SESSION ABSTRACT

1. Introduction

a. Attention getter: showing a picture of a student with a hoodie on: Look at the picture and think for a moment, imagine she is in the middle of a particularly important lesson. She is not paying attention at all. What do would you tell this student if you were her teacher?

b. Reason to listen: Do learners behave badly deliberately? Not always, and those who have experienced trauma may find it difficult to behave appropriately in the classroom. How can we help them feel safe in our class?

c. Thesis Statement: Today we will define challenging behaviour, explore neuroscience theories to help us understand the behaviour of learners who have experienced trauma. Finally, we will look into trauma-informed classroom strategies to manage distressed behaviour in the classroom.

2. Body

a. Main Point: understanding the brain

i. Analysing brain theories

ii. Brain’s response in stressful situations

iii. Examples of learners’ response in the classroom

b. Neurosequential model

i. Perry’s inverted pyramid

ii. Classroom situations and practical ideas to help learners calm down

iii. Strategies to help students regulate, relate or reason

c. Defense mechanisms

i. Examples of learner behaviour and interactions in the classroom

ii. Breaking unhelpful patterns of interaction

iii. Suggestions for classroom implementation

d. Thoughtful interaction with students

i. Teacher language: bad and good practices

ii. Framing our statements and requests to learners

e. Final remarks

f. Conclusion

g. Q&A"