Trauma-Transforming Practices: Critical Literacies for Educators 1
Workshop 1 – The Science of Stress: The Literacy of Predictability
Date:
October 6 @ 8:30 am – 2:30 pm
Price:
Topics:
- General Education
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- Social-Emotional Learning
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- Trauma
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- Well-Being
Instructor(s):
Dave Melnick, LICSW
Event Type:
Virtual
Professional Learning Hours:
5
Intended Audience:
All PK-12 educators, SU/school leaders, mental health professionals and support faculty.
Session #1 of a 3-part series.
This series will equip educators with three essential literacies needed to thrive in today’s schools: the literacy of prediction, the literacy of pausing, and the literacy of possibility. Together these literacies offer a practical framework for understanding human behavior and navigating the complex realities of schools, while creating environments where both students and adults can flourish. The series will help educators develop the skills and mindsets to move beyond trauma-informed awareness toward trauma-transforming action.
The first session will explore how stress and distress fundamentally impact adult and student functioning and capacities. Participants will learn that stress physiology is not random; it often follows predictable patterns, even during times of prolonged uncertainty. This workshop will offer educators a shared, universal language for understanding shifts in human behavior.
By understanding the science of stress (SOS), educators can learn predictable patterns to make sense of complex behavior without blame or reduction. Used as a systemic and reflective practice tool, this literacy of predictability supports school cultures that prioritize regulation, dignity, and wellbeing over reactivity and control.
Participants will:
- Develop fluency in the SOS.
- Analyze predictable stress patterns to understand shifts in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity.
- Establish shared non-pathologizing language to shift school dialogue from blame to regulation.
- Integrate the SOS as a daily reflective practice, using body and environmental cues to interrupt reactivity and make regulated decisions.
Workshops in this series:
October 6, 2026: The Science of Stress: The Literacy of Predictability
November 4, 2026: Reflective Practice: The Literacy of Pausing
December 16, 2026: Reframing Challenging Behaviors: The Literacy of Possibility
Participants may register for any or all of the workshops, or register for a 3-credit graduate course.
