For this artifact, I created a slideshow that revolved around Knowledge of Trauma and ACEs. I took a deep dive into describing what both trauma and ACEs meant, and how they can affect student growth and learning. Throughout my learning thus far with being an Education major, I have learned that there will always be students in each of your classes who will have at least one ACE. This will cause setbacks in your teaching and student’s learning environments, and it is beyond important that as educators we make students feel safe, and welcomed, and foster an environment where they can learn in. With this being said, when looking at the Maine Common Core Teaching Standards, I can see that this assignment aligns with a few of the standards, but specifically with Standard #10, Collaboration. With this standard, “the teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.” Further, teachers need to be proactive and ensure that students can learn in a safe place while collaborating with others to make this happen. As they say, it takes a village.
Furthermore, after completing this assignment, I was able to understand more about Trauma and ACEs and how important it is to be aware of a student’s history both at school and home. This artifact will help me in the future as I begin to have students of my own, and may need to adjust learning strategies to meet their needs. This artifact has deepened my pedagogical understanding and enhanced my future practice as an effective educator. I have gained valuable insights into identifying ACEs and learned how to collaborate with others to implement proactive teaching strategies, not only as an educator but also as a compassionate individual
