Limitations
As with any research effort, I encountered many challenges. These limitations serve as a valuable learning experience and can hopefully help future research efforts on integrating mindfulness into the classroom.
The Chicken or the Egg: Which Came First?
This research yielded a plethora of valuable qualitative data. Incorporating moments of reflection in the workshops allowed me to gain insight into the thoughts and feelings of my students. This also helped to examine the possible effects of the workshops and help to respond to my sub-questions. Quantitative data, however, proved to be more difficult to collect. I experienced difficulties measuring the effect of the workshops or whether students had been able to make direct application from the workshops into their academic or personal lives. A factor in this limitation was the lack of causative data. Through student feedback forms, discussions and my teacher journal, it is clear that the level of stress has reduced, and students’ attitudes and willingness to collaborate have improved.
I cannot, however, definitively determine whether this is because of the workshops, or if it is correlational. The arrival at these conclusions is rather subjective. I cannot fully determine the efficacy of students expressing the positive impact of the workshops on their self-perception and perception of their peers. While I would hope these conclusions are accurate, it is impossible to determine if these are true or if they are a case of a student telling the teacher what they want to hear. Due to this limitation, it is difficult to make a causative statement regarding the effect of the workshops.
Bias: As Their Teacher
As many researchers admit, it is near impossible to rid one’s self completely of bias when conducting research in one’s own classroom. Serving as both the teacher and the researcher proved to be an incredible challenge of determination. I found it difficult to fully separate myself, a careful balancing act that I have yet to master. Wearing both of these hats simultaneously is tricky. I arrived at my research questions because I know my students and full-heartedly believed my intervention would work for them. When they were not responding to Phase One as I had initially thought, I was more willing to modify the plans on the spot, adjusting to the comfort level of my students I know so well. This resulted in me not following the well-thought out and carefully constructed action plan of Phase One.
Unique Setting
I conducted this research in a very unique setting (as seen in the header of this page, a photo of my actual classroom). At this school, both teachers and students are granted a great amount of freedom and autonomy. While I teach a Spanish Language and Cultures course, my classroom does not look like a typical Spanish classroom. For example, some may not have the time to implement the scope of these workshops. The open-ended structure of my project-based classroom allowed for me to integrate these workshops, which may not be appropriate for every setting. Additionally, the creative licensing granted to teachers at my school allowed me to carry out these workshops that were outside the scope of a traditional world language classroom. Therefore, implementation of my research may not be replicable in every setting. In spite of this, all students, regardless of the school or classroom environment, can experience stress.
If other teachers do find themselves in a unique setting such as this, I urge them to implement a series of mindfulness-based workshops. As mentioned in the Literature Review, Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a pioneer of mindfulness research with his groundbreaking Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, or MBSR, starting in 1979. This eight-week intensive training in mindfulness meditation is, “based on ancient healing practices” and is “ideal for cultivating greater awareness of the unity of the mind and body, as well as of the ways the unconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviors can undermine emotional, physical and spiritual health” (Mindful Living Programs, 2014). MBSR offers a combination of the Eastern philosophies and Buddhist practices of mindfulness, meditation and yoga, together with the Western methodologies of science and psychology to provide a comprehensive intervention treatment. This multi-faceted approach has universal applicability and has proven to be beneficial for the treatment of anxiety, depression and overall emotional well-being of its’ patients. When introduced into a school setting, our students could reap the same benefits at this critical point in their lives.
Such programs have recently been tried out in some of our local schools. As mentioned in the Literature Review, the Encinitas Union School District unveiled a yoga program in 2012. The program includes the development of an “integrated wellness program that includes components on physical fitness, wellness and life skills” (EUSD, 2012).
In December of 2012, shortly after the program’s unveiling, a small but vocal group of parents raised their arms in disapproval of the program as a religious indoctrination, starting an online petition to remove yoga from the district’s curriculum. The National Center for Law and Policy (NCLP) filed a lawsuit on behalf of a family who’s child attends one of the EUSD schools, suing for “civil rights violations resulting from its inherently and pervasively religious Ashtanga yoga program” (Nikias, 2013). Opponents of the yoga program argue it is a violation of the First Amendment and infringement of the separation of church and state. To read more of my investigation into the EUSD yoga program, please click here.
I recognize the challenges one may face in implementing of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction curriculum like Kabat-Zinn, a yoga program like EUSD, or a series of workshops similar to my research. In spite of these obstacles, we can all take the time to speak to our students about their sources of stress, brain-based learning strategies and offer help in students developing their own stress-management tools.
To continue to my Reflection, please click here
To return to the Educational Implications, please click here
To return to my Action Research Home Page, please click here
The Chicken or the Egg: Which Came First?
This research yielded a plethora of valuable qualitative data. Incorporating moments of reflection in the workshops allowed me to gain insight into the thoughts and feelings of my students. This also helped to examine the possible effects of the workshops and help to respond to my sub-questions. Quantitative data, however, proved to be more difficult to collect. I experienced difficulties measuring the effect of the workshops or whether students had been able to make direct application from the workshops into their academic or personal lives. A factor in this limitation was the lack of causative data. Through student feedback forms, discussions and my teacher journal, it is clear that the level of stress has reduced, and students’ attitudes and willingness to collaborate have improved.
I cannot, however, definitively determine whether this is because of the workshops, or if it is correlational. The arrival at these conclusions is rather subjective. I cannot fully determine the efficacy of students expressing the positive impact of the workshops on their self-perception and perception of their peers. While I would hope these conclusions are accurate, it is impossible to determine if these are true or if they are a case of a student telling the teacher what they want to hear. Due to this limitation, it is difficult to make a causative statement regarding the effect of the workshops.
Bias: As Their Teacher
As many researchers admit, it is near impossible to rid one’s self completely of bias when conducting research in one’s own classroom. Serving as both the teacher and the researcher proved to be an incredible challenge of determination. I found it difficult to fully separate myself, a careful balancing act that I have yet to master. Wearing both of these hats simultaneously is tricky. I arrived at my research questions because I know my students and full-heartedly believed my intervention would work for them. When they were not responding to Phase One as I had initially thought, I was more willing to modify the plans on the spot, adjusting to the comfort level of my students I know so well. This resulted in me not following the well-thought out and carefully constructed action plan of Phase One.
Unique Setting
I conducted this research in a very unique setting (as seen in the header of this page, a photo of my actual classroom). At this school, both teachers and students are granted a great amount of freedom and autonomy. While I teach a Spanish Language and Cultures course, my classroom does not look like a typical Spanish classroom. For example, some may not have the time to implement the scope of these workshops. The open-ended structure of my project-based classroom allowed for me to integrate these workshops, which may not be appropriate for every setting. Additionally, the creative licensing granted to teachers at my school allowed me to carry out these workshops that were outside the scope of a traditional world language classroom. Therefore, implementation of my research may not be replicable in every setting. In spite of this, all students, regardless of the school or classroom environment, can experience stress.
If other teachers do find themselves in a unique setting such as this, I urge them to implement a series of mindfulness-based workshops. As mentioned in the Literature Review, Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a pioneer of mindfulness research with his groundbreaking Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, or MBSR, starting in 1979. This eight-week intensive training in mindfulness meditation is, “based on ancient healing practices” and is “ideal for cultivating greater awareness of the unity of the mind and body, as well as of the ways the unconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviors can undermine emotional, physical and spiritual health” (Mindful Living Programs, 2014). MBSR offers a combination of the Eastern philosophies and Buddhist practices of mindfulness, meditation and yoga, together with the Western methodologies of science and psychology to provide a comprehensive intervention treatment. This multi-faceted approach has universal applicability and has proven to be beneficial for the treatment of anxiety, depression and overall emotional well-being of its’ patients. When introduced into a school setting, our students could reap the same benefits at this critical point in their lives.
Such programs have recently been tried out in some of our local schools. As mentioned in the Literature Review, the Encinitas Union School District unveiled a yoga program in 2012. The program includes the development of an “integrated wellness program that includes components on physical fitness, wellness and life skills” (EUSD, 2012).
In December of 2012, shortly after the program’s unveiling, a small but vocal group of parents raised their arms in disapproval of the program as a religious indoctrination, starting an online petition to remove yoga from the district’s curriculum. The National Center for Law and Policy (NCLP) filed a lawsuit on behalf of a family who’s child attends one of the EUSD schools, suing for “civil rights violations resulting from its inherently and pervasively religious Ashtanga yoga program” (Nikias, 2013). Opponents of the yoga program argue it is a violation of the First Amendment and infringement of the separation of church and state. To read more of my investigation into the EUSD yoga program, please click here.
I recognize the challenges one may face in implementing of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction curriculum like Kabat-Zinn, a yoga program like EUSD, or a series of workshops similar to my research. In spite of these obstacles, we can all take the time to speak to our students about their sources of stress, brain-based learning strategies and offer help in students developing their own stress-management tools.
To continue to my Reflection, please click here
To return to the Educational Implications, please click here
To return to my Action Research Home Page, please click here