MANNING INQUIRY PROJECT 1

QUESTIONS 
 
● How do you create a classroom culture that is trauma-informed? 

● Does trauma-informed teaching exist? 

 
   
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PROPOSAL 
How do you use trauma-informed teaching techniques in a music classroom setting? 
In his study on trauma exposure in elementary school children, Gonzalez, Monzon, 
Solis, Jaycox, and Langley (2016) found “​Thirty-four percent of children screened 
experienced one or more traumatic events, and 75.4% of those exposed to at least one 
traumatic event endorsed moderate levels or higher of posttraumatic stress symptoms,” 
which is a shockingly high amount of children who experience difficulty with stress 
levels. Knowing how to infuse trauma-informed teaching techniques and some basic 
music therapy principles/theories would give more learners a more equitable experience 
in the classroom. In the music classroom, learners would be able to express themselves 
more openly and effectively, academic standings of outlier learners would be boosted, 
and their overall socioemotional health would be vastly improved. Because music 
teachers often teach the same learners for an extended period of time, they are 
particularly able to talk to and impact learner’s development. Trauma-informed 
techniques may help catch maladaptive and unhealthy behaviors earlier; early action in 
these cases would be beneficial.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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An Ecological Perspective on Emerging Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices 

(Crosby, 2015) 

Crosby, S. D. (2015). An Ecological Perspective on Emerging Trauma-Informed 

Teaching Practices. ​Children & Schools, Volume 37(Number 4)​, 223-230.  

 
Purpose of the Study: 
 
To explain how trauma-informed teaching practices could impact school-aged children 
who have experienced trauma. The study also gives a wide range of possible practices 
from the ecological perspective. 
 
Methods and Participants: 
 
Literature/journal review of emerging trauma-informed response to students from a 
lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. A number of journals were read and 
summarized in this article. 
 
Key Findings: 
 
In order to help teachers achieve equity in the classroom, they should implement 
trauma-informed teaching practices. School environments that become 
trauma-sensitive can help better student achievement and improve teacher fulfillment 
schoolwide. Using trauma-informed practices ensures that traumatized students will be 
given the same high-achieving, yet realistic standards. Teachers must be able to watch 
for specific tone and body language signals.They must also be able to know progressive 
levels of brain development and how trauma impacts specific developmental phases. In 
order to have the most impact on a traumatized student, teachers must be able to 
“negotiate, compromise, and provide opportunities for students to make choices,” so 
that students can safely and successfully start healing and feel confident in their ability 
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to have control over their own lives. Crosby also places a lot of weight in collaborating 
with all available resources in a school system; i.e., school social workers, mental health 
professionals, Child Protective Services, etc. 
 
 
 
Discussion Points: 
 
How can music educators apply these findings to their practices? Should 
trauma-informed teaching become standardized? What are some ways to encourage the 
administration to “buy-in” (Crosby, 2015, p. 226)? S 
 
Your Comments/Questions: 
 
How would a teacher be able to successfully gauge a student’s reactions? Is there a 
“word bank” type resource for teachers to identify body language? 
 
In the Conclusion, Crosby writes “this ensures that traumatized youths are not simply 
discarded as nuisances to the school setting but are embraced and cultivated into 
individuals who can build for themselves a better future,” emphasizing how 
traumatized students benefit from a school staff that can be calm, be attuned, be 
present, and be predictable while students process their traumas. 
 
 
New Developments in Neuroscience Can Benefit the Learning and Performance 
of Music (Swart, 2016) 
 
Swart, I. (2016). New Developments in Neuroscience Can Benefit the Learning and 
Performance of Music.​ ​Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa​, ​Volume13​(Issue 
1), 113-136. 
 
Purpose of the Study: 
This study aimed to find a relationship between traumatized learner’s brains and 
musicking processes. The study explained the effect of music on neurobiological 
reactions to trauma and fear using literature review techniques. 
 
Key Findings: 
Swart finds a link to autonomy of decision-making and how a learner’s identification of 
self is distinguished. This sense of self is developed through multiple interactions with 
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learners’ environments. A positive and non-dissociative sense of self is “strengthened 

through affirmation of feelings and acceptance of learners’ own emotional state and 
emotional changes” (Swart, p.117). These processes of learning to distinguish between 
self and not-self happen in the right brain. Swart explains that the right brain, heavily 
involved in perception of pitch to determine emotion and therefore processing music, 
develops earliest in the neurodevelopmental sequence. Homeostatic-survival and sense 
of the unconscious self functions lie within the right brain. therefore, any injury 
(including emotional/mental trauma) to the right brain will affect learners until those 
injuries and subsequent fear responses are mitigated. one way of mitigating the effects of 
injury to the developing brain is music. According to Swart, “Trauma is not always 
verbalised. While some trauma is preverbal, even that which is not [preverbal] is 
sometimes so deeply rooted in shame about issues that music may become a safe avenue 
for learners to express their emotions” (2016, p. 120). 
 
For teachers, Swart recommends that they be empathic role models for their learners. 
Music teachers have an impact on the chemistry of learned helplessness by facilitating 
positive self-image and encouraging students to come to the present, rather than live in 
their tormented past. Furthermore, using fear as a motivator for music-making will send 
disadvantaged learners into a dissociative response. Removing fear from the music 
classroom and staying attuned to students’ current state will help traumatized learners 
feel safe in the classroom. Trust, consistency, and safety in the classroom culture 
counteract the effects of learners’ learned fear response. Removing fear from the music 
classroom also increases neurorehabilitative capacity by using both the emotion and 
reward systems to restore neurological dysfunction. Music’s communicative nature 
helps the learner express emotions in a positive and constructive manner without 
re-triggering episodes that may make the learners’ recovery from trauma extremely 
difficult. 
 
Discussion Points: 
Swart discusses that teachers should be careful about communicating with students 
directly about their trauma. What is an appropriate level of communication about 
trauma in the classroom? How can the overlapping neurobiological mechanisms of 
traumatic memory and music be accessed most easily? 
 
Your Comments/Questions: 
There are a lot of different mechanisms for memory within the brain. How is music 
able to bypass cortical functions and go directly to the emotional center of the brain? 
How do shifts in auditory perception change the efficacy of music as a means of 
neurorehabilitation? 
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Trauma-related dissociation as a factor affecting musicians’ memory for music: 
Some possible solutions​​(Swart et. Al, 2010)) 
 
APA Citation information​:  
Swart, I., van Niekerk, C., & Hartman, W. (2010).Trauma- related dissociation as a 
factor affecting musicians’ memory for music: Some possible solutions. 
Australian Journal of Music Education, ​ Journal article name Notice the 
capitalization. J​ ournal Name With This Capitalization and Italics​, V
​ olume2​, 
(117-34). 
 
Purpose of the Study: 
This study/review is to explain how trauma, in the form of dissociation, impact’s 
musicians’ memory. 
 
Methods and Participants: 
Research surveys were sent out to music teachers as well as healthcare professionals who 
have worked with traumatized musicians. There were also three additional case studies. 
 
Key Findings: 
Trauma affects the brain’s memory processes, and therefore affects musicians' 
memorized performances. These musicians are deeply affected by trauma. Trauma can 
create issues with encoding memories properly. Since memory is essentially learning, the 
effects of trauma cause musicians difficulty by improperly coding memories of musical 
lines or technique points. Students who come from unstable home environments were 
less likely to be able to perform from memory because of lapses in memory. Levine’s 
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is used to help people learn how to handle their arousal 
cycles and become used to it. Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s technique of coordinating music 
with bodily movements can “have the additional benefits of integrating the ‘whole 
person,’ of ‘centering’, reducing stress in trauma victims or of reaching unconscious 
emotional responses (Swart et. Al, p. 131). 
 
Discussion Points: 
 
What about this article can you apply to your own classroom teaching techniques? 
These techniques can be easily adapted to fit a variety of music classroom settings 
because it is about teaching the learner first, not about making the highest quality 
performances. 
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Your Comments/Questions: 
Knowing how trauma affects the musical brain is so important because learners may 
blame themselves for their inadequacies and then give up. If teachers are informed, we 
can help these forgotten students recognize that their environment has been holding 
them back, not their abilities.   
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The Effects of the Orff Approach on Self-Expression, Self-Efficacy, and Social 

Skills of Children in Low-income Families in South Korea (Yun & Kim, 2013) 
 
Yun, Y. & Kim, J. (2013). The effects of the Orff approach on self-expression, 
self-efficacy, and social skills of children in low-income families in South Korea. ​Child 
Welfare, Volume 92(Issue 4). ​(1-48). 
 
Purpose of the Study: 
This study aimed to find out if the Orff Approach can help children succeed musically 
regardless of outside hindrances. The study wanted to integrate educational experiences 
with healing experiences through music teaching. 
 
Methods and Participants: 
The participants of this study were in an after-school program for students with 
low-income families. The control group of students attended a regular elementary 
school but came from low-income families and parenting environments. 
 
The researchers measured self-expression, self-efficacy, and social skills in the two 
different populations. The Orff approach was used to see if these measures would 
increase or decrease. 
 
Key Findings: 
Research found that the Orff approach increased self-expression, self-efficacy, and social 
skills. The increase of these aspects of development is due to the encouragement and 
support that the students had, while challenging students to succeed on their own. 
Though the Orff Approach helped in schools, children must have those sort of 
encouraging and supported experience at home with their family in order for all three to 
increase as much as they can. As the researchers write, “music-play activities 
self-motivate children because they provide an opportunity to plan and operate 
activities using their own will, without others’ strict regulations or views” (p.18). 
Children often learn to express their thoughts well because of the Orff Approach and 
are able to socialize more easily.  
 
 
Discussion Points: 
The research truly explains why movement and music go hand in hand with undoing 
the damage done by traumatic experiences or environments. Children who have 
experienced trauma are often unable to realize how they differ from other children until 
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adulthood. Therefore, it is imperative that the lack of self-expression, self-efficacy, and 

social skills are corrected before the learner reaches adulthood. 
 
 
Your Comments/Questions: 
What about Orff play makes it so rewarding for children? How does Orff play help 
student socialize? 
 
 
Learning disabilities in the music classroom: implications for the music 
educator (Colwell, 2003) 
 
APA Citation information​:  
Colwell, C., (2003). Learning disabilities in the music classroom: implications for the 
music educator. ​Applications of Research in Music Education,​ V ​ olume21​(Issue2), 
1-13. 
 
Purpose of the Study: 
The purpose of this study was to find the best method to use for students with a 
learning disability. The study was a literature review. 
  
  
Key Findings: 
 
Colwell writes that, “the arts allow children to gain discipline as they learn to work 
toward goals” (p.3). This main idea weaves in and out of her review of literature. Many 
students in the classroom have learning disabilities and music educators should care 
about differentiating the classroom for those who have learning disabilities. Students 
with learning disabilities often learn these skills through music. When music is difficult 
to learn, teachers should engage attention, remind their students of memory aids, and 
present material to learn in different formats. Using mnemonic devices along with a 
melody is an effective strategy. Colwell adds “students can have a poor self-image due to 
the rift between grade level expectations and personal achievement. Music focusing on 
expression of feelings and promotion of success can be used to address this issue” (p. 4). 
Learning about how the disability affects one’s specific student. knowing this will help 
educators learn how to work with the specific student. Working collaboratively with 
other classroom teachers helps the learner become very integrated into all classrooms. 
(Colwell, p. 6). 
 
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Discussion Points: 
How does this relate to trauma? 
Learning disabilities are often overlooked in children as just having a lot of energy. 
Teachers must make sure they are aware of their student’s individual needs so that they 
can properly integrate them into the classroom. 
 
Your Comments/Questions: 
This article is full of different strategies for learning disabilities. I wonder what other 
mental disorders these strategies could help with. What do other mental disorders need 
in the classroom? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Article 6​(​AuthorLastName, Year) 
 
APA Citation information​:  
Faulkner, S. (2011). DRUMBEAT: In search of belonging. Y ​ outh Studies Australia​, 
Volume 30​(Issue2), 9-14). 
Authors, I., & Name, N. (Year Published). Book chapter article: Notice the 
capitalization. In E. D. Editor & D. E. Names (Eds.), T ​ itle of the book with correct 
capitalization​ (FirstPage-LastPage). Publisher’s City, State/Country: Publisher’s 
Name.  
Purpose of the Study: 
This study explored the effects of drum playing as a method to reduce alienation of 
young people. 
 
Methods and Participants: 
 
Simon Faulkner used Holyoke DRUMBEAT (Discovering Relationships Using Music 
-- Beliefs, Emotions, Attitudes, and Thoughts) as a basis to create the drumming group. 
He used the Rosenberg self-esteem scale through self-reporting, number of behavioral 
incidents, and a social development program score to measure how much the 
drumming group helped the learners. 
 
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Key Findings: 
 
Drumming within the setting reduced feelings of alienation while increasing 
self-esteem, general mood, group participation, relationships, concentration, and 
emotional control. All students positively responded by an increase of an average of 3.5 
points. One of the ways this program was so effective was because of how empathic the 
teachers were to their students. Self-expression and improvisation are key components 
to developing identities. The positive effects from the DRUMBEAT school program 
extended to an improvement in community relations. Without these improvements, 
students may “commonly find themselves isolated and unable to form long-term and 
enduring relationships with others (Morgan et al. 2007)” (Faulkner 2011, p. 13). 
 
 
 
Discussion Points: 
It is interesting to me that something as loud as drumming is a way to teach empathy. 
Empathy is a key part of developing student’s identities both in and beyond the music 
classroom.  
 
Your Comments/Questions: 
How do you gauge if a student is overstimulated? I think it would be wise to set up an 
“overstimulation station” so that students who are sensitive to sound could have an area 
to get some quiet time to relax. 
 
   
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Themes in the Literature​: 

 
● The importance of modifying for the traumatized learner: ​A main theme 
throughout my research was the importance of modifying lessons for the 
individual student. In a study on emerging trauma-informed practices, Crosby 
finds that teachers must be able to, “negotiate, compromise, and provide 
opportunities for students” so that students can safely and successfully start 
healing in their unique way. Modifications are also important because of the 
impact trauma has on the brain. Trauma affects the brain’s memory and learning 
processes, so modifications made for those with learning disabilities may be 
applied (Colwell, 2003). 
● Community collaboration: ​Collaborating is an integral part of creating a 
wholesome academic experience for learners who have suffered a trauma. 
Working collaboratively with other classroom teachers helps the learner become 
very integrated into all classrooms. (Colwell, p. 6) The positive effects of 
collaborating When the learner is safely supported by all aspects of their 
academic community, they feel safe enough to interact with their home 
communities. When the learner’s school environment becomes supportive, the 
learner will take their newfound necessary social skills and create change in the 
community (Faulkner, 2011). 
● Empathic role models: T ​ eachers can have a profound impact on their students. 
Students learn many behaviors from observing interactions between their teacher 
and others. Demonstrating empathic communication is paramount for students 
to be able to integrate it into their home lives. Music teachers are especially 
important role models, as emotions are often brought up in the classroom. 
According to Swart, “Trauma is not always verbalized. While some trauma is 
preverbal, even that which is not [preverbal] is sometimes so deeply rooted in 
shame about issues that music may become a safe avenue for learners to express 
their emotions” (2016, p. 120). 
● Increasing positive identities of self: ​Music is a unique subject in that “good” 
is relative to each individual. Because of this relativity, creativity and 
interpretations of ideas abound. In fact, “music-play activities self-motivate 
children because they provide an opportunity to plan and operate activities using 
their own will, without others’ strict regulations or views,” (18) increasing the 
student’s sense of self. In childhood neurodevelopment, the right brain develops 
first. The right brain controls survival functions and the unconscious sense of 
self. Coincidentally, the right brain is where music is processed. Therefore, one 
way to “shortcut” some of the student’s processing trauma is to express 
themselves through music, mitigating the effects of injury (Swart, 2016).