Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools (TiDEvalK12)
This Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Certification of Research Excellence (CORE) award-winning tool is the first of its kind--an evidence-based tool to facilitate interior design renovations and new builds of K-12 schools!
The TiDEvalK12 is an online tool that can be used to evaluate a school's physical space and identify changes that can lower the stress levels of students and staff! Using this simple format, teachers, administrators, and architects can respond to basic questions about their school on their phone or tablet and receive a personalize report detailing and explaining their results in just moments!
The tool is grounded in the Substance and Mental Health Services Administrations' guidance for a trauma-informed approach, the Trauma-informed Design (TiD) Society's framework, and feedback from almost 100 educators, school administrators, and designers across the country.
This project, which was originally supported by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation and had institutional review board (IRB) approval, brought together educators and designers to bridge the gap in their understanding and areas of expertise and identify design impacts on educational outcomes. The TiD Society partnered with nine schools nationwide, to evaluate their spaces and gather information about when and where students and staff experience the most dysregulation, and used this information to inform the creation of an evaluation tool for schools and designers.
Receive a 23 page report with results specific to your school in minutes!
The report will include ratings for each domain evaluated, an explanation of why the domain is important, and the responses entered for each question. There's even a section for any additional notes you entered.
At a glance, you'll know right away which areas you you should focus on first to get the best stress-reducing results!
Group Packages for Schools with Multiple Users
Schools that wish to have multiple people use the tool should contact us for group pricing. Group packages include a comprehensive compiled report that includes all users' results in one, easy to understand presentation. This report will show the number of users who scored in each range for the domains, as well as the compiled results for each question.
Bridging the Gap
The TiDEvalK12 provides a lens through which users can better understand the relationship between spatial and interior design elements and student experiences and behaviors. In order to achieve trauma-informed design, it is necessary to bridge communication between educators and designers. Both groups bring valuable experience and knowledge, but cannot be fully understood without a common language. The tool provides an opportunity to create greater insight into both common and unique needs of each school and the ways in which designers can help.
Using the TiDEvalK12
The tool identifies and defines several key domains, and provides users a score in each. This can alert users to areas that might be contributing most significantly to dysregulation within the school. Schools are encouraged to have both, designers and school professionals familiar with the space, complete the tool and engage in conversations about their perceptions and experiences. These observations can inform decisions about the school community and the types of changes that will be most successful.
By using the new online application, you will recieve an automatically scored, personalized report detailing your results, so you can focus in on areas needing your attention right away!
Our Hypothesis
The Trauma-informed Design Society hypothesizes that evidence-based, trauma-informed designed schools can reduce stress levels of staff and students, resulting in:
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Less dysregulation;
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A reduction in harsh disciplinary measures; and
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Increased learning.
Students should be more able to self-regulate, and would have a place where they can safely do so, reducing the need for discipline measures. Over time, students' academic performance should increase, as they are more able to access the classroom material.
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Technical Assistance and Consultation Available
We encourage schools to reach out for help in applying the tool and interpreting its results. Please reach out with any feedback, questions, or concerns about the tool as you apply it in your community. It is our intention to use such feedback to continue refining the instrument over time. Please also stay tuned for an eventual TiDEvalK12 toolkit, which would provide evidence-based design recommendations to address areas of concern identified by the tool.
We would also love to partner with one or more schools for a longitudinal study. We would start by collecting baseline data on academic performance and use of school discipline, including removal from the classroom, isolation, detention, physical restraint, suspension, arrest/school security/resource officer involvement, and expulsion. We would then provide an evaluation of their school environment using the TiDEvalK12 tool, and work with the school to help them implement recommended changes. Following the changes, we would follow:
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The academic performance of the students, to see if it improves; and
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The use of school discipline, to see if it decreases.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, the Trauma-informed Design Society is here to help you create learning spaces that sooth the nervous system in a revolutionary way!
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Terms and Conditions
This purchase is for a single individual's one-time use, and the buyer agrees not to share access information with anyone else. Individuals who wish to use the tool more than once may contact us for a discounted rate. Group packages are also available for organizations with multiple users.
Refunds are not availabe for this item.