My EDUC 405 passion inquiry looks at how trauma-informed, relationship-centred teaching practices supports students’ sense of belonging and academic self, specifically for students who feel disconnected. This is an important topic to me becuase growing up, school was my safe space. It was where I felt supported and was able to build resilience that helped me get where I am today. However, I understand now that this experience was not the case for most. I saw many peers who struggled academically and emotionally, leading them to believe they were “bad at school” all together. These experiences have shaped my goal as a future educator. I want to better support students and reframe classroom disengagement as a response to unmet needs.
My inquiry is grounded in trauma-informed pedagogy (TIP) focusing on safety, connection, and regulation. It is backed by research on building teacher-student relationships, sense of belonging, and bringing cultural relevance into this. To turn this research into something usable, I am creating a comprehensive resource hub (PDF) as my final project. Developing this resource was eye opening. It gave me the language to understand my own experiences and make sense of the student behaviours I have witnessed in the classroom, both as a child and a student teacher. As a future educator, I recognize how essential having this research readily available is.
The resources are organized into five key areas to guide my practice and content:
- What is TIP and why does it matter?
- What does TIP look like in daily classroom routines?
- How can we help students co-regulate during tough moments?
- How do we make our practice culturally responsive?
- How do we protect our own well-being and avoid burnout?
Through this work, I aim to develop a compassionate, responsive approach to teaching. This project directly informs my future classroom to guiding how I build relationships, design learning environments, and respond to student behaviour, ultimately creating a space where every student feels safe, valued, and capable of learning.