Assignment: Understanding Trauma and Young Children – Key Concepts
Imagine this scenario: You are teaching a course in Child Development and Trauma at a local community college. You have decided that in order to help your students truly understand the key components of this subject, you will provide an overview of this topic in a presentation that utilizes current resources and authentic scenarios. After all, as an early childhood professional you know that storytelling, especially when it involves genuine human examples, powerfully engages the heart and soul as well as challenges the mind.
You can draw from the videos in “Trauma and Young Children in Today’s Early Childhood Settings” in which two early childhood professionals share their experiences with trauma and young children. Using examples as well as resources, you create a narrated PowerPoint that covers the following points:
- The lasting effects of child trauma on the brain, nervous system, and all domains of development and an overview of the ACEs Study as evidenced research.
- A deep dive into toxic stress and how this particular type of stress response impacts the developing child.
- A discussion of the various trauma stress responses that children may exhibit. This should include examples that address the entire continuum of traumatic stress responses – from Hyperarousal (fight/flight) to Dissociation (freeze/faint)
- An explanation of various types of trauma – both Acute and Complex.
- A discussion of the emerging field of epigenetics and how it is posited to contribute to the transgenerational transmission of trauma.
Assignment Length: Your narrated PowerPoint should last between 20 and 30 minutes. Also, include your narration in the “Speaker Notes” section of each slide. Develop as many slides as you need to capture every meaningful component of your message. However, note that each bulleted section should have at least 4-5 slides. Keep in mind that you do not want to overload your slides with words. Instead, spotlight important points and add detail through your narration. It is recommended that you consult the resources provided about creating effective narrated PowerPoints. Remember to conclude your PowerPoint with a slide, or slides, that cite the resources you used in APA format.
