“I have been at this school since the sixth grade. We always work in groups, every semester it is a group project. I don’t think anyone ever taught me how to work in a group. They just expect us to do it. What are you supposed to do when you just don’t get along with them? Does it ever get easier?” –10th grade student
This student’s statement in my 10th grade, all-levels Spanish Language and Cultures classroom is incredibly thought provoking. As a graduate student, a student-teacher and a yoga instructor, I am no stranger to group work. Collaboration does not get any easier just because we get older. It requires persistent practice and thoughtful attention in order to develop a deeper understanding of self.
We live in a chaotic, over-stimulated, overburdened, media-saturated, multi-tasking world moving at a dizzying pace. My students experience these stressors first hand. From the mentally and physically demanding project-based learning (PBL) environment to the mountain of extracurricular activities, my students are burning both ends of the candle. Compacted by the stressors of being a typical sixteen year old, the levels of anxiety in the classroom continues to climb.
Countless numbers of my students have approached me, anxiety-ridden and panicked, most lamenting over their stress to perform in our school-wide Exhibition, feeling pressure from their families and their peers to achieve. The familial and societal pressures can end up being too much for one to handle, forcing them to completely shut down. Many students today lack the stress management tools and effective coping mechanisms required to deal with the stressors of a 21st Century adolescent, and many of our schools are failing to provide adequate support. Students require support in the development of emotion regulation skills in order to successfully navigate the everyday stressors of their lives. Development of these skills can also help to provide optimum conditions for learning in the classroom (Fisher, 2006) .
As a graduate student and a student-teacher, I can relate to my students’ often overwhelmed sentiment. According to Dr. Amy Saltzman, “learning to balance the emotional demands of teaching with other professional and personal pressures is central to the teacher’s art, and vital to professional longevity” (2010). It is our duty as educators to leave unnecessary tension and stress outside of the classroom, creating a positive, low-anxiety, welcoming learning environment for students to thrive.
How do I combat the inevitable stressors of life? I have committed myself to a personal practice of mindfulness. In my own studies and personal journey of becoming a yogi, I have developed a daily practice of mindfulness, allowing for the quiet to come in through a seemingly simple exercise. For ten minutes, every morning, I sit with my eyes closed and just breathe. Through the practice of mindfulness, I am able to look inward. Beginning to understand how and why I react to certain stimuli and other individuals helps me to cultivate compassion towards others. In successful collaboration, we cannot settle for “we just don’t get along”. We also cannot assume students know how to work together. How can we teach our students the art of collaboration? How can we teach students to be mindful in their interactions with their peers?
We live in a chaotic, over-stimulated, overburdened, media-saturated, multi-tasking world moving at a dizzying pace. My students experience these stressors first hand. From the mentally and physically demanding project-based learning (PBL) environment to the mountain of extracurricular activities, my students are burning both ends of the candle. Compacted by the stressors of being a typical sixteen year old, the levels of anxiety in the classroom continues to climb.
Countless numbers of my students have approached me, anxiety-ridden and panicked, most lamenting over their stress to perform in our school-wide Exhibition, feeling pressure from their families and their peers to achieve. The familial and societal pressures can end up being too much for one to handle, forcing them to completely shut down. Many students today lack the stress management tools and effective coping mechanisms required to deal with the stressors of a 21st Century adolescent, and many of our schools are failing to provide adequate support. Students require support in the development of emotion regulation skills in order to successfully navigate the everyday stressors of their lives. Development of these skills can also help to provide optimum conditions for learning in the classroom (Fisher, 2006) .
As a graduate student and a student-teacher, I can relate to my students’ often overwhelmed sentiment. According to Dr. Amy Saltzman, “learning to balance the emotional demands of teaching with other professional and personal pressures is central to the teacher’s art, and vital to professional longevity” (2010). It is our duty as educators to leave unnecessary tension and stress outside of the classroom, creating a positive, low-anxiety, welcoming learning environment for students to thrive.
How do I combat the inevitable stressors of life? I have committed myself to a personal practice of mindfulness. In my own studies and personal journey of becoming a yogi, I have developed a daily practice of mindfulness, allowing for the quiet to come in through a seemingly simple exercise. For ten minutes, every morning, I sit with my eyes closed and just breathe. Through the practice of mindfulness, I am able to look inward. Beginning to understand how and why I react to certain stimuli and other individuals helps me to cultivate compassion towards others. In successful collaboration, we cannot settle for “we just don’t get along”. We also cannot assume students know how to work together. How can we teach our students the art of collaboration? How can we teach students to be mindful in their interactions with their peers?
Collaboration in my classroom: A Fundamental Skill
As we enter into the second half of the spring semester, we begin the transition towards preparation for the Exhibition. Grade-level teachers at our Project-Based charter school work in teams in order to create an interdisciplinary project with real-world implications and connections with the community. These projects are presented to an audience of students, teachers, parents and members of the community at the end-of-semester Exhibition. I have teamed up with the 10th grade Humanities teacher, guiding students as they collaboratively write, produce and perform fifteen-minute theatrical plays centered on Latin America during the Cold War.
Leading up to this point, a typical two-hour class block has been divided into two sections: grammar and mini-projects. Roughly thirty minutes have been dedicated to direct grammar instruction and application of the concepts. The remaining ninety minutes have been dedicated to mini-projects, involving in-depth research and analysis of cultural components and significant historical movements in various Latin American countries. These collaborative projects were thoughtfully designed to prepare students for the ultimate task: writing, producing and performing fifteen-minute plays at the Exhibition. As I observe students, however, there are significant challenges in their ability to work collaboratively together.
The week prior to Spring Break, students participated in activities to aid in the play-writing process. Developing character biographies helped to create depth in the scripts, encouraging students to determine the motivations behind their characters. The creation and presentation of storyboards helped students map out the direction of their play, as well as receive helpful feedback from peers. While these activities were designed with the intention to scaffold the play-writing process for these novice playwrights, many students began to express their feelings of being rushed, negatively impacting their collaborative efforts.
Leading up to this point, a typical two-hour class block has been divided into two sections: grammar and mini-projects. Roughly thirty minutes have been dedicated to direct grammar instruction and application of the concepts. The remaining ninety minutes have been dedicated to mini-projects, involving in-depth research and analysis of cultural components and significant historical movements in various Latin American countries. These collaborative projects were thoughtfully designed to prepare students for the ultimate task: writing, producing and performing fifteen-minute plays at the Exhibition. As I observe students, however, there are significant challenges in their ability to work collaboratively together.
The week prior to Spring Break, students participated in activities to aid in the play-writing process. Developing character biographies helped to create depth in the scripts, encouraging students to determine the motivations behind their characters. The creation and presentation of storyboards helped students map out the direction of their play, as well as receive helpful feedback from peers. While these activities were designed with the intention to scaffold the play-writing process for these novice playwrights, many students began to express their feelings of being rushed, negatively impacting their collaborative efforts.
Can't we all just get along?
Upon return from Spring Break, students have been provided one week to write their scripts. The open-ended structure in both the Spanish and Humanities classrooms for this week of writing is deliberate, providing room for their creativity to flourish. In this student-centered environment, the teacher serves as the facilitator of learning, rather than the dictator. This unrestricted structure, however, has lead to disequilibrium in the classroom.
This disequilibrium is evidenced in students’ in-class journals and reflections. Students have expressed feelings of anxiety, stress, confusion and unsettledness in these daily journals. The daunting task of writing a complete play in five days has pushed some students to their limits.
Providing students the platform to reflect on their contributions to their group, as well as discussing the overall dynamics of the group has unearthed key insight into the current mindsets of my students:
This disequilibrium is evidenced in students’ in-class journals and reflections. Students have expressed feelings of anxiety, stress, confusion and unsettledness in these daily journals. The daunting task of writing a complete play in five days has pushed some students to their limits.
Providing students the platform to reflect on their contributions to their group, as well as discussing the overall dynamics of the group has unearthed key insight into the current mindsets of my students:
"[My Partner] doesn't do anything to help in our group. He never asks how we could help and he is always socializing and not working...but that is already known. It's clear he doesn't like us and doesn't want to work with us. Is there any way we can switch groups? I don't see this working out in the end."
"My partner just doesn't want to help, which makes it difficult because I don't know what her input would be. I mean, she's my friend, but I just don't get her sometimes. Also the work load is getting bigger. I feel really overwhelmed and I don't know what to do."
Clearly, these issues must be addressed. Students will continue to assume unfamiliar roles during this process, from director to actor, lighting to set design, all while working collaboratively. In order to develop quality scripts and acting skills, students have participated in playwriting and acting workshops. Successful execution of this project, however, also relies on students’ ability to work collaboratively with their peers.
As students will continue to work in small groups for the rest of the semester, I wonder what happens when I provide workshops designed to encourage students to be mindful in their interactions with their peers? Could this create an environment of compassion and empathy, where students can “get along”?
As students will continue to work in small groups for the rest of the semester, I wonder what happens when I provide workshops designed to encourage students to be mindful in their interactions with their peers? Could this create an environment of compassion and empathy, where students can “get along”?
Brain Literacy: Understanding the Brain
Provided the opportunity to learn how and why individuals respond differently in a given situation could serve as a way to facilitate collaboration and group work. These workshops can potentially lead to altruistic behaviors, creating a greater sense of compassion, empathy and gratitude towards their peers.
The emergence of Brain-Based Learning in recent years stresses the importance of educators to understand how the brain works, better equipping ourselves with the skills to help students with diverse skills, needs and mindsets. Brain-based learning promises to help educators, “offer effective feedback that leads to deeper understanding, and create a rich learning environment that attends to students’ social and emotional needs along with their developing brains”. I wonder, what happens when we let our students in on that learning too? What effect would building students’ brain literacy have on their ability to collaborate with peers?
We all respond differently to stress. Understanding how the brain works provides the tools for deeper personal introspection. For a student to understand how he or she operates can aid in understanding and better valuing the potential contributions of peers. Explicit instruction of how individual mindsets influence the way we respond to certain stimuli, including our interactions with our peers during collaborative work, could facilitate successful collaboration. I wish to explore the effects of teaching students the skills and strategies they can use to modify their behavior and attitudes towards their peers through a deeper understanding of how the brain works, coupled with activities to put mindfulness into action.
The emergence of Brain-Based Learning in recent years stresses the importance of educators to understand how the brain works, better equipping ourselves with the skills to help students with diverse skills, needs and mindsets. Brain-based learning promises to help educators, “offer effective feedback that leads to deeper understanding, and create a rich learning environment that attends to students’ social and emotional needs along with their developing brains”. I wonder, what happens when we let our students in on that learning too? What effect would building students’ brain literacy have on their ability to collaborate with peers?
We all respond differently to stress. Understanding how the brain works provides the tools for deeper personal introspection. For a student to understand how he or she operates can aid in understanding and better valuing the potential contributions of peers. Explicit instruction of how individual mindsets influence the way we respond to certain stimuli, including our interactions with our peers during collaborative work, could facilitate successful collaboration. I wish to explore the effects of teaching students the skills and strategies they can use to modify their behavior and attitudes towards their peers through a deeper understanding of how the brain works, coupled with activities to put mindfulness into action.
A Case for Mindfulness: Needs Assessment and the Unexpected First Workshop
An account of our first mindfulness workshop, as described in my teacher journal:
“3:20PM, Friday, April 18th, twenty minutes remain in our school day. Students have worked tirelessly all week to finalize their roles in the plays. The screenwriters and directors are on the verge of pulling out their hair after receiving a mountain of revision suggestions, to be completed by Sunday. The majority of the actors are as tense as the leaders of the play groups; the sooner they receive a finalized script, the sooner they are able to memorize their lines. The Spanish language consultants are equally frustrated, unsure which portions of the scripts should include Spanish, hesitant to continue working until the scripts are finalized to avoid unnecessary work if the script will change. The behind-the-scenes stage crew, including lighting, props and costume managers, are mostly aloof, rightfully expressing very little of worth can be done in these remaining minutes of class.
I planned to begin Phase One the upcoming Monday, hoping to start the week off with Workshop #1: Introduction into the Concept of Mindfulness. As I survey the faces of my students, checking the pulse of the room, I make a last-minute revision. I declare:
‘We are going to do something a little different. If you can all find a comfortable seated position, in a chair or on the floor. As soon as you are settled, please gently close your eyes.’
I take a seat, cross-legged atop my desk, press play on my iPod and close my eyes. “A perfect send-off,” I think to myself, “into a weekend full of work for both my students and I.” My students and I are led through a ten-minute meditation from a free, guided meditation app called Headspace. The meditation is the first in a series called Take Ten, including a collection of ten meditations, each ten minutes long, to be completed in a ten-day period. The soothing voice with a welcoming British accent fills the room.
In the first moments with my eyes closed, I hear the shuffling of papers in a notebook in the back left corner of the room, several forced throat-clearing coughs from the front right corner of the room. At some point early on the jolting sound of the spring-loaded classroom door bounces as someone exits the room. I can tell he or she tries her best to close the door as quietly as possible, an impossibility with that faulty mouse-trap door.
As the Great Room just outside of the classroom fills with the TGIF voices of students released early from their classes, I imagine myself as the only person in the room with her eyes closed. All four walls of our classroom are windows. I imagine curious faces plastered to our fishbowl, wondering when I turned into such an odd individual who sits on her desk with her eyes closed during class time. The last third of the activity, a blanket of silence comes over the room. The voices outside fade, the rustling of papers stops, my students’ breath and my own is the only thing I hear.
As the recording ends, I wonder what I will find as I slowly peel my eyes open. Eighteen of my twenty-one students are still seated just as they were at the beginning of the activity, the majority looking a bit sleepy. One student had her sketchpad and fine tip sharpie in hand and appears to have been drawing for the past ten minutes. One student has the look of utter annoyance across his face as he stares me down. One student has fallen asleep, head resting in his arms as has collapsed onto a table in the corner.
I reach for the stack of cut-in-half printer paper I keep on my desk for exit slips:
If you are feeling up for it, please take a strip of paper and share your thoughts anonymously with me about that experience. How do you feel now?
Several moments go by and no one moves. Finally, one student stands up, walking towards my desk. As he grabs a paper, his classmate asks for one. Another student approaches my desk, picks up the entire stack and begins passing them out to everyone. The annoyed-looking student asks me if he has to participate. ‘I just feel tired, that’s it’, he tells me. ‘That is fine,’ I share, ‘please just write that!’.
The clock strikes 3:40PM and the students slowly trickle out of the classroom. I sit at my desk and begin to look through the reflections. Trying to avoid handwriting analysis, I am pleasantly surprised by the reactions from this impromptu activity.”
This ten-minute guided meditation and open-ended reflection provides meaningful qualitative data to begin analyzing. Student responses were varied, ranging from enthusiasm to apathy, serving as an affirming needs assessment and providing a strong case to move forward with my research.
What happens when 10th grade students in a PBL classroom participate in brain literacy workshops that focus on understanding the concept of mindfulness?
- How do the workshops affect students’ self-perception?
- How do the workshops affect peer interaction during collaborative work?
- How do students understanding and beliefs about the importance of the concept of mindfulness evolve during the course of the workshops?
- How do the workshops affect my perception of my students?