Trauma Fundamentals for Higher Educators

This self-paced course is geared toward faculty, staff, and executive leadership. You will learn to define trauma, describe how it impacts teaching and learning, and develop an action plan for next steps on your trauma-awareness journey.


Your Instructor


Karen Costa
Karen Costa

Karen Costa is a faculty development facilitator (and proud adjunct!) specializing in online pedagogy and trauma-aware higher education. Karen loves leading faculty learners through fun, interactive, and supportive professional development experiences. Karen’s first book, 99 Tips for Creating Simple and Sustainable Educational Videos, focuses on helping faculty and teachers to make creative use of videos in their classrooms. Karen graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in sociology. She holds an M.Ed. in higher education from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a CAGS in educational leadership from Northeastern University. Karen has a Professional Certification in Trauma and Resilience (Levels 1 and 2) from Florida State University, a Trauma-Informed Organizations Certificate from the University of Buffalo's School of Social Work, and a Certificate in Neuroscience, Learning, and Online Instruction from Drexel University. Karen is also a certified yoga teacher. She lives in Massachusetts with her family. You can follow her on LinkedIn or BlueSky.

Karen is available for a limited number of virtual presentations (webinars) or coaching/consultation on the following topics:

  • Online pedagogy
  • Trauma-aware teaching and learning
  • Supporting ADHD Learners

Visit 100faculty.com to learn more. Contact me with any questions.


Course Curriculum


  Course Welcome & Overview
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days after you enroll
  Module 1: Defining Trauma
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  Module 2: Trauma-Aware Teaching 5-R Framework
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days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends. It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Is this course appropriate for both faculty and staff?
Yes. We welcome you here as educators. This course frames "pedagogy" as our teaching choices. Staff make choices all the time about how to educate students, whether or not they are in a traditional classroom setting.
I'm a K-12 educator. Will I find value in this course?
Many of the folks that learn with 100 Faculty, LLC are K-12 educators. While there are definitely intricacies to working in the K-12 setting around things like mandatory reporting and parent involvement, for example, this course will give you a solid foundation on which to build.
How long will this course take me to complete?
Well of course, it depends, but about 4-6 hours is a good estimate of time.

Get started now!