When Mindfulness Meets the Classroom

Everybody is doing it: Companies like Google provide professional development around mindfulness for their employees, professional athletes practice mindfulness, and even the military trains soldiers through mindfulness. A growing body of neuroscience and other research suggests that mindfulness also holds an array of benefits for higher education, including individual benefits (such as increased self-regulation, attention, and creativity) and communal benefits (such as the promise of more inclusive environments). When students are emotionally engaged in the classroom, they have a greater sense of belonging because content connects to their personal lives and academic pursuits. During this workshop, participants learn how to incorporate mindfulness into their classrooms to support student engagement and success.

By the end of this workshop, participants know or will be able to:

• Understand the “contemplative pedagogy” movement in higher education.
• Identify practical strategies and a wealth of resources for implementing mindful practices.
• Implement mindfulness in various classroom formats.

Plans for Audience Participation and Interaction:
Hands-on exercises involving practical strategies for implementing mindfulness practices in and out of the classroom.

All workshop participants can obtain, at no additional cost:

• A digital badge and certificate that provide a web-enabled, verifiable documentation of your professional learning experience.
• CEUs, which are awarded by passing the post-workshop learning assessment with a score of 80% or better.