Journal of Education & Social Policy

Taking a Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Approach to Educator Preparation: A Case Study Revealed
Dr. Karen S. DiBella (Corresponding Author), Dr. Kimberly Gray

Abstract
Research supports that nearly two-thirds of U.S. children have experienced at least one type of serious trauma, such as abuse, neglect, natural disaster, or experiencing or witnessing violence (CDC, 2019). According to the National Traumatic Stress Network, one in four children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior (NTST, 2008). While trauma-informed is certainly becoming a new buzz word and may be gaining momentum in education, there is question as to how expeditiously content and curriculum is being rewritten and how widely it is being created, shared, and taught. This paper is a follow-up case study to our initial paper entitled: “Redesigning Educator Preparation Programs to Integrate Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices.” In the original writing, the authors called for universities to redesign coursework to include a conceptual framework for creating trauma-informed teaching practices, which involved three phases: introduce, reinforce, and integrated practice. This paper examines a case study where two authors took a multi-disciplinary approach to introduce trauma-informed teaching in an online Introduction to Education course. Authors will share their collaborative approach as to how the content was introduced, what assignments were designed and how strategies were utilized and assessed throughout the course. Finally, authors will share teacher candidates’ responses and reflections based on trauma-informed content.

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