docs.google.com/document/d/13VHizd99Bs1yjkQrxVDKVuQ0l6SRHloFZXQUkkhs49A/edit# The Impact of Teaching Systematic Mindfulness Jennifer Wade Touro University California ABSTRACT Many new studies on the brain are able to identify and monitor the damaging effects that stress has on the brain. In a 21st Century classroom where the teacher is challenged to bring the instruction to the student’s mind, often the child’s mind is not prepared for the work as they are being negatively affected by what is happening outside of the classroom. The practice of educators to instruct the students to be mindful of their environment, body and ultimately thinking, is an instructional method that has yet to establish its overall effectiveness in the kindergarten classroom. This study is of two male students, ages five and six. These students struggle to focus, follow directions, stay on task and learn new information in the classroom setting. The research will gather data from language arts assessments conducted with and without mindfulness practice. Students will also do a self evaluation before and after the use of mindfulness lessons. Keywords: Mindfulness, stress, education INTRODUCTION Summary of the Research Literature In a study conducted in Dublin, Ireland with 63 students ranging from ages 11-12. Four teachers committed to teaching the mindfulness program to these students who are known to be living in poverty. Four teachers were given a CD with 25 audio meditation practices. Students kept self-reflective journals and interviews were given for students to communicate their views on the impact that the practice had on their perceived levels of stress. The results showed that students had a decrease in their perceived levels of stress. Costello, E. & Lawler, M. (2014). A study of 63 homeless middle school students, who were instructed in mindfulness training over a three month period, were trained by a mindfulness specialist and were evaluated using three methods; The Child Acceptance and Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y), and the Self-Compassion Scale for Children (SCS-C). This study was conducted in order to help students to cope with their emotions, encourage compassion, and enhance their ability to focus.The outcomes of the evaluations suggest that the students benefited from the mindfulness practice. Viafora, D., Mathiesen, S., Unsworth, S. (2014). 49 college students ranging from ages 20 to 50 in New Zealand were given 28 mindfulness lessons for 5-7 minutes before each class. 7 of these students were male and 42 were female. Data was collected through informal feedback, class discussions, and questionnaires at the end of their assignments. Student responses had mixed outcomes. When asked if they would like to continue to practice mindfulness before each lesson, 7 male participants said yes, 28 women said yes, 7 were negative and 7 were uncertain. Mapel, T. (2012). While all studies tend to make a positive case for the mindfulness training, it is hard to understand to exactly what end. My driving question seeks to understand what effects mindfulness practice has on the ability to learn. Many studies seem to relay that students feel better and have a lowered sense of stress once the practice is undertaken. I am attempting to prove that this lowered stress can then have a determined outcome on ach Background and Need National reading results from the NAEP (https://www.nationsreportcard.gov) shows that reading scores were not significantly improved from 2013 to 2015. High need groups show a decrease. At the state level, California fourth graders showed similar performance. The standardized testing STAR/CST ended in 2013 and was replaced by the CAASPP test. However, the CST data provides information that is relevant to this study as it provides second grade Language Arts data, a grade level closest to the grade of the case studies observed in this research of mindfulness. Also, it is a test that students and teachers were most familiar with at the time it was administered. More current CAASP data shows an even greater drop in student scores. The CST from 2013 in the district of this proposed study tested 1,330 second grade students (https://www.cde.ca.gov). Of those students, 53% scored Basic or below. At the school where this action research will be completed, data showed that in 2013, 96 students took the CST in English-Language Arts. Of this population, 74% scored Basic or below. While many teaching practices have been re-evaluated and effective practices monitored, this data speaks to a deeper problem in that some students are not learning, even within ideal classroom situations. In looking at the assessment data from the state and the district, we have decided as a staff to begin implementing mindfulness practices as a way to reduce stress in our students and classrooms. We are attempting to create an optimal learning environment that better prepares students for academic activities such as reading. It is uncertain at this time how many teachers are actually using mindfulness and to what extent. All 4 kindergarten teachers communicate that they are using mindfulness practices at least once a day but outcomes have not been discussed. In my kindergarten classroom the student demographics represent 1% caucasian, 98% hispanic/bilingual, 4% English proficient, 5% have an IEP, and 98% receive free or reduced lunch. These demographics indicate the high needs of the students. The purpose of this study is not quieting students but rather bringing the entire mind to the task of learning. The research question is: What is the impact of teaching systematic mindfulness on students’ focus and achievement, particularly those experiencing chronic stress? The intent of mindfulness practice is to calm the body and mind, make one aware of their surroundings, and help to focus the mind on particular ideas or activities. This study is particularly relevant when considering the need for meta-cognition in the practice of teaching and learning in the 21st Century classroom. The goal of this study is to determine the effects of mindfulness training on students who need help to focus their minds while learning. Examining the effects of chronic stress as it is related to memory, recall, focus, connecting with others, self esteem, and depression may provide a way to manage or reduce the negative side-effects of that stress. Statement of the Problem PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT The purpose of this study is not quieting students but rather bringing the entire mind to the task of learning. The research question is: What is the impact of teaching systematic mindfulness on students’ focus and achievement, particularly those experiencing chronic stress? The intent of mindfulness practice is to calm the body and mind, make one aware of their surroundings, and help to focus the mind on particular ideas or activities. This study is particularly relevant when considering the need for meta-cognition in the practice of teaching and learning in the 21st Century classroom. The goal of this study is to determine the effects of mindfulness training on students who need help to focus their minds while learning. Examining the effects of chronic stress as it is related to memory, recall, focus, connecting with others, self esteem, and depression may provide a way to manage or reduce the negative side-effects of that stress. Research Questions METHODOLOGY Design of the Study Mindfulness lessons will be taught through research based curriculum, online apps., case studies, articles, and self created lessons. This study will be a naturalistic design with qualitative data collection of student learning and behavior observed and recorded by teaching lessons of familiar and new information, both with and without the mindfulness practice. The observations will be analyzed using a case study design.This will measure the students’ affect and achievement with a pre and post test on the content of the lessons. A teacher-created rubric will be used to determine the level of participation by the 2 case subjects during their mindfulness training and then the subsequent lessons. Observations will be video recorded and used to collect data. Observations will be made of the 2 case studies during the mindfulness training and then on the lessons that will proceed. Students will self-evaluate their behavior for comparative data using a kindergarten appropriate rubric, grading their own performance on a scale of 1-5. Students will also evaluate whether they enjoy the mindfulness training. The teacher will read aloud a text and the case study students will answer questions that include recall, memory, organization, and making connections. While the text will be read to the whole class, the test will be administered one on one. The first test will be given after an entire week without mindfulness training. The second test will be administered after mindfulness has been instructed at least 3 times a day for one week. The second read aloud will follow a short mindfulness lesson and the second test will be administered one on one with a quick mindfulness activity given before it as well. The data collecting and analysis will be conducted by the classroom teacher. The case study subjects are a purposive sample chosen because they experience high levels of stress. For this study the students will be identified with fictitious names to protect their confidentiality. Data Analysis Results/Interpretation RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY REFERENCESUsing APA 6th edition, cite all references and sources in your paper. For additional information on APA see: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB). All research conducted at Touro University California must be approved the IRB. The form for this is a brief 2 page document in which you summarize your project and share your data collection instruments (surveys, polls, etc.). You may begin working on this at the end of the first semester. Should your plan for data collection change or your topic change in semester 2 (this does happen as you read the research literature your thinking evolves!) then we will amend the IRB in semester 2. See Appendix C.
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