Why was VTT created?
The Vaccination Talks Toolkit was created to support educators in having classroom discussions about vaccines as part of healthy living. The Toolkit aims to equip educators with actionable resources and tools that integrate health literacy, media literacy, and inquiry-based learning into discussions about vaccines.
The Covid-19 pandemic had far-reaching effects, not the least of which was as a catalyst for conversations in classrooms, schools, and communities about the role of vaccines and personal health decisions related to vaccinations. Increasing educator confidence in navigating these sensitive topics became an important means of supporting crucial public health initiatives.
The Vaccination Talks Toolkit was not created with the goal of convincing students that vaccination is the only route to optimum health, but rather to provide them with knowledge relating to vaccines and the skills needed to participate in informed healthcare decisions.
Who are these resources in VTT for?
While the bulk of the resources are intended for educators, resources within the Vaccination Talks Toolkit have been curated for various audiences, including students, educators, school administrators, and parents/caregivers.
Explore the Vaccination Talks At-A-Glance videos for Educators, Administrators, and Parents/Caregivers to learn more about how the Vaccination Talks Toolkit has been designed with these specifics groups in mind, and visit the Student-Facing Resources within the Vaccination Talks Toolkit Resource Database for resources appropriate for grade levels ranging from 1-12.
Why focus on classroom resources?
The Vaccination Talks Toolkit seeks to provide classroom-ready resources for students from grades 1-12. As trusted adults, teachers play an important role in providing relevant, age-appropriate learning experiences for their students, regardless of topic. Further, the classroom represents an important space in which students learn to hear and respect the diverse perspectives that may be held by their peers. Equipping educators with the resources to facilitate these conversations in a safe, inclusive setting not only has the potential to support public health initiatives, but also demonstrates how to engage in respectful discussion while honouring diverse opinions and perspectives.
Further, teachers are a key aspect of the home-school connection, informing parents/caregivers about what and why their child is learning. The impacts of classroom-based resources expand far beyond the classroom walls, and using them in the context of vaccination information can promote sharing the responsibility of vaccination education amongst the entire school community!
Why focus on a school-based vaccine education strategy?
Schools have played an important role in providing access to available vaccinations through public health clinics, and they represent a valuable opportunity to facilitate evidence-based conversations about vaccinations based on up-to-date public health information with the entire school community. Teachers and other school staff are often well placed to understand the various familial, cultural, and religious factors that may impact perspectives on vaccinations, and can suggest appropriate evidence-based resources that suit the needs of their school communities.
How do we create a safe, inclusive and accepting environment to examine our biases?
Creating environments that support diverse views is important for any discussion, and especially so when having discussions about potentially sensitive topics such as vaccination. For educators, it is important to consider internal biases prior to beginning these conversations, as these may affect teaching strategies.
It is important to remember that a wide range of factors shape student perspectives on a variety of topics, including vaccination. When discussing personal healthcare decisions, the emphasis need not be on a particular outcome. Educators can focus on ensuring that students understand how to access and analyze evidence-based information so that they can make informed choices for themselves.
Establishing safe, inclusive, and accepting learning environments empowers students with a wide range of perspectives to contribute and participate more fully. In order to do so, consider the needs of both individual students and the classroom as a whole - a shared understanding of how listen and share respectfully can be reached by asking your students to identify what they need in order to successfully participate, and establishing agreements that outline basic guidelines for engaging in discussion.
Learn more about creating safe, inclusive and accepting environments in the Toolkit!
How do we adopt a trauma-informed approach?
Trauma-informed education is an empathetic approach to teaching that recognizes that most students have experienced trauma or may be experiencing trauma of some kind at any given time. A trauma-informed approach is one that recognizes that reality, and approaches topics with gentleness and care.
For discussions about vaccinations, a trauma-informed approach may involve:
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Acknowledging that certain population groups, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, may mistrust the medical system as a result of historical neglect and harm.
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Acknowledging that many students may have experienced loss over the course of the pandemic.
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Acknowledging that students may display discomfort in a wide range of ways, and not making assumptions about a student’s motivations if they behave in unexpected ways.
One straightforward way to adopt trauma-informed practices is to provide students with advance notice about the conversations that will be happening, and when they will take place. This allows for students to prepare themselves and understand what might be expected of them. Maintaining a supportive environment that fosters and encourages open communication between students and educators is key!
Learn more about implementing trauma-informed teaching practices in the Toolkit!
The Ophea Vaccination Talks Toolkit was developed with funding support from Public Health Agency of Canada. Explore the full resource today!