Contemplative Practices and Anti-Oppressive Pedagogies for Higher Education

Trauma-Informed Learning Community (TLC) for Educational Professionals

“…This increased exhaustion from actions due to COVID and the mental health pandemic has disconnected faculty and staff from their original motivations for joining the higher education community. Still, the stress and chronic overwork that were already plaguing so many faculty and staff members pre-pandemic have seemingly been accepted as ordinary in many institutions across the nation, which are eager to return to what "once was" (Gaard & Ergüner-Tekinalp, 2022).…”

“…At the implementation phase, early stakeholders have been identified, and the initial community experiences have begun. The TLC for Educational Professionals will provide faculty and staff with consistent professional and personal development days or hours so they can design a growth and learning culture for themselves (Gaard & Ergüner-Tekinalp, 2022). Understanding the actions and initiatives that support faculty and staff' s sense of belonging is imperative for a faculty learning community to thrive.…”

“…In order to begin implementation, faculty and staff colleagues in the community have to discover the "whys' ', desires, and "motivations" surrounding their trauma as educators and then move into the "how" through the principles of trauma-informed pedagogy (Gaard & Ergüner-Tekinalp, 2022). To implement the collaborative teaching and learning structure for the TLC, educators should consider using Lombardi' s emerging "construction of understanding" framework for active learning possibilities (Talbert, 2022).…”

“…A resilient educator learning community would provide a collaborative opportunity for colleagues to recognize how the experiences of all faculty and staff are connected and use trauma-informed teaching and learning to decrease isolation and restore self-efficacy for educators (Feng et al, 2018, Williams et al, 2022. A learning community for thoughtful practices, guided by a trauma-informed pedagogy and a collaborative structure for discretionary caring of emotional, mental, and professional needs, can disrupt an overburdened educational system for educators (Gaard & Ergüner-Tekinalp, 2022). The development of self-worth and self-esteem and the chance to make constructive contributions to their institution' s learning community are all essential for educators' emotional well-being (Turner & Braine, 2013).…”

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This paper seeks to provide a process for developing a trauma-informed faculty and staff learning community using Lenning et al (2013) adapted, 4-part Learning Community Planning Framework (LCPF) as a foundation for implementing Imad' s (2021) trauma-informed education framework. This innovative and collaborative traumainformed learning community aims to disrupt an overburdened educational system for faculty and staff, guided by a trauma-based pedagogy and a collaborative structure for discretionary caring of emotional, mental, and professional needs (Gaard & Ergüner-Tekinalp, 2022). The goal of this paper is to introduce how the four phases of the LCPF leverage the trauma-informed education framework as a collaborative strategy that can be modeled across university campuses to develop their very own faculty and staff led, trauma-informed learning community; which this paper is calling the TLC for Educational Professionals.

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