Why Mindfulness in the Classroom?
Today’s educators and students carry so much on their shoulders. Meeting academic and social expectations – and simply growing up and developing a sense of self and belonging – can be tough. Yet the pressures in today’s educational environment reach far beyond these basics. Our world is moving and changing faster than ever.
We need new skills, toolkits, and approaches that address the overall health and sustainability of learning environments and support the well-being of every educator, student, and member of the school community.
About This Course
Learn research-backed strategies and curriculum to integrate mindfulness into your work with youth in this 6-week training.
Our Mindful Schools K-12 Curriculum is used by educators, mental health professionals, social workers, and parents across the U.S. and over 100 countries. The curriculum is adaptable for classrooms, after-school programs, clinical settings, and home, and it uses developmentally appropriate language for explaining key mindfulness concepts and practices to youth. You can see a sample module here.
Educators who have completed this training report strong improvements in students’ emotional regulation, focus, and engagement, as well as improved connection with students and ability to deliver school curriculum. 98% of our graduates recommend this course!
Start Your Journey
This course includes 2 LIVE Calls during Weeks 3 & 6 with the Mindful Schools Training Team
To address the challenges that educators are facing with school closures, we’ll take time to discuss how we’re supporting the social and emotional well-being of our students (and ourselves!) in these challenging times. We hope you can join us.
Trainings and demos prepare you to implement the curriculum in your classroom, immediately.
Access toolkits and resources online. We recommend setting aside 2-4 hours per week.
Educators are eligible for Graduate Level Credits.
Course Objectives
This six-week online course is designed to give you everything you need to start teaching mindfulness to your K-12 students. This course provides an overview of mindfulness in education and how it’s being integrated with interventions like SEL and Conflict Resolution. Take a deeper dive into the research and neuroscience, and access the Mindful Schools K-12 Curriculum, student workbooks, evaluation tools, and stakeholder presentations. You’ll access the following training and resources:
Teaching Kit
Prepare to teach mindfulness using the Mindful Schools K-12 curriculum, which includes over 50 adaptable lessons that you can integrate easily throughout the school day. You’ll gain access to:
- Curriculum for all ages
- PreK–2 Curriculum: 24 modules for ages 3-6 from Center for Healthy Minds
- K–5 Curriculum: 30 modules for ages 5-12
- Middle and High School Curriculum: 25 modules for ages 12-17
- Student workbooks
- Manuals on facilitation, classroom management, plus a Parent Manual and Classroom Manual
- Summaries of neuroscience concepts
- Program evaluation tools
Facilitation Skills-Building
Explore how the qualities you’ve developed in your personal practice start to show up in teaching and group facilitation. You’ll practice specific skills that address:
- Working with youth at different developmental stages
- Group facilitation and classroom management skills
Research
Take a deeper dive into research and biology:
- Learn to accurately present the research on mindfulness and youth
- Understand the neuroscience of attention and emotion
Stakeholder Presentations
Access tools and resources to present to administrators, school, and agency staff.
Graduate Support
Once you complete this course, you will have access to the following graduate resources:
- Join our vibrant, supportive private community of graduates
- Get unlimited access to course content
Credits
Upon completing this course educators can receive up to 3 graduate level credits. Details
Prerequisites
This is the second course in the path toward building a “mindful school.”
Prerequisite: Mindfulness Fundamentals Course. A mindful classroom begins with you. Teaching and modeling mindfulness techniques is most effective when it stems from a foundation of personal practice. Before taking Mindful Educator Essentials, please complete the prerequisite Mindfulness Fundamentals Course or an alternative approved training, listed here.
Who Is This For?
The Mindful Schools community includes educators, counselors, parents, and a wide range of school community members who are excited to share mindfulness with students.
We invite you to join this course if you are curious about teaching and practicing mindfulness alongside a like-minded community of peers who are dedicated to the well-being of children.
Start Your Journey
Our Trainers
The course is taught by Megan Cowan, Chris McKenna, and Vinny Ferraro. This team has over 50 years of combined mindfulness practice and over 30 years of teaching mindfulness and/or emotional intelligence to children and adolescents, as well as experience training many thousands of adults. Their work is featured in documentary films Healthy Habits of Mind and Room to Breathe, and MTV’s “If You Really Knew Me”.
Each Mindful Educator Essentials course has a Guiding Teacher. The Guiding Teacher directs the learning process by synthesizing emerging themes, answering questions, and providing ongoing participant feedback. All of our Guiding Teachers have over a decade of mindfulness practice and broad teaching experience with different youth populations.
More questions? Please visit our FAQ page.