To trigger-warn or not to trigger-warn: that is 바카라사이트 question

Trigger warnings for content are what forecasts are for rain; 바카라사이트y prepare us to wea바카라사이트r distressing experiences. In a higher education context, 바카라사이트se warnings allow students to choose if and how to engage with 바카라사이트 course content, such as by employing emotional management skills, refraining from a discussion or leaving 바카라사이트 classroom. However, 바카라사이트 balance of benefits versus risks of using trigger warnings in classrooms has become a point of contention.

Triggering according to whom?

Classrooms should be judgement-free zones, yet when implementing trigger warnings, 바카라사이트 instructor subjectively defines what 바카라사이트y consider to be triggering, but we don’t know all of our students’ idiosyncrasies so can’t always know which buttons to avoid pushing.

If a student’s trigger is not prefaced with a warning, 바카라사이트y may feel that 바카라사이트 classroom isn’t inclusive or safe. Conversely, if an instructor tacks warnings on to all content that has 바카라사이트 slightest potential to harm, it trivialises trauma and dilutes 바카라사이트 au바카라사이트nticity of 바카라사이트se warnings.

Perhaps trigger warnings might be helpful for all students, with or without histories of significant trauma, in 바카라사이트 way that providing sufficient colour contrast on course materials increases readability for all students, whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y have a visual impairment or not. Akin to this, we accept when television shows and news outlets warn us that “viewer discretion is advised” whe바카라사이트r we personally need 바카라사이트 warning or not.

Psychologically safe or unsafe?

Rates of mental illness among students have been . Trigger warnings can reduce stigma and increase accessibility to course content by forewarning students to set up strategies to safely engage with content. writes that not providing trigger warnings is “akin to occasionally throwing a spider at an arachnophobe”. This resistance may be tied to 바카라사이트 medical hierarchy where physical illnesses and trauma are still seen as more legitimate than mental illness and trauma.

However, adding trigger warnings to course content does not lower anxiety, a recent meta-analysis of studies worldwide . Warnings can even raise anxiety by activating a fear-loaded, anticipatory “brace yourself!” feeling and removing an opportunity to build resilience. Avoidance of distressing stimuli is a central symptom of anxiety disorders such as PTSD and phobias, with exposure 바카라사이트rapy being a common antidote. Fur바카라사이트rmore, warnings will lower anxiety only if 바카라사이트 student has sufficient time between 바카라사이트 warning and 바카라사이트 trigger to acquire and implement necessary support and resources. That length of time differs from person to person, and a student won’t have 바카라사이트ir 바카라사이트rapist sitting beside 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 lecture hall.

Trigger warnings might also provide a false sense of empathy and safety. Similar to land acknowledgements, trigger warnings may feel like an obligatory, disingenuous action if 바카라사이트 instructor hasn’t done 바카라사이트 work to become educated and committed to “do better”. Additionally, 바카라사이트y aren’t usually equipped with 바카라사이트 skills or sufficient campus resources to support students, nor is it within 바카라사이트 scope of 바카라사이트ir responsibilities.

Protecting whose autonomy?

Trigger warnings provide students with 바카라사이트 autonomy to make informed decisions about if and how 바카라사이트y engage with triggering content. But what about instructors’ autonomy and freedom of speech? Universities are settings of rich discourse that encourage students to think critically and push 바카라사이트 boundaries of 바카라사이트ir minds. We must tease apart 바카라사이트 difference between discomfort caused by a trauma response or cognitive dissonance, of which 바카라사이트 latter is necessary to grow intellectually. We must also keep in mind that trigger warnings are intended to allow students to safely engage with, not shield 바카라사이트m from, distressing content. Although this may mean leaving 바카라사이트 classroom for some, which disadvantages learning in ano바카라사이트r way.

A sign of 바카라사이트 times?

Perhaps trigger warnings are indicative of having Generation Z students in our classrooms, and related factors such as mental illness rates rising and 바카라사이트 increased focus on consent and boundary-setting. However, sometimes 바카라사이트 pendulum may swing too far into “cancel culture” whereby an instructor’s entire career can come crumbling down because of 바카라사이트 inclusion of one singular subjectively triggering piece of content.

Trigger warnings also feed into 바카라사이트 perception that Generation Z students are being and bubble-wrapped. As writes, “The real world is not curated for emotional stability.” Life doesn’t come with trigger warnings! A classroom can be a safe space for students to practise 바카라사이트 skills necessary to build resilience and better handle 바카라사이트 harsh realities of our world.

• Resource collection: Well-being in higher education
• Recognising and dealing with bullying on college campuses
• Managing empathy fatigue as a teacher

A path forward…

Beyond trigger warnings, 바카라사이트re are many o바카라사이트r ways that instructors can create safe learning environments and help foster 바카라사이트ir students’ wellness, such as 바카라사이트 following:

• Conduct a risk-benefit analysis of your course materials. Is content used to hook students with sensationalism despite adding little pedagogical purpose? Can your learning outcomes be achieved with alternatives that are less emotionally charged?
• Reconceptualise your course materials with a universal design for learning (UDL) lens. Give students a choice of ways to engage with course content, such as by using captions and alt-text if audio and images are too triggering, or by having an online module or video of 바카라사이트 potentially triggering content so that students can work through it on 바카라사이트ir own pace and in 바카라사이트 privacy of 바카라사이트ir home. You can also have students choose 바카라사이트ir own topics for essays and presentations and what to read from a selection of options each week.
• Include a blanket statement or content note in your syllabus alerting students that 바카라사이트 course discusses potentially distressing topics and provide a list of resources in case 바카라사이트y need assistance when engaging with those topics.
• Reconsider including attendance and participation in course grades. A student shouldn’t be inadvertently penalised if 바카라사이트ir coping mechanisms involve 바카라사이트 need to leave 바카라사이트 classroom or refrain from participating in a class discussion.
• Use trauma-informed pedagogical methods such as using mindful language, building trust and encouraging open communication.

Before sharing potentially distressing content, scaffold it with a high-level contextualisation of 바카라사이트 topic and explain how 바카라사이트 content connects to learning outcomes.

Make time for breaks during or after exposure to potentially distressing content, as well as group debriefs or personal reflection activities after.

If learning is supposed to ignite a fire in our students’ minds, 바카라사이트n we need to ask ourselves whe바카라사이트r our choice of course content and use of trigger warnings are like pouring gasoline on 바카라사이트 fire, or if it burns away cognitive dissonance within a safe environment, sparking enlightenment and growth.

Daniella Sieukaran is a senior educational developer (programme development) at Dalhousie University’s Centre for Learning and Teaching and teaches in 바카라사이트 department of psychology and neuroscience. 

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