FLO MicroCourse: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Your Syllabus
Are you interested in creating a safer learning experience for your students before the course even begins? The syllabus (or course outline) is often the first point of contact learners have with their instructor and the course content. By applying trauma-informed principles, syllabi can provide the opportunity for educators to begin relationship building with learners as well as offer suggestions and information vital to their success.
This FLO MicroCourse consists of required (and recommended) readings, video lectures from your instructor and daily forum posts. The course will culminate with a final assignment where the participants will interrogate and edit a syllabus (ideally one from a course they teach) and provide and receive feedback from their participant peers. The time commitment for this course is 2-3 hours per day. We have two optional synchronous sessions planned that we encourage participants to attend:
- October 30th, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM Pacific Time
- November 3rd, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Pacific Time
These sessions will be recorded and shared with participants in the course.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will:
- Explore a variety of areas within a syllabus that may be suitable for using a trauma-informed approach
- Assess and amend their own syllabus to align with trauma-informed perspectives
- Provide and receive feedback on their own and other participants’ syllabi
Matty Hillman (he/him/his), MA (CYC), is a child and youth care instructor at Selkirk College in the beautiful Kootenay region of B.C., the traditional territory of the Sinixt People. His research interests include sexual violence prevention and response on post-secondary campuses, trauma-informed teaching, and community mental health literacy. As a muralist, he is especially interested in the intersection of youth work and public art, exploring the opportunity these complementary practices create for empowerment, community building, and social justice advancements. Readers may contact Matty at mhillman@selkirk.ca and access his full bio at http://selkirk.ca/faculty/matthew-matty-hillman.