Resources for managing difficult conversations and building community in the classroom
Managing Difficult Conversations (PDF, 181KB)
Whether local, national, or international in scope, times of crisis can have significant impacts on university classrooms. Such incidents or tragic events can also trigger memories of past personal or historical group trauma for certain students, depending on their personal and social-cultural contexts. With the goal of building community in the classroom and engaging learning experiences, we have curated these resources for instructors to adopt, adapt, and consider.
Pedagogical resources for instructors
These resources provide practical strategies related to structuring instructional environments (classroom, seminar, etc.), and the teaching conversations that instructors and learners might engage in during this time.
- Teaching in Time of Crisis (Queen鈥檚 University)
- From challenging strongly-held beliefs to challenging things that may be unshakeably known (University of Sidney)
- Creating Inclusive Classrooms for Teaching Assistants Designed for TAs but speaks to the experiences of all instructors (Queen鈥檚 University)
- Leading Tutorials, seminars and guest lectures: Creating Community Guidelines Designed for TAs but speaks to the experiences of all instructors (Queen鈥檚 University)
- (University of Michigan)
- (University of Michigan)
- (University of Chicago)
Trauma-informed Pedagogies
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health introduces as 鈥渢he emotional response when an injury overwhelms us.鈥 These resources provide information and practical strategies to plan for the likelihood of engaging with learners and instructors who have experienced trauma. The information curated in this section is of particular importance to consider when engaging with content and materials that are related and relevant to traumatic events (e.g., abuse, war, genocide etc.).
- (Barnard College)
- (San Diego State University)
Media Literacy supports for instructors
The pervasive exposure to media can lead to overwhelming influence and impacts on learners and instructors. These resources provide strategies for instructors to consider, and to intentionally enhance media literacy in the teaching and learning environment.
- How can students get better at sorting truth from fiction from everything in between? At applying their attention to the things that matter? At amplifying better treatments of issues, and avoiding clickbait?
- A How-To Guide for the Settler Colonial Present: From Canada to Palestine to Kashmir (Yellowhead Institute)
- A Practical Guide on the Effective Use of Digital Open Source and Information in Investigating Violations of International Criminal, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (UC Berkley)
- (Human Rights Watch)
Articles
- Imad, M. (2022). Trauma鈥恑nformed education for wholeness: Strategies for faculty & advisors鈥擨mad鈥2022鈥擭ew Directions for Student Services鈥擶iley Online Library. In T. R. Shalka & W. K. Okello (Eds.), Trauma-iformed practice in student affairs: Multidimentional considerations for care, healing, and wellbeing (pp. 39鈥47). Wiley.
- Imad, M. (2022). Our Brains, Emotions, and Learning: Eight Principles of Trauma-Informed Teaching. In P. Thompson & J. Carello (Eds.), Trauma-Informed Pedagogies: A Guide for Responding to Crisis and Inequality in Higher Education (pp. 35鈥47). Palgrave Macmillan.