Presentation Title: Mindfulness and Neuroscience: How a Contemplative Curriculum for K-12 Students can Improve Focus, Connectedness, and Self-Regulation

Presentation Description: After Reading, Writing, and “˜Rithmetic, is Reflection the New “Fourth R”?
In this video presentation, veteran teacher Betsy Hanger will explore the uses of mindfulness training in elementary classrooms. She will describe the curriculum of Mindful Schools (www.mindfulschools.org), connecting the skills developed to the students’ experiences. Examples of students’ journals and mindfulness activities in the classroom will give teachers a realistic idea of this important new movement in urban education. Betsy will answer these questions: 1) What is mindfulness? (definition, origins in medicine, psychology) 2) Who does mindfulness help? (Challenges that mindfulness training addresses: brain slides) 3) What is the curriculum? (three sets of skills, with three examples for each drawn from student work) 4) What improvements can I expect if I do mindfulness training in my classroom? (research, anecdotal experiences: video testimony) Resources for learning more about mindfulness training in classrooms are appended.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
www.mindfulschools.org

http://www.roomtobreathefilm.com