Loading...

Developing Best Practices for Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning (2023-2024)

Help support this team’s research!

We are conducting virtual focus groups with faculty to examine how experiences of trauma affect teaching and learning environments at Duke, and how faculty engage and respond to trauma-related content in their teaching. Focus groups will take no longer than 1.5 hours and faculty will receive $75 for their participation, which includes the completion of a brief follow-up survey. Register here to share your experiences.

Stress is prevalent in all classroom spaces, and the frequency of stressful situations can be impacted by trauma. While not everyone at Duke might share the same stress or traumatic experiences, all students, faculty and administration impact how trauma is handled in the classroom and on campus.

Duke has invested in creating mental health services for all its students and reducing campus sexual assault rates, tackling the issue of trauma through a campus-wide approach. However, there is a strong need to attend to how stress and trauma exist in academic programs.

Building on the work of the 2022-2023 project team, this team explored tangible practices and improvements in the education system to aid trauma survivors and facilitate a safe atmosphere that normalizes and encourages student well-being. This team learned about trauma-informed teaching practices at Duke and worked toward supporting and building a trauma-informed educational culture. Team members engaged in ongoing qualitative analysis of the student and faculty focus group data to investigate best practices for trauma-informed teaching and learning and created a team culture that exemplifies the trauma-informed academic approach.

Learn more about this team’s work by reading their team profile.

Timing

Fall 2023 – Spring 2024

Team Outputs

Primary qualitative data from faculty and student focus groups

Evidence-based trauma-informed educational practices for sharing and implementing at Duke and beyond

Duke Divinity Preliminary Findings (visualization)

Developing Best Practices for Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning (Team profile; 2024 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Developing Best Practices for Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning (Poster presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 17, 2024)

See related teams, Developing Best Practices for Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning (2024-2025) and Developing Best Practices for Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning (2022-2023).

 

Image: Professor Bill Fick teaches a drawing course to undergraduate students at Duke, by Megan Mendenhall/Duke University

Team Leaders

  • Jan Holton, Divinity School
  • Warren Kinghorn, Divinity School, School of Medicine: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Graduate Team Members

  • Makala Carrington, Divinity-MDV
  • Frederique Ndatirwa, Master of Theology; Doctor of Theology
  • Emily Peairs, Medical Student
  • Jessa Potvin, Theological Studies-MTS
  • Hannah Sutton-Adams, Ph.D. student in Theology and Education, Boston College

Undergraduate Team Members

  • Laila Dames, Public Policy (AB)
  • Eliza Heaton, Psychology (BS)
  • Christina Lewis, Religion (AB)
  • Harper Wilkinson, Chemistry (AB)

Team Contributors

  • Stephanie Hargrove, School of Medicine: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Jonathan Nahmias, School of Medicine: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Noga Zerubavel, School of Medicine: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences