Trauma Informed Professional Development Project
Abstract
The research question addressed in this project was, what does it mean to be a trauma informed educator? Professional development on trauma informed practices for school staff working with African American students. This capstone documents one educator’s journey to creating meaningful and engaging professional development for education staff around trauma-informed care. The author explored the literature around the prevalence of trauma in urban communities, effects of trauma, and educational outcomes for traumatized children, as well as trauma-informed practices for educators. A professional development presentation is thoroughly detailed throughout this capstone project to address the need for trauma-informed practices and content knowledge in an urban educational setting. This presentation highlights critical research around trauma responses and trauma-informed practices. The goal of this professional development is for staff to understand the prevalence of trauma, the effects of trauma, and engage in meaningful discussion around trauma-informed practices. The project contains a pre- presentation survey, a Google Slides presentation, and a post-evaluation.