This presentation is based on a pilot study for a grounded theory of trauma-informed online learning. It explores an initial interview intended to help refine the research and interview questions for further exploration.

1. I Don’t Have Too Much Different:
Building a Grounded Theory of
Trauma-Informed Online Learning
Suzanne Reinhardt
Simon Fraser University

2. Trauma/PTSD
The World Health Organization
defines Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder [Trauma] as a:
delayed and/or protracted
response to a stressful event
or situation . . . of an
exceptionally threatening or
catastrophic nature, which is
likely to cause pervasive
distress in almost anyone.
(The ICD-10 Classification of
Mental and Behavioural
Disorders, n.d., p. 120).

3. Trauma in Learning
Processing new
information and
accessing previous
information can be a
challenge for the
trauma affected brain
(Perry, 2006).

4. Trauma-informed
Carello and Butler (2014) describe trauma-
informed:
To understand how [in any context] violence,
victimization, and other traumatic
experiences may have figured in the lives of
the individuals involved and to apply that
understanding to the provision of services
and the design of systems so that they
accommodate the needs and vulnerabilities
of trauma survivors. (p. 156)

5. Literature
Review
• Grade school trauma research (Strøm, Schultz,
Wentzel-Larsen, & Dyb, 2016; Suomalainen,
Haravuori, Berg, Kiviruusu, & Marttunen,
2011)
• Tertiary education trauma research (Boyraz,
Granda, Baker, Tidwell, & Waits, 2016; Carello
& Butler, 2014; Read, Ouimette, White, Colder,
& Farrow, 2011)
• 30% of US students have taken at least one
class online (“Digest of Education Statistics,
2018,” n.d.)
• Approximately 10% of incoming students are
experiencing trauma (Boyraz et al, 2016; Read,
2011)
• Trauma can result in lower grades, higher
drop-out rates and general distress (Boyraz et
al, 2016; Carello & Butler, 2014)

6. European Context
• Susceptibility to trauma: veterans,
women, indigenous populations, those
affected by historical trauma and refugees
(Ahern, Foster, & Head, 2015; Conley,
Ferguson, & Kumbier, 2019; Horsman,
2004
• Organizations that target higher education
for refugees: University of the People,
Coursera for Refugees, Kiron Open Higher
Education, Open University (Streitwieser,
Loo, Ohorodnik, & Jeong, 2018)

7. Research Goals/Questions
Research Question: How do instructors, who consider
themselves trauma-informed, approach trauma-informed
online teaching?
• Initial interview with trauma aware instructor
• Do enough instructors use a trauma-informed approach?
• Further interviews needed to refine research question

8. Methodology
Qualitative, semi-
structured interview
College instructors
who considered
themselves trauma-
informed/snowball
sampling method of
recruitment (Noy,
2008)
Social constructivist
grounded theory
(Charmaz, 2014)
Grounded in the data
What is possible vs.
how technology is
used in actuality
(Selwyn, 2010)

9. Initial
Findings/Categories
• Instructor motivation to address
trauma
• “You can't avoid these topics.
They're real, and they're
important. So it’s, how do we
teach about them in a way that
doesn't actually create trauma in
our students.”
• “I felt that there was a bigger
obligation to try and figure out
what we could do to help
students so that they're
prepared. So I refused to remove
the content.”

10. Initial
Findings/Categories
• Addressing trauma in the two
modalities
• “It's harder in the online class.”
• “I don't have too much different
in how I address it.”
• “And what I realized in speaking
with you is that it's exactly what I
do. I'm focused on the difference
between the modalities, and
maybe I need to spend more
time thinking about similarities.
And then it might help us to
bridge.”

11. Initial
Findings/Categories
• Relationship building
• “And it's because I fear not
having . . . this face to face
interaction.”
• “The difference becomes in the
building of relationships with
students. So that's a key
component to it. And it's much
more challenging to build a
relationship with a student
online.”
• “I think one of the things we
need to get past . . . is we have
this fear of [the] online
environment, because of this
lack of personal interaction and
face to face piece.

12. Further Questions
• Differences in two
modalities? Why not? Or,
what are differences?
• Ultimately creating a
protocol for trauma-
informed online learning

13. Citations
• Ahern, A., Foster, M., & Head, D. (2015). Salt Lake Community College Veterans Services: A Model of Serving Veterans in Higher Education. New Directions for Community
Colleges, 2015(172), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20165
• Boyraz, G., Granda, R., Baker, C. N., Tidwell, L. L., & Waits, J. B. (2016). Posttraumatic stress, effort regulation, and academic outcomes among college students: A longitudinal
study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(4), 475–486. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000102
• Charmaz, K. (2017). The Power of Constructivist Grounded Theory for Critical Inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 34–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416657105
• Conley, S., Ferguson, A., & Kumbier, A. (2019). Supporting Students with Histories of Trauma in Libraries: A Collaboration of Accessibility and Library Services. Library Trends,
67(3), 526–549. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2019.0001
• Digest of Education Statistics, 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2019, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_311.15.asp?current=yes
• Horsman, J. (2004). “But Is It Education?”: The Challenge of Creating Effective Learning for Survivors of Trauma. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 32(1/2), 130–146. Retrieved from
JSTOR.
• Noy, C. (2008). Sampling Knowledge: The Hermeneutics of Snowball Sampling in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 11(4), 327–344.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570701401305
• Perry, B. D. (2006). Fear and learning: Trauma-related factors in the adult education process. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006(110), 21–27.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.215
• Read, J. P., Ouimette, P., White, J., Colder, C., & Farrow, S. (2011). Rates of DSM–IV–TR trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder among newly matriculated college
students. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 3(2), 148–156. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021260
• Selwyn, N. (2010). Looking beyond learning: Notes towards the critical study of educational technology: Looking beyond learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(1),
65–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2009.00338.x
• Streitwieser, B., Loo, B., Ohorodnik, M., & Jeong, J. (2018). Access for Refugees Into Higher Education: A Review of Interventions in North America and Europe. Journal of Studies
in International Education, 1028315318813201. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318813201
• Strøm, I. F., Schultz, J.-H., Wentzel-Larsen, T., & Dyb, G. (2016). School performance after experiencing trauma: A longitudinal study of school functioning in survivors of the Utøya
shootings in 2011. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 7(1), 31359. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v7.31359
• Suomalainen, L., Haravuori, H., Berg, N., Kiviruusu, O., & Marttunen, M. (2011). A controlled follow-up study of adolescents exposed to a school shooting – Psychological
consequences after four months. European Psychiatry, 26(8), 490–497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.07.007
• van der Kolk, B. A., McFarlane, A. C., & Weisaeth, L. (2012). Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society. Guilford Press.
• Walker, J., & Zuberi, D. (2019). School-Aged Syrian Refugees Resettling in Canada: Mitigating the Effect of Pre-migration Trauma and Post-migration Discrimination on Academic
Achievement and Psychological Well-Being. Journal of International Migration and Integration. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00665-0