Professional Learning for Busy Educators

An evidence-based program teaches mindfulness to educators. Research suggests it can reduce their stress and improve their teaching.

The popularity of mindfulness in the western world has skyrocketed in recent years. It’s on the cover of magazines and appears on the evening news. Celebrities swear by it, scientists study it, monks still practice it and business leaders use it to thwart burnout.

Before you begin your meditation, find a quiet space to walk. It could be outdoors, or in a hallway, or even a large room, walking back and forth.

Walking meditation can be a formal practice, like watching the breath. Or it can be informal, bringing awareness to this everyday activity, whenever you need to travel from point A to point B. Walking meditation gives us an opportunity to gather our awareness which so often becomes distracted or even stuck when the mind is left to its own devices. Whether moving between floors of a building, on a city street, or in the woods, it is an opportunity to guide ourselves out of the distracted autopilot we live in throughout so much of our day.

Paying attention in this way, we stay safe by remaining fully aware of whatever is around. On any walk, hike, run, or other physical activity, without effort we may mentally check out—or we can practice awareness instead.

Not knowing the answer to a question when you’re called on in front of the entire class. Forgetting your homework. The kid behind you pulling your hair. School poses a lot of stressful moments, but how children (and teachers) react to them can make all the difference.

A new study suggests that mindfulness education — lessons on techniques to calm the mind and body — can reduce the negative effects of stress and increase students’ ability to stay engaged, helping them stay on track academically and avoid behavior problems.

While small, the study of sixth-graders at a Boston charter school adds to a still-growing body of research about a role for mindfulness in the classroom. In recent years, the topic has excited researchers and educators alike as a possible tool to help students face both behavioral and academic challenges by reducing anxiety and giving them a new way to handle their feelings and emotions.

Walk into any busy classroom and you may feel like you’ve entered a tornado. Kids talking, teachers trying to get through content while navigating different requests, and the inevitable interruptions. When trying to manage the chaos, sometimes the most helpful thing is to just slow down. Instead of turning to quick fixes, many teachers are using mindfulness as a way for students to reset. Mindfulness restores a sense of calm in the classroom by helping students develop inner peace.