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We had a consulting company present their findings at our university, recently, around strategies we could employ to improve retention. I was impressed with the people from the organization who shared, yet concerned about the “cherry picking” that can occur, when we try to apply quick-fixes to systemic problems.

One strategy they suggested had to do with trauma-informed pedagogy. My sense was that many of our academic leaders were unfamiliar with that body of work, yet it resonated with them. This newly-learned phrase quickly resulted in people saying we should have a session about it at our faculty gathering or some such thing.

While it’s wonderful when something can catch on in a community, the roumy cheese analogy for caring, equitable education (Maha Bali, adapting from Ian McKay’s virus analogy) is something I would like to introduce to those looking for a one-stop-fix, as it relates to trauma-informed pedagogy.

As I look at the Roumy Cheese Analogy for Caring, Equitable Education image on the IEH Series Session 1 April 15 2025 slide deck (slide #16), a sole, one-time focus on trauma-informed pedagogy wouldn’t be anywhere near as powerful as a more systemic, strategic, sustainable set of strategies.

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PS. At first, I didn’t remember how to link to a specific slide on Google slides, particularly because I was shifting to a “view” URL for this form of sharing. In case anyone reading this wants a refresher, here’s what Kagi Search’s Quick Answer feature told me:

Yes, it is possible to create a link to a specific slide in Google Slides. Once you’ve chosen the slide you want to link to, click the “Apply” button in the “Link” dialog box, and the selected text or image will become a hyperlink that takes viewers to the chosen slide with a single click 1. Google Slides also allows you to create links to slides in other presentations stored on your Drive, or even external web pages 2.

You can follow these general steps 3:

  • Open the file you want to share.
  • Copy the URL.
  • Modify the URL to specify the slide number.