| Course Number: |
EDX 5710 S51 |
| Instructor: |
Alyssa Hutchins, M.A. |
| Location: |
Online |
| Dates and Times: |
Jun 22, 2026 - Aug 15, 2026 |
| Credits: |
3 Graduate Credits |
| Tuition: |
$1,195 |
Course Description
Public schools today are facing unprecedented levels of behavioral dysregulation and occupational burnout. This course combines behavioral management, brain science, and educator wellness. Intended for a wide range of educational stakeholders, from classroom practitioners to counseling and administrative staff, this course is built on a core neurobiological truth: a dysregulated adult cannot successfully co-regulate a student in crisis.
Moving beyond reactive discipline, this course translates trauma-informed theory into implementable, Tier 1 systemic practices. By applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL), participants will learn to lower environmental triggers, establish relational repair protocols, and lessen cognitive loads for students, all while preserving their own energy.
Throughout this course, professionals will learn how to:
- Prioritize Educator Wellness: Develop personal "micro-regulation" routines to complete the stress cycle, equipping school leaders with systemic strategies to curb burnout and increase staff retention.
- Reframe Behavior: Map the autonomic nervous system to identify "defiant" behavior as a biological survival state, giving special educators and counselors shared clinical language for functional behavioral analysis.
- Apply UDL: Redesign physical spaces, transition routines, and instructional pacing to make standardized lessons neuro-affirming and universally accessible.
- Implement Relational Repair: Use the Establish-Maintain-Restore (EMR) framework to safely reintegrate students, rebuild trust, and reduce office referrals after a behavioral rupture.
- Design an Ecosystem Blueprint: Synthesize these strategies into a customized MTSS Tier 1 action plan tailored to your specific classroom, program, or building.
Audience: General Educators, Special Educators, Administrators, Interventionist, Counselors with an earned Bachelor's Degree
Course Goals & Objectives
Course Goals:
- Understand the core neurobiology of stress and trauma, recognizing how autonomic nervous system responses drive both student behavior and biological survival states.
- Appreciate the critical necessity of educator somatic wellness and understand the physiological stress cycle as a primary tool for effective student co-regulation.
- Comprehend the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to proactively audit and redesign physical spaces, schedules, and routines.
- Understand how to utilize evidence-based relational repair protocols (EMR framework) to safely manage behavioral crises and restore trust.
- Recognize how to synthesize clinical brain science and systemic MTSS Tier 1 practices to design trauma-invested therapeutic ecosystems.
Course Objectives:
- Evaluate Systems & Reframe Behavior: Evaluate the educational tradition and the neurobiological impact of trauma to shift school mindsets toward a neurodiversity-affirming model that reframes "defiance" as a biological stress response.
- Implement Adult Wellness: Identify the physiological and neurobiological impacts of secondary trauma and implement specific somatic wellness practices to regulate the adult nervous system during the school day.
- Apply UDL Principles: Utilize the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to modify physical learning environments and "hack" standardized curriculum to systematically reduce student sensory and cognitive demand.
- Operationalize Relationships: Implement the Establish-Maintain-Restore (EMR) framework to intentionally build and repair educator-learner relationships, with a focus on restorative reintegration following behavioral incidents.
- Synthesize Systemic Change: Synthesize course frameworks into a comprehensive "Classroom Ecosystem Blueprint" to redesign the immediate environment and promote systemic, neuro-affirming changes within the school building.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Educator Nervous System (June 22 – July 5)
Synchronous Zoom Session 1: Saturday, June 27 (9:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
- Required Readings & Media: * Mini-Lectures & Curated Media (via Google Classroom)
- Burnout – Part 1 (Chapters 1-3)
- Connections Over Compliance – Chapters 1-3
- Assignments & Discussion Boards:
- Discussion 1: Logistical Barriers to Regulation
- Assignment 1: Personal Stress Audit
Module 1 Due Date: Sunday, July 5
Module 2: The Paradigm Shift (July 6 – July 19)
Synchronous Zoom Session 2: Saturday, July 18 (9:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
- Required Readings & Media:
- Mini-Lectures & Curated Media (via Google Classroom)
- Greater Than Gravity (Excerpt)
- Burnout – Part 2 (Chapters 4-6)
- Connections Over Compliance – Chapters 4-6
- Assignments & Discussion Boards:
- Discussion 2: The "Think Tank" Case Study
- Assignment 2: Applied Strategy Reflection
Module 2 Due Date: Sunday, July 19
Module 3: Proactive Inclusion (July 20 – Aug 2)
Synchronous Zoom Session: No Live Session this module.
- Required Readings & Media:
- Mini-Lectures & Curated Media (via Google Classroom)
- Equity by Design (Excerpt)
- Burnout – Part 3 (Chapters 7-Conclusion)
- Connections Over Compliance – Chapters 7-8
- Assignments & Discussion Boards:
- Discussion 3: Hacking a Rigid Lesson Plan
- Assignment 3: UDL Lesson Audit
Module 3 Due Date: Sunday, August 2
Module 4: Relational Ecosystem (Aug 3 – Aug 15)
Synchronous Zoom Session 3: Saturday, August 8 (9:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
- Required Readings & Media:
- Mini-Lectures & Curated Media (via Google Classroom)
- The EMR Method (Article)
- Connections Over Compliance – Chapters 9-Conclusion
- Assignments & Discussion Boards:
- Discussion 4: Restorative Return Scripting
- Assignment 4: Drafting the "Restore" Protocol
Module 4 Due Date: Saturday, August 15
Final Deliverable: Ecosystem Blueprint
- Task: Synthesize all previous module assignments.
- Submit: Final Classroom Ecosystem Blueprint Portfolio
Final Due Date: Saturday, August 15
Instructor
Alyssa C. Hutchins is a practicing special educator with over 10 years of experience in Vermont’s schools. She holds a Master’s in Special Education, a Level 1 Trauma-Informed certification, and a behavioral analysis certificate, and currently serves within the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union. She is actively involved in the development and curriculum design of specialized programs and the launch of the Sudbury Therapeutic Campus for Fall 2026. Pursuing a Director of Special Education Endorsement at Vermont State University, "She specializes in the combination of neuro-affirming practices, trauma-invested care, and sustainable educator wellness. She integrates her instructional and clinical experience with holistic wellness practices and is currently pursuing certifications as a trauma-informed yoga teacher and a children's yoga teacher to provide practical somatic regulation strategies for educators and students.
Required Texts
Required Texts are not included in the course tuition.
Cook, C. R., et al. (2018). Cultivating positive teacher-student relationships: Preliminary evaluation of the Establish-Maintain-Restore (EMR) method. School Psychology Review.
Dana, D. (2021). Anchored: How to befriend your nervous system using polyvagal theory. Sounds True.
Desautels, L. L. (2020). Connections over compliance: Rewiring our perceptions of discipline. Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing.
Desautels, L. L. (2023). Intentional neuroplasticity: Moving our nervous systems and educational system toward post-traumatic growth. Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing.
Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2019). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.
Novak, K. (2022). UDL Now! A teacher's guide to applying Universal Design for Learning in today's classrooms (3rd ed.). CAST Professional Publishing.
For additional course information
Alyssa Hutchins
(802) 342-3764
For additional registration information
Center for Schools Team
(802) 468-1325