Faculty & Staff Offerings

Mental Health First Aid: Higher Education

Mental health issues affect all of society in some way, shape, or form. Approximately 1 in 5 Americans will experience a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Not to mention, you will encounter others who are experiencing distress or facing a mental health challenge that may require support and assistance.

In the college setting, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports 1 in 4 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness. In addition, 80% of college students felt overwhelmed, 45% have felt things were hopeless, and 7% have seriously considered suicide in the past year.

The Mental Health First Aid training is an 8-hour course teaching you the basic knowledge to respond to an individual in distress. You will acquire tools to recognize and respond to signs and symptoms of mental illness, specifically in a higher education setting.

 Guttman Office of Wellness

Integrating Trauma Informed Practices in the Classroom

Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience and can have devastating impact on a person’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Trauma can manifest in many ways including anxiety, panic attacks, irritability, depression, flashbacks, and substance abuse.

Approximately 70% of adults in the United States have experienced trauma. With numbers like that, it is safe to say, students who have experienced trauma are in your classroom every day.

In the classroom, students may be triggered or may be reacting to an earlier trigger without you even realizing it. The student may shut down, disengage, lash out, or abruptly leave the room and thus disrupt learning. Integrating practical trauma-informed practices can foster a supportive and empowering learning environment.

A trauma informed approach is one that realizes the widespread impact of trauma, recognizes the signs and symptoms, responds by integrating knowledge into practices, and seeks to resist re-traumatization.

In this session, learners will:

• Define trauma, identify adverse childhood experiences, and understand the effects of toxic stress
• Learn the principles of a trauma-informed approach and how to integrate them into classroom practices in practical ways
• Recognize the benefits of mindfulness

Guttman Office of Wellness

• Learn and utilize mindfulness techniques for self-care and in the classroom

Neurodiversity

The goals of neurodiversity PD at Guttman aim to:

• explore what a neurodiversity perspective on disability means in light of equity, diversity and inclusion
• encourage critical reflection on Guttman’s mission, vision and strategic planning and the presence of students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders who enroll at Guttman, the percentage of those who register with the Office of AccessAbility, and the percentage who may be eligible for accommodations but have not registered
• help faculty members build confidence in their pedagogical practices that are already accessible
• present and support classroom frameworks and strategies for working with different populations that faculty can add to their repertoire
• help faculty develop a better understanding of the various learning profiles that they encounter in the classroom – most urgent being students with Autism
• inform and break down the expectations and responsibilities of faculty as it relates to serving students with learning differences, including the purpose and responsibilities of the Office of AccessAbility
• provide faculty and staff with skills to support the executive function (e.g., time management, initiation, self-monitoring) of students.
• support the modification of existing syllabi, courses, programs, and courses with a universal design for learning/instruction (UDL/I) framework.

Pre- & Post-Assessment: Surveys of faculty and students registered with Office of Accessibility

Proposed Modes of Delivery:

• Videotaped and edited live workshop/presentations
• Interactive and archivable webinars
• Digitalaudio or video files

Sample Modules:

Learning Differences, Executive Function and Accessing Academics

• Applying a neurodiversity lens
• Specific learning disabilities
• Emotional and behavioral disorders
  • Types and accommodations
• Executive functioning
  • Classroom norms and accountability (e.g. cell phone use, turn-taking in speaking, interruptions, tardiness)
• Instructional and advising strategies
  • Study skills (high and low tech) for reading and writing
  • Note-taking
  • Test-taking
  • Social engagement
• Having difficult discussions with students who learn differently

Transition from High School to College

• Registering students with Office of AccessAbility
• Disability law (differences between IDEA and ADA)
  • Student legal rights
• Postsecondary disability documentation guidelines and accommodations
• Responsibilities
  • Student
  • Faculty and Advising Staff
  • Office of AccessAbility
• Advising Solutions

Accessible Use of Technology and Universal Design for Instruction

• Introduction to the philosophy of Universal Design
• Application of Universal Design principles to course development
• Application of Universal Design to content delivery
• Computer Accessibility
  • Blackboard
  • Digication
  • Screen readable .pdfs
  • Open Education Resources (OER)
• Using Assistive and Adaptive technology devices available to our students
• Multiple means of representation: Course development (e.g. Project Based Learning (PBL))
• Multiple means of engagement: Content delivery (e.g. Experiential Ed, Pedagogies of Engagement)
• Multiple means of expression: Assessment (e.g. formative assessments using manipulatives)

Repository of Materials: All digital and print products and materials created for and emerging from the professional development modules will be the property of Guttman and available for faculty and staff as stored in TBD.

CUNY Accessibility Training Modules on Blackboard

The CUNY Accessibility Training Modules comprise a self-paced, online course on accessibility, which was created by CUNY faculty for CUNY faculty in order to learn how to make online courses and materials accessible to all students and compliant with accessibility guidelines. These modules are available on Blackboard.

• Overview and Instructions
• Module 1: Introduction (7 minutes) 
• Module 2: Accessibility at CUNY (4 minutes)
• Module 3: Assistive Technology (24 minutes)
• Module 4: Guidelines (12 minutes)
• Module 5: Guidelines and Website Accessibility (27 minutes)
• Module 6: Multimedia (15 minutes)
• Module 7: Documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel) (13 minutes)
• Module 8: Testing Tools/Workflows (3 minutes)
• Blackboard Accessibility Course

Safe Zone trainings are opportunities to learn about LGBTQ+ identities, gender and sexuality, and examine prejudice, assumptions, and privilege, in order to foster an environment inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions. Participants in Safe Zone trainings receive a certificate of completion and become eligible for an extended Train the Trainers workshop.

The Safe Zone Program at Guttman is adapted from training and materials by the Safe Zone Project.

Our Safe Zone Resources page offers a wide, ever-growing range of local and national resources with supportive services for members of the LGBTQ+ community.