EDUO 9702: Bringing Mindfulness Practices (Meditation) into any Classroom

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Goals:

To gain an understanding of the different forms and techniques of meditation.
To understand the concerns that might be raised in trying to bring meditation into the classroom and how to address / avoid these concerns.To learn some basic techniques that can be used in the classroom.

Note: This is a basic outline of the course. Please see the specific sections for more complete details.

I) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation

Since the main purpose of this course is to bring mindfulness practices, or meditation, into the classroom, it would be best if we first get a basic idea of mindfulness meditation. In this section, you will be watching a video that provides you with the basics of mindfulness practice. Your assignment will be to practice mindfulness practice for at least 15 minutes each day for 5 days. It is best to set aside the 15 minutes the same time each day as this will help you keep to your schedule, knowing during that time you will practice the instructions. You will then write up a short summary of your experience.

II) Types of Meditation

There are a lot of misconceptions about meditation. In this section, we will be exploring the most popular types of meditation so that you will understand where mindfulness fits in with the other types of meditation practices. There are two assignments for this section. One is on the exploration of different types of meditation. The second assignment takes what you have just learned and examines the goals you would like to achieve by bringing meditation into the classroom, or just for your own personal benefit.

III) Ethical Concerns

Although meditation and the benefits from it are becoming increasingly popular, “meditation”, as was brought up earlier, can be a loaded term for some people. The same applies to “yoga”, “qigong”, or “tai-chi”. As educators, you need to be aware of possible concerns for the population at your school. The hope is that having this course, you can address these concerns or avoid them all together with just a few simple guidelines.

IV) Effects of Meditation

In this section, we will examine studies and articles related to the effects of mindfulness practices in general and more specifically the effects that have been found within schools that have introduced some sort of meditation
practice. There is a written assignment over what you have discovered.

V) Basic Mindfulness Practices

In this section, you will learn several techniques to bring mindfulness-awareness practice into the classroom or use on your own. Your assignment is to practice each of these techniques and reflect on your experience with them.

VI) Final Project

Your final project will be to pick one of the techniques that has been presented and actually bring it into the classroom.

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Instructor

Eric Thompson

B.S., M.A. Buddhist Studies, M.S. Mathematics

9-12 Public Schools - 10 years; Online Collegiate Level - 8 Years.

Currently Program Chair for Developmental and Technical Math as well as Academic Achievement for CCCOnline.

Professional Passion - Working with online education to foster education that is rigorous and accessible for all learners. Also, exploring mindfulness practices in and out of the classroom.

Personal: Meditation, QiGong, Gardening, Wine/mead making, Hiking/camping.