Mindfulness in Teaching
Mindfulness is the capacity to experience moment to moment awareness of present sensations, thoughts, emotions and relationships. This quality of attention facilitates reflection and responsiveness to self and others with openness and compassion. It is a skill that can be learned through practice to enhance our capacity for paying attention and living a fuller, more stress-free life. We believe mindfulness can be an asset in teaching and learning, providing social-emotional skills that support all pedagogical approaches. It can easily be woven into classroom teaching at all levels of learning and throughout daily life. Mindfulness can be taught to adults of any age and to children as young as preschool.
Research is beginning to show that:
Research is beginning to show that:
- Teachers who learn to practice mindfulness are able to attend to the social and emotional demands of teaching, to respond with more empathy and concern to individual student needs and to experience more joy in their work and personal life.
- Teachers who practice mindfulness are less stressed and feel more competent in their teaching.
- Students who practice mindfulness can better focus their attention, reduce their stress, manage their emotions more effectively, and may demonstrate more compassion (e.g., less bullying) with their peers.
- Parents who practice mindfulness can cope more effectively with the stress of juggling work, children and personal needs and be more responsive and communicative in all their relationships.
Mindfulness Curricula for Schools
A number of organizations have developed programs and approaches to teaching mindfulness that are especially well-suited for K-12 teachers and students. For more information on curricula we offer, click here.
Interested in more information?Our experienced and enthusiastic colleagues are here to share experiences, information and training options that will be most suitable for your situation.
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