Session 404: Fostering Retention through Trauma-Informed and Universal Design Approaches for Students and Faculty

Location: McKinley 100

Presenters: Golnar Abedin (Senior Professorial Lecturer, School of Education) & Holly Meyers (Adjunct Instructor, CAS | Health Studies)

Session Description: 

Discover how trauma-informed and universally designed teaching practices can foster belonging for all learners—including neurodivergent students—while also supporting faculty wellbeing. This interactive session invites participants to experience simple, restorative strategies that promote safety, trust, and flexibility in the classroom. We will reimagine teaching as a practice of care that sustains both educators and students.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify at least two ways that trauma and chronic stress can impact students’ (and faculty’s) cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement in learning
2. Analyze how current teaching practices and course policies may either support or inhibit access to learning and student belonging, particularly for neurodivergent learners and students who have experienced trauma
3. Apply one or more trauma-informed and UDL-aligned strategies to create a classroom environment that fosters safety, trust, and inclusion, while fostering retention and sustainability for both students and faculty