How T/RIC (Trauma/Restorative Informed Coaching) was infused into an Elementary Education Program

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Stetson University

First Presenter’s Email Address

kpiechur@stetson

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Kathy Piechura-Couture is a full professor of Education at Stetson University and research faculty with the Nina B Hollis Institute of Educational Reform. In this role she actively researches effective pedagogical practices with general and special needs populations. Her research includes Trauma and Resiliency, Restorative Practices, student self-advocacy, infusing movement and the arts into the general curriculum, and differentiating instruction. She has recently worked with district personnel to develop a curriculum model based on trauma informed coaching and restorative practices. Through her work with the Nina B Hollis Institute of Educational Reform, she has been instrumental in many innovative pedagogical strategies in schools throughout the United States. She has been featured on MSNBC and several documentaries for her expertise. She has worked hand-in-hand with the teachers for the past thirty years researching teaching best practices.

Second Presenter's Institution

Stetson University

Second Presenter’s Email Address

mtichenor

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Mercedes Tichenor is a Professor of Education in the Department of Teacher Education. She is the director of Stetson's Student Teaching program and works with many local schools through the Stetson professional development school network. Through her work with the Nina B Hollis Institute for Educational Reform, she has been instrumental in many innovative pedagogical strategies in schools throughout the United States. Her research interests include professional development school partnerships, teacher professionalism, and garden-based learning.

Third Presenter's Institution

Stetson University

Third Presenter’s Email Address

eheins@stetson.edu

Third Presenter's Brief Biography

Elizabeth Deane Heins received her doctorate from the University of Virginia. She is presently professor of education at Stetson University. She holds the Nina B. Hollis Chair of Educational Reform and works closely with the Institute’s reform initiatives. She is considered an expert in classroom management and has over 40 years of teacher training experience. Through her work with the Nina B Hollis Institute of Educational Reform, she has been instrumental in many innovative pedagogical strategies in schools throughout the United States.

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

This proposal addresses both heart and health. T/RIC is being used as alternative SEL program in one of Florida’s most successful districts and also addresses the positive mental health for both K-12 students and teachers.

Brief Program Description

There are no tricks when it comes to purposeful Trauma/Restorative Informed Care. This presentation outlines how a university infused restorative practices and trauma informed care into their elementary education program. Strategies to build resiliency and create a responsive classroom will be presented. Research on the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and teacher vicarious trauma will be presented.

Summary

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) range from living with someone with mental health issues or addictions to any form of abuse. These ACEs cause toxic stress which can alter a child's brain and their ability to think, learn, and show self-control. Often family dynamics are the root cause of the ACEs and a students' next closest protective relationship is usually the school—most importantly the teacher. It is critical for teachers to develop classroom strategies to combat ACEs and help build resilient children. This presentation will focus on research on how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) effect student learning. (e.g., ACEs can affect student learning and behavior in the classroom. Children with three or more ACEs are 5x more likely to have attendance issues, 6x times more likely to have behavior problems, and 3x times more likely to experience academic failure.) Research on the effects of vicarious trauma that is often found in teachers and educational support staff. (e.g., Teachers who work in areas of high poverty or high trauma will typically experience a greater exposure to vicarious trauma, but trauma exists across all socioeconomic groups.) This presentation provides a description of a program that infuses Restorative Practices, Trauma Informed Care and resilience building activities into an undergraduate teacher education program. This presentation will provide activities that be used to reduce the effects of trauma, build resilience and model a restorative environment at the university level.

Evidence

Research out of the state of Washington reveal that in a typical classroom 4 out of 5 students have had at least one Adverse Childhood Experiences. In a typical class of 30 students 29% (9) of the students were exposed to physical abuse or adult-to-adult violence and 13%(4) of the students were exposed to physical abuse and adult-to-adult violence. According to National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), economic hardship and divorce or separation of a parent or guardian are the most common ACEs reported nationally, and in all states. Just under half (45 percent) of children in the United States have experienced at least one ACE, which is similar to the rate of exposure found in a 2011/2012 survey. In an informal survey in a small liberal arts teacher education program, it was found that a third of the prospective teacher education candidates reported 6 or more ACEs and another third reported 2 or more ACEs. Teachers need to first learn to take care of themselves and then they can model these resilience skills to the children that they teach. Leppin et.al (2014) found that the body of randomized trial evidence supports a modest but consistent benefit of resiliency training programs in improving a number of mental health outcomes within three months of follow-up. Along a similar line Bonell et al. (2018) promoted teaching training on restorative practices, relationships, and social and emotional skills. It emerged that participation in these trainings led to an improvement of social, interpersonal, and emotional skills (e.g., self-efficacy, empathy, awareness, assertiveness, accountability). The program presented combines trauma informed care that focuses on building resiliency and restorative practices (R/TIC) into a teacher education program. R/TIC is currently being used in Seminole County Schools and data on its effectiveness will be presented. Baseline 2020 data of the“5 Essentials Culture and Climate Survey” developed by the University of Chicago and the Urban Education Institute and administered to all teachers and students in the partner county school district. The five areas are: Student Safety, Teacher Safety, Supportive Learning Environment, Student-Teacher Trust, and Connectivity. Preliminary data (2023) has shown improvement in all five areas in schools that implemented the R/TIC model.

Learning Objective 1

articulate how ACEs effect student learning and behavior and how vicarious trauma effects teachers and support staff

Learning Objective 2

participate in restorative/resilience building activities that can be used in the classrooms or teacher education programs

Learning Objective 3

develop a plan to infuse practices that foster resilience and build classroom community

Keyword Descriptors

Trauma informed care, restorative practices, teacher education

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 9:45 AM

End Date

3-4-2024 10:15 AM

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Mar 4th, 9:45 AM Mar 4th, 10:15 AM

How T/RIC (Trauma/Restorative Informed Coaching) was infused into an Elementary Education Program

There are no tricks when it comes to purposeful Trauma/Restorative Informed Care. This presentation outlines how a university infused restorative practices and trauma informed care into their elementary education program. Strategies to build resiliency and create a responsive classroom will be presented. Research on the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and teacher vicarious trauma will be presented.