Essentials to Build a Trauma-Sensitive School – Part 1 (1 hour)
Dive deeper into the Four Essentials and learn more about safety and connection. Discover how educators are implementing trauma-sensitive strategies into their classrooms.

-Lesson 4: Using the Four Essentials to Build a Trauma-Sensitive School – Part 2 (1 hour)
Dive deeper into the Four Essentials and learn more about regulation and learning. Identify priorities and next steps for your work as a trauma-sensitive educator.

-Lesson 5: The Importance of Boundaries (1 hour)
Understand why clear boundaries are necessary for trauma-sensitive educators and get suggestions on maintaining them. Practice one way to set a clear boundary in your professional role and learn new ideas for communicating your needs with colleagues.

-Final Activity (20 minutes)
Divided into three parts, this final activity examines how the information you learned in this course will impact you, your entire school community, and your students. You’ll be asked to start planning how you’ll use the trauma-sensitive strategies learned in this course with your group.

-Bonus Module (10 minutes)
Deepen your understanding with a video from educators who are working together to build trauma-sensitive learning environments and an infographic showcasing first steps educators have taken on their own journeys to become trauma-sensitive educators.

Order the Course

The Becoming a Trauma-Sensitive Educator course is now ready for order! Once you place an order for the course, you’ll receive the printed workbook, which includes a unique access code and instructions on accessing the modules in the front of the book. Your order unlocks ongoing web-based access to the course and materials for the life of the edition.