Albrecht 2012

Source:   RESEARCH STUDY/ARTICLE 

APA Citation:

Albrecht, N. J., Albrecht, P. M., & Cohen, M. (2012). Mindfully teaching in the classroom: A literature review. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(12).

Author bio:

Albrecht, N. J. – RMIT University, Albrecht, P. M. – Flinders University, Cohen, M. – RMIT University

Central Argument/Thesis:

Mindfulness has the potential to improve classroom management, teacher-student relationships, and instructional strategies [abstract]. Further, “before teachers can feel comfortable and effectively teach mindfulness in the classroom they need to embody and practice mindfulness in their own lives” (p. 1).

Discussion – Conclusion:

Mindfulness practices have been shown to help teachers: reduce their stress levels; assist with behavior management strategies and improve self-esteem. (p. 1)

Teacher example: mindfulness enabled her to develop heightened awareness of her teaching habits or ‘habits of mind’ and allowed her to empower students to trust their own intuition when approaching academic work … (p. 11)

It was speculated that it may be more fruitful to adopt a whole school approach to mindfulness rather than just have certain year levels and teachers learn the practice. (p. 11)

[Researchers] posit that mindfulness has the potential to positively influence and shape behavior management strategies, teacher professional development as well as learning strategies. (p. 11)

Notable Quotes (w/page numbers):

In Western countries, a number of programs that incorporate mindfulness have been developed to specifically harness teacher resilience, compassion and ‘habits of mind’ (Roeser, Skinner, Beers, & Jennings, 2012). Habits of mind refers to: gathering data through all of the senses, being aware of and reflecting on experience in a nonjudgmental manner; being flexible when problem solving, regulating emotion and being resilient after setbacks as well as attending to others with empathy and compassion. (p. 7)

Core mindfulness concepts: (p. 4)

·         Intention or an individual’s vision is seen as an integral first step in mindfulness.

·         Attention refers to paying attention in the moment to your internal and external experiences.

·         Attitude involves the qualities a person brings to their attention (bare awareness).

(p. 5)

Project notes:

6 references need to be tracked down:

Crane, R. S., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Rothwell, N., & Williams, J. M. G. (2010). Training teachers to deliver mindfulness-based interventions: Learning from the UK experience. Mindfulness, 1(2), 74-86.

Gold, E., Smith, A., Hopper, I., Herne, D., Tansey, G., & Hulland, C. (2010). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or primary school teachers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 184-189.

McCallum, F., & Price, D. (2010). Well teachers, well students. Journal of Student Wellbeing, 4(1), 19-34.

McCowen, D., Reibel, D., & Micozzi, M. S. (2011). Teaching mindfulness: A practical guide for clinicians and educators. New York: Springer.

Roeser, R. W., Skinner, E., Beers, J., & Jennings, P. A. (2010). Mindfulness training and teachers’ professional development: An emerging area of research and practice. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 167-173.

Yager, Z. (2009). Developing wellbeing in first year pre-service teachers: A trial of a personal approach to professional education. Journal of Student Wellbeing, 3(1), 52-72.