Dear TPC instructors,
Studies show that over 66-85% of students have been exposed to a traumatic event when they enter college (Frazier et al., 2009; Read et al., 2011; Smyth et al., 2008) making trauma-related topics possibly triggering to students coping with symptoms inflicted by trauma. The field of Technical and Professional Communication embraces the argument that documents are never neutral (Walton et al, 2016), and addressing how documents can push marginalized groups to the fridges is important for social change; however, it may also be difficult for students who have experienced discrimination in a traumatic way. In addition, trauma can be seen in many technical documents, such as medical forms, police reports, and immigration applications. How are we preparing students to talk about difficult topics? What tools are students given to support them in industry when they are working with potentially triggering materials?
Hello! My name is Cara Haderlie, and I am a PhD candidate in Technical Communication and Rhetoric at Utah State University. My dissertation examines how trauma or trauma-informed principles are being applied in TPC courses. Therefore, I am seeking participants who would share with me their TPC syllabi, past or present, and in any modality, that apply trauma, trauma-related topics, or trauma-informed pedagogy is some way. This could look like a topic or theme, in readings or assignments, in course policies, in your general pedagogical practices, or otherwise.
If you believe you either talk about trauma (individual, systemic, or generational); you use trauma-informed principles in your pedagogy; or you teach students how to be trauma-informed in your TPC courses, I would greatly appreciate your syllabi for me to analyze. To enroll in the study, please visit this Qualtrics form . After informed consent, you will be asked to upload syllabi and then to leave your email address for an optional 30-minute follow-up interview. Please feel free to openly share with anyone you know that teaches TPC.
This study is approved by IRB #16442 at Utah State University. If you have any questions about the study, please email me at cara.haderlie or the PI, Chen Chen, chen.chen
Thank you!
Cara Haderlie
Utah State University, PhD Candidate