Mindfulness in the Classroom

In an article from 2013, Michael Mrazek and his colleagues show the benefits of mindfulness training. In their study, they found that mindfulness can have a profound effect, even after just two short weeks of training. These benefits included a higher ability to focus on difficult tasks that require focused attention (such as a high-stakes test), as well as an increase to working memory (the part of your mind that can remember a string of letters or hold numbers in your head while you multiply). Previously, it was unclear how much working memory could increase without explicit training on a specific task. This research suggests that not only can working memory be increased, but ongoing mindfulness training can have benefits to focus, staying on task, and as they say, "improve fundamental cognitive abilities." 

I've experimented with quick mindfulness training and have seen benefits with classroom behavior. I also do it myself and see benefits. Here's how I've used it

  • Start small: use just a one minute of silence to start the class. Tell students to focus on just where they feel breathing the most (common places are the nose, the chest, the shoulders, and the diaphragm).

  • Increase to a body scan: you can find some good scripts here.

  • Repeat as often as you feel comfortable, but only repeat the previous step if you feel like you are losing class time. If you are interested in more, there are plenty of great sources here and here as just a few examples.

  • Remember that the journey is important, not the end goal.

Science of Learning, TeachingMatt Troutmaneducation