The Search for Safety: Building a Resilient Learning Community is a comprehensive two-part training session designed to enhance the understanding and responsiveness to trauma in the learning environments of Whitman College. This program aims to equip faculty and staff with the knowledge and tools necessary to foster a more resilient and supportive educational community.

Session 1, January 11: Understanding the Brain's Quest for Safety and Its Impacts on Learning
The first session delves into the fascinating realm of neuroscience, focusing on the brain's inherent search for safety and how this primal quest is intricately linked to the prevalence of trauma and conflict in our lives. Participants will explore:

The neurological basis of perception and response to threats, both real and perceived.
How the brain's safety mechanisms can inadvertently lead to heightened stress and trauma responses among students and employees
The ripple effects of these responses in classroom and campus communities

This session offers a blend of theoretical knowledge and real-world examples, enabling participants to understand the neuroscience behind behaviors that are often seen on campus.

Session 2, January 12: Applying Science to Drive Behavior and Build Resilience

In the second session, the focus shifts to practical applications. Building on the foundational knowledge from the first session, participants will learn:

How an understanding of brain science can shape teaching methods to improve learning outcomes
Strategies to mitigate the impact of stress and trauma, thereby increasing student learning
Techniques for building resilience in themselves and students, promoting a more supportive and adaptive environment

Participants will leave this session with actionable strategies and a deeper understanding of how to use neuroscience to increase learning and cultivate resilience.

About the Community Resilience Initiative

This two-day workshop will be presented by Executive Director Rick Griffin and Becky Turner, Director of Community Engagement.

CRI is a Walla Walla-based nonprofit organization conducting trauma-informed training online and in person, across the continent. CRI is recognized as a leader in trauma-informed training and offers several levels of training based on Knowledge, Insight, Strategies and Structures (K.I.S.S.), its blueprint for building community capacity.

How Community Networks Stem Childhood Traumas - New York Times, August 17, 2016

About Community Learning Days

Community Learning Days provide Whitman faculty and staff with access to essential information and valuable learning opportunities prior to the start of each semester. Community Learning Days (CLD) help faculty and staff prepare for the arrival and return of our students by providing information about the changing needs and demographic profile of Whitman students, while also building capacity to advance inclusive excellence. Previous CLD sessions have focused on strategies to create a more inclusive classroom, cultural taxation and systems of oppression, as well as content to help staff navigate professional boundaries and hierarchies from different social identities.

This Community Learning Days event is also part of the Center for Teaching & Learning's Teaching and Learning Now series, exploring how educational contexts, practices, and priorities have changed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and how we can align our work with the needs and ambitions of current and future students

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The event will be hosted by The Division of Diversity and Inclusion, The Inclusive Excellence Council, and The Office of the Provost. Please call The Division of Diversity and Inclusion for further information and/or to request accommodations at 509-527-4997 or email diversity@whitman.edu