Instructional Needs Assessment

There is a need for teachers and other school personnel to be trained in brain development and trauma-informed practice in order to effectively meet the needs of the children they serve. The landmark study by Felitti et al. (1998) explored the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult health outcomes and risk behaviors. The study established that with increasing ACEs, an increased risk profile exists for a number of health outcomes including alcoholism, depression, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Felitti et al. (1998) found that over half of the of the surveyed population had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience. Looking specifically at populations of low-income children, parents of children enrolled in Head Start in a large Midwestern city were asked how many traumatic events their children had been exposed to; 74% had experienced at least one, 60% at least two, and 45% three or more (Holmes, Levy, Smith, Pinne, & Neese, 2015). Teachers who work with children, especially those in Head Start programs and low-income schools, must be aware of the presence and impact of trauma, toxic stress, and ACEs on brain development, and know how to address current symptoms of trauma as well as prevent further harm to children’s development.

Early life events shape the quality of our brain architecture and as people age the brain’s plasticity decreases (Fox, Levitt, & Nelson, 2010), so the best time to address trauma is in the early years. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has published a white paper outlining a community-centered model which includes three pieces: building secure attachments between children and caregivers, improving children’s self-regulation, and increasing children’s competencies in other areas (Cook, Blaustein, Spinazzola, & van der Kolk, 2003). Despite this research and practical strategies being available, in my observational experience, trauma-informed practice is not commonly included in teacher preparation programs and many teachers are working without this essential knowledge. This observation was corroborated by a panel of teachers and teacher educators in 2015 (Mader). Although some innovative schools and districts have begun implementing trauma-informed approaches (McInerney & McKlindon, 2014), they are far from the norm and more teachers should be using these practices.

The innovation model of needs assessment (Smith & Ragan, 2005) is appropriate to demonstrate the need for the Brain Architecture Workshop. Although children’s needs and behaviors have remained constant over the years, innovations and new research in neuroscience and public health presents an opportunity for teachers to address children’s needs in new ways (McInerney & McKlindon, 2014). Since many teachers were trained before this research had been conducted, and most teacher preparation programs do not include research on brain development or trauma-informed practice (Mader, 2015), a new method of bringing this information to teachers should be developed. Teachers should learn how brains develop; what the impact is of trauma, toxic stress, and adverse childhood experiences; and how they can support healthy brain development. Learning these skills will help teachers meet their primary goals for children’s cognitive, language and literacy, social-emotional, and physical growth.

Context of the problem

In my work as an early childhood and elementary education consultant, I partner with early childhood and elementary schools across the United States who are involved in the “ed reform” movement, mostly meaning that they are interested in continuously improving and using the most effective strategies possible to produce positive outcomes for children. Additionally, most schools I work with are considered low-income; I often work with Head Start programs or public charter schools with populations of children who are diverse along racial and socioeconomic lines.

The primary audience for the workshop is teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators within elementary and early childhood programs. Ideally, any staff who work directly with children would participate, as well as those adults who coach or support teachers. This will allow teacher coaches and administrators to provide aligned support and follow-up after the training. During the training, teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators should all participate actively and work to understand the information presented, as well as completing the final application objective of generating action steps to support healthy brain development in their work with children. In the future, the workshop could also be adapted to benefit parents, social workers, teachers of middle school or high school, or other adults who have or work with children.

Demographic data and geographic description

Learners in this task will be current teachers, school administrators, or other adults who work with children in early childhood or elementary instructional settings. Participants may vary in age and gender; across the country the teaching profession has an average age of 42.4 and is 76.6% female (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). My consulting practice is nationwide, so participants may be from any geographic area where I have clients.

The Brain Architecture Workshop is crucial for adults working with children who may have adverse childhood experiences, toxic stress, or trauma. As large numbers of children and adults report these events, and we know that these experiences impact brain development, learning, and social skills, teachers must be equipped with the skills to respond effectively. The Brain Architecture Workshop will prepare early childhood and elementary teachers, administrators, and instructional coaches to address the impact of existing trauma and mitigate the impact of that trauma on current and future brain development, social-emotional development, and learning outcomes.