Siobhan Hardiman

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Siobhan Hardiman

Embedding trauma-informed education practice

Siobhan wants to further progress the extraordinary work in nurturing the next generation of social work graduates.

What are you doing differently in your field that you believe is driving real change?

I want to go above and beyond for my students, and to encourage their critical thinking.I aim for students to develop a strong understanding of the foundational contexts, frameworks and theories of family violence, their own beliefs and values as practitioners, and how to navigate nuance and complexities across diverse intersectional populations. I push for students to recognise how theories and frameworks translate into practice skills, and to build awareness of the multiple systems within society working together to eliminate family and intimate partner violence.

How do you help students build confidence, not just knowledge?

My social work background influences my teaching practice. I strive to make learning spaces inclusive of the community I am working with, and embed trauma-informed education practice as much as I can. This may present as providing all tutorial materials, particularly case scenarios in advance to decrease shock or re-traumatisation in the learning space, providing clear content notes prior to complex or distressing content being discussed, and offering alternative modes of accessing the materials so students feel safe in the classroom. I also prioritise opportunities for mutual-aid learning, recognising some students may perform more confidently and safely in small groups rather than whole class discussions. I provide 'linking feedback' in class and marked assessments, by not only saying 'yes great' to correct responses, rather 'yes great, because what you have demonstrated here and linking this back to our frameworks and theories. This is a critical part of future practice and an important skill to develop'. By providing as many opportunities for students to succeed, I see their confidence build over the semester.

I want Monash to continue being known as an excellent university for social work graduates. Both from professionals hiring our graduates, but also the students themselves. ”

What legacy or ripple effect do you hope to leave behind?

I would love it if some part of a legacy could be that people feel supported to walk their own path, that there is no one 'right' way to be in the world, and that their voice and experience is needed to create a better world for us all. And that there is no one 'right' way to reach the goal, some sections of their path will double back and take twists and turns, and that's absolutely fine too as it adds to their knowledge.

What’s something about Monash that would surprise people?

There is a baffling amount of opportunities available and the relationships I have been able to develop across schools and faculties have been as wonderful and enriching as those within my own department. AND! Those connections across the whole university very much come back to how I think about and implement teaching in my own little corner of the university.

What motivates you to continue pushing boundaries in your work?

I want Monash to continue being known as an excellent university for social work graduates. Both from professionals hiring our graduates, but also the students themselves. So I need to ensure I am always critically reflecting on how I can excel my teaching practices, my assessment tasks, how I can make the learning space online and in the classroom as inclusive and empowering as I can. I need to consistently ask myself, what does it look like, sound like, feel like to be an impactful teacher, and what do I need to do to be this.

How do you tailor your teaching approach to engage and inspire today's students?

I try to embed my teaching in trauma-informed education practices, as I am mindful some students come into Social Work with lived experiences, and it is an opportunity to role model for all students future trauma-informed practice for their careers. I also try to create safe learning spaces and practice, so I engage with training and external opportunities to better understand student experiences across diverse communities, and what I can do in my practice to support them. I am influenced by my social work practice and group work experience, and this plays out in the classroom of how the facilitator/teacher holds power at the beginning of the semester, and this shifts to the participants/students over the unit delivery.