Phase One: Implementation
As detailed in the Introduction, Workshop #1 was prematurely conducted, serving as a needs assessment for conducting my research. The Introduction into the Concept of Mindfulness workshop yielded positive and encouraging results, overall demonstrating students' general openness to the workshops and ability to produce quality reflections for me to analyze as qualitative data. The student feedback forms collected at the end of the activity indicate many students’ abilities to make connections and foresee possible applications of mindfulness activities into their everyday lives:
In spite of the fruitful results from the feedback forms, I was unexpectedly overcome with a sense of trepidation. As I look over the upcoming workshops, I began to fear pushback in introducing meditation into the classroom. While my school promotes teacher autonomy and provides us many freedoms, I still grew hesitant. My jikkan, or my gut feeling, was telling me to follow my original path, full-heartedly believing in the efficacy of my well-thought out workshops. I made the decision, however, to ignore this jikkan and modify my plan of action. These modifications, I felt, helped to ease students, and possible critics, into meditation activities.
The revised workshops also offered a more comprehensive approach towards mindfulness. Opening up the workshops to include lessons on identifying conflict management and learning styles could allow for students to gain a better, more well-rounded concept of self. Gaining a better understanding of their own motivations and inner workings, in addition to the physiological effects of stress on the body, could be more impactful. With this new action plan established, I proceeded with the next workshop.
The revised workshops also offered a more comprehensive approach towards mindfulness. Opening up the workshops to include lessons on identifying conflict management and learning styles could allow for students to gain a better, more well-rounded concept of self. Gaining a better understanding of their own motivations and inner workings, in addition to the physiological effects of stress on the body, could be more impactful. With this new action plan established, I proceeded with the next workshop.
Description of Implementation
Workshop #2: Conflict Management Style Questionnaire: Which animal are you?: April 23
This workshop began with the class completing a questionnaire to determine our individual conflict management styles. This questionnaire identifies each style by a specific animal: a shark, a turtle, a koala, a fox, or an owl. As the instructions demand: Don’t answer as you think you should, answer as you actually behave.
Comprised of fifteen statements of strategies for dealing with conflict, each statement is to be answered with these responses with accompanying numerical value: Always (1 point), Very Often (2 points), Sometimes (3 points), Not very often (4 points), and Rarely if ever (5 points). We then added up our scores according to the provided chart, with the lowest score indicating your conflict management style. Below are the descriptions of each style:
This workshop began with the class completing a questionnaire to determine our individual conflict management styles. This questionnaire identifies each style by a specific animal: a shark, a turtle, a koala, a fox, or an owl. As the instructions demand: Don’t answer as you think you should, answer as you actually behave.
Comprised of fifteen statements of strategies for dealing with conflict, each statement is to be answered with these responses with accompanying numerical value: Always (1 point), Very Often (2 points), Sometimes (3 points), Not very often (4 points), and Rarely if ever (5 points). We then added up our scores according to the provided chart, with the lowest score indicating your conflict management style. Below are the descriptions of each style:
I then asked students to form groups according to their results, separating the sharks, turtles, foxes, owls and koalas. Physically arranging ourselves into these groups created a visual representation of each group. Beginning with the Competing Shark (including myself), I asked a fellow shark to read aloud the description of our conflict management style. The rest of the class mainly laughed and nodded at its’ accuracy. We continued through each group, stopping to ask each student if they felt this accurately characterized their behavior in conflict. The results of this workshop can be viewed in the Results section below.
Workshop #3: Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets: April 25
The results from the first workshops indicated student interest in assessment activities that help to identify their personality and behavioral traits. This workshop provides students valuable insight into Dweck’s groundbreaking mindsets, or “beliefs about yourself and your most basic qualities.” This workshop encourages students to think about their view on their intelligence, talents and personalities.
“Are these qualities simply fixed traits, carved in stone and that’s it? Or are they things you can cultivate throughout your life?" (Dweck, 2011). According to Dweck, “Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports” (Dweck, 2011). This activity can also enhance relationships, supporting students as they continue to work collaboratively.
As stated in my modified action plan, the students and I participated in a Quiz in order to determine which mindset we are: Strong Growth, Growth with some Fixed ideas, Fixed with some Growth ideas, and Strong Fixed. I encouraged them, as always, to answer truthfully. I intentionally provided very little context to the workshop, other than that it was for my research. I did not want students’ preconceived notions to affect their ability to answer honestly.
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal:
Workshop #3: Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets: April 25
The results from the first workshops indicated student interest in assessment activities that help to identify their personality and behavioral traits. This workshop provides students valuable insight into Dweck’s groundbreaking mindsets, or “beliefs about yourself and your most basic qualities.” This workshop encourages students to think about their view on their intelligence, talents and personalities.
“Are these qualities simply fixed traits, carved in stone and that’s it? Or are they things you can cultivate throughout your life?" (Dweck, 2011). According to Dweck, “Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports” (Dweck, 2011). This activity can also enhance relationships, supporting students as they continue to work collaboratively.
As stated in my modified action plan, the students and I participated in a Quiz in order to determine which mindset we are: Strong Growth, Growth with some Fixed ideas, Fixed with some Growth ideas, and Strong Fixed. I encouraged them, as always, to answer truthfully. I intentionally provided very little context to the workshop, other than that it was for my research. I did not want students’ preconceived notions to affect their ability to answer honestly.
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal:
Within the first moments of starting, I hear the rustling of one of my focus students. She frustratingly declares, “What if it depends on the situation? What if I fall somewhere in between Strongly Agree and Agree? Or I wouldn’t necessarily say I disagree, but I don’t entirely agree either.”
I assure her this will not be graded and to try to select the most appropriate answer possible. I also let her know she could include written responses along with the circled answer.
Moments later, another student raises his hand, “How do you define intelligence?”
“That is up to you to define. Let’s say intelligence is in the eye of the beholder”, I say with a smile. They are moments like these that remind me why I love teaching.
Upon completion, I walked the class through the scoring process. Each question is assigned as Fixed or Growth and assigned a number score. The total score is used to determine the mindset:
We engaged in a whole-class discussion using the following prompt: What does this all mean? A collection of students’ responses can be seen below:
Students were then given the opportunity to
journal their thoughts on their results.
These results can be seen below in the Results section.
Workshop #4: The
Science of Breath and Stress and the Body: April 30
The revised action plan combined two workshops (The Science of Breath and Stress and the Body) into one comprehensive lesson about the body and mind’s physical response to stress. We began the workshop with watching the following video:
The revised action plan combined two workshops (The Science of Breath and Stress and the Body) into one comprehensive lesson about the body and mind’s physical response to stress. We began the workshop with watching the following video:
We then discussed the impact of stress in relation to the Fight or Flight response. I explain the effectiveness of different breathing techniques in triggering the parasympathetic nervous system to override the sympathetic nervous system. “Controlling the breath allows you to take charge of your emotions”, I share, offering this strategy as a potentially valuable stress-management tool in order to transform emotions.
Following the video and discussion, I led the class in a five-minute meditation. Students were then asked to record their responses to the following prompts:
Following the video and discussion, I led the class in a five-minute meditation. Students were then asked to record their responses to the following prompts:
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal, detailing the workshop:
This workshop was conducted at the noisiest part of the day during passing period. Students arrived to class particularly anxious and stressed, saying they need to be rehearsing all day and cannot handle any additional work. While students were reticent to do anything not directly involving the plays, the animated brain on the video served as a nearly-immediate buy-in.
The results of this workshop can be seen in the Results section below.
Workshop #5: The Meditation Initiative: May 7
As demonstrated by written feedback and my observations, most students have responded positively to the workshops, including a greater sense of calmness and fewer emotional outbursts. Many students have been able to identify situations in their school and personal lives where the workshops are directly applicable.
Six students, however, have expressed their aversion to closing their eyes and fully engaging in the exercises. The TEDxYouth Talk by Jeff Zlotnik called “The Meditation Initiative” could help these students connect with the concept of mindfulness and different meditation strategies.
Workshop #5: The Meditation Initiative: May 7
As demonstrated by written feedback and my observations, most students have responded positively to the workshops, including a greater sense of calmness and fewer emotional outbursts. Many students have been able to identify situations in their school and personal lives where the workshops are directly applicable.
Six students, however, have expressed their aversion to closing their eyes and fully engaging in the exercises. The TEDxYouth Talk by Jeff Zlotnik called “The Meditation Initiative” could help these students connect with the concept of mindfulness and different meditation strategies.
As the founder of the Meditation Initiative, Jeff provides free meditation classes to a wide range of demographic groups, including: K-12 public schools, prisons, HIV patients, homeless teens, Wounded Warriors, and at-risk youth. I have had the pleasure to meet Jeff and take part in his Meditation Outreach Program. He is able to connect to students on a personal level, making meditation and mindfulness incredibly accessible to teenagers. “I am not big on the whole sitting crossed legged thing”, he has often said. Jeff encourages the use of meditation in order to practice and train the mind to slow down thoughts and act accordingly.
“Nothing is going to happen to you, no mystical or magical experience,” Jeff proclaims as the guided meditation begins. At the end of the meditation, he asks the audience how they feel as compared to prior to the meditation. “How you feel has nothing to do with what I said, or how you sit. It has everything to do with your own mind and your mind’s reaction…It’s not always easy, and it’s not always fun, but your breath is free and it is always with you” (Zlotnik, 2013). As indicated in the Results section below, his words resonate with many of the students.
“Nothing is going to happen to you, no mystical or magical experience,” Jeff proclaims as the guided meditation begins. At the end of the meditation, he asks the audience how they feel as compared to prior to the meditation. “How you feel has nothing to do with what I said, or how you sit. It has everything to do with your own mind and your mind’s reaction…It’s not always easy, and it’s not always fun, but your breath is free and it is always with you” (Zlotnik, 2013). As indicated in the Results section below, his words resonate with many of the students.
Results
Workshop #2:
Students have continued to identify with their animals, both jokingly and seriously. Assigning an animal to each student, as silly as it may seem, has aided in students’ understanding of their own thoughts, behaviors and actions while working collaboratively. Particularly, the Sharks and the Turtles have identified with the characteristics of their animal, making reference to themselves as either highly competitive or avoiding on multiple occasions. Through my observations and teacher journal notes, I have noted that this seemingly “fun” questionnaire yielded effective results. This was most notable with the sharks of the class.
Students have continued to identify with their animals, both jokingly and seriously. Assigning an animal to each student, as silly as it may seem, has aided in students’ understanding of their own thoughts, behaviors and actions while working collaboratively. Particularly, the Sharks and the Turtles have identified with the characteristics of their animal, making reference to themselves as either highly competitive or avoiding on multiple occasions. Through my observations and teacher journal notes, I have noted that this seemingly “fun” questionnaire yielded effective results. This was most notable with the sharks of the class.
I cannot believe I am a shark. Am I really a shark? I mean, I know I can get super competitive sometimes…but is that really how everyone else looks at me? Are you sure we didn’t add these up wrong and I am really an accommodating koala?!
This student’s reaction showed this activity served as a window into her peers’ perception of her. During our discussion, she admitted, “I guess I have never really thought all that hard about what others might be thinking about me.” An informal class discussion following the activity indicated roughly half of the class categorized this workshop as “fun”, while the remaining half expressed it’s impact on understanding their own behaviors and attitudes, as well as their peers’ perceptions.
Workshop #3:
Workshop #3:
Fourteen students turned in their scored quizzes and accompanying reflections. The graph to the right represents the results.
This workshop provided valuable quantitative and qualitative data. Students shared insightful comments on their individual beliefs. It is difficult, however, to determine if students were able to form direct connections and apply the knowledge acquired from this workshop into being more mindful in their interactions with their peers. Please click on the following links in order to view a student reflection from each mindset category: strong growth mindset, growth mindset with some fixed ideas, fixed mindset with some growth ideas
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal:
This workshop provided valuable quantitative and qualitative data. Students shared insightful comments on their individual beliefs. It is difficult, however, to determine if students were able to form direct connections and apply the knowledge acquired from this workshop into being more mindful in their interactions with their peers. Please click on the following links in order to view a student reflection from each mindset category: strong growth mindset, growth mindset with some fixed ideas, fixed mindset with some growth ideas
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal:
I scored 44, exactly on the cusp of Growth Mindset with Some Fixed Ideas and a Strong Growth Mindset. As I take this quiz, I am immediately aware of my “fixed” beliefs. As an educator, I want to say I have a strong growth mindset, especially since this is what I want to encourage in my students. This quiz, however, showed me that I too could use some work in this area. I struggled to learn Spanish, but fast-forward eighteen years later and I am a Spanish teacher. It took me nearly a year to master crow pose, fast-forward six years and I am a yoga instructor. I know everyone has the ability to change. I must continue to remember that.
The student’s reflection to the left was also impactful. Her reflection indicated her
ability to make direct connection between the workshop and her life. It also provided a window into her
personal life that I did not know prior to the workshop, helping me to connect
with her on a personal level.
Workshop #4:
Students were able to form connections between the workshop and their roles as collaborative members of a team. Student feedback forms demonstrate the ability to gain a better perspective of themselves:
Students were able to form connections between the workshop and their roles as collaborative members of a team. Student feedback forms demonstrate the ability to gain a better perspective of themselves:
As detailed in my teacher journal:
Students were able to remain more quiet and still during the meditation, though it is difficult to determine whether this is due to the video and discussion, or perhaps because it was only five minutes instead of ten. As the day progressed, I notice improved focus and on-task behavior in the play groups. The workshop appears to have pacified some the anxiety and stress that was palpable when they first entered the room.
Of the nineteen students that participated in the workshop, eighteen were able to clearly articulate the effects of stress on the body and the power of breath. Twelve students made clear connections between the workshop and their participation in a collaborative working environment. Thirteen expressed intent to use a form of breathing exercise as tool to manage stress and take control of emotions. All nineteen participants provided positive feedback on at least one prompt, though six of the nineteen students expressed apprehension with closing their eyes in public.
Workshop #5:
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal, detailing a discussion with several focus students following the workshop:
Below is an excerpt from my teacher journal, detailing a discussion with several focus students following the workshop:
Student A then asks me how I feel after the workshop. Students who completed the
activity with eyes closed were unaware I participated in the meditation
alongside them. Once I started to
share my experience and thoughts, I felt a shift in the room. Below is an excerpt from my teacher
journal:
It wasn’t me testing them on something, rather an organic conversation. We discussed the difficulty of the noise outside. I shared my biggest takeaway from meditation: we don’t always have 5 or 10 minutes to sit with our eyes closed. We cannot always find a quiet place to sit and breathe. When we do find those times, we need to treasure them. We also need to remember how we feel in those times and work to apply those techniques into our everyday over stimulated lives. If anything, I told them, I use these meditations in our classroom as the ultimate test. Am I able to truly be in the present moment, accept things the way they are and simply be?
The class had a good laugh at this comment, however his candor provides further insight into his attitudes and actions in the classroom. “Not necessarily a comment I would like to hear as his teacher”, I think to myself, “but what a valuable skill to have, in certain situations”. His statement leads to pondering the possible correlation between this statement and his affinity for meditation. I wonder if this is a sign of extreme self-awareness, being able to shut off thought and simply be, or is it more a sign of a lackadaisical teenager. One of the great keys of meditation is that it is not stopping the mind, rather being in the present moment, observing the mind and body in the present moment, without judgment or need to change.
"So, what is meditation, anyhow?" asks a student at the end of this workshop. This final workshop helped to redefine what meditation really is for many of the students. It does not have to be a strict disciplined practice of sitting cross-legged with one’s hands in a mudra. As one student puts it, “meditation is anything that can put you in that state of mind where you’re calm and able to process thoughts…everyone has their own way to meditate. You should do whatever you feel comfy with.”
To continue on to Phase One: Findings, please click here
To return to my Action and Assessment Plan, please click here
To return to my Action Research Home Page, please click here
"So, what is meditation, anyhow?" asks a student at the end of this workshop. This final workshop helped to redefine what meditation really is for many of the students. It does not have to be a strict disciplined practice of sitting cross-legged with one’s hands in a mudra. As one student puts it, “meditation is anything that can put you in that state of mind where you’re calm and able to process thoughts…everyone has their own way to meditate. You should do whatever you feel comfy with.”
To continue on to Phase One: Findings, please click here
To return to my Action and Assessment Plan, please click here
To return to my Action Research Home Page, please click here