Watching Mindfulness Videos and Engaging in Guided- Meditation Sessions in a Math Class Kien H. Lim Sun Conference March 18, 2016

Presentation Outline Mindfulness Mindfulness o What is mindfulness? o Why practice mindfulness? o Where are mindfulness used? An Exploratory Study An Exploratory Study Findings Findings Sun Conference March 18, 2016

What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is defined as “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment” Mindfulness is defined as “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment” (Davis & Hayes, 2011, p. 198) Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Mindfulness is used to refer to “a psychological state of awareness “a psychological state of awareness a practice that promotes this awareness, a practice that promotes this awareness, a mode of processing information, a mode of processing information, a characterological trait” a characterological trait” (Davis & Hayes, 2011, p. 198)

What is Mindfulness? “Mindfulness captures a quality of consciousness that is characterized by clarity and vividness of current experience and functioning Sun Conference March 18, 2016 … “the practice of fully experiencing the rising and falling of mental states with acceptance and without attachment and judgment” … “the practice of fully experiencing the rising and falling of mental states with acceptance and without attachment and judgment” (Davis & Hayes, p. 198) and thus stands in contrast to the mindless, less ‘awake’ states of habitual or automatic functioning that may be chronic for many individuals.” and thus stands in contrast to the mindless, less ‘awake’ states of habitual or automatic functioning that may be chronic for many individuals.” (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p. 823)

Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Videos on Mindfulness

Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Improves well-being Improves well-being Reduces rumination Reduces rumination (Chambers et al., 2008) Reduces psychological distress and anxiety (Shapiro et al., 1998) Reduces psychological distress and anxiety (Shapiro et al., 1998) Increases positive affect Increases positive affect (Hoffman et al., 2010) Increases immune functioning Increases immune functioning ( Davidson et al., 2003) Improves cognitive functioning Improves cognitive functioning Improves working memory Improves working memory (Jha et al., 2010) Improves concentration Improves concentration (Young, 1997) Increases cognitive flexibility Increases cognitive flexibility (Siegel, 2007) Improves emotional intelligence Improves emotional intelligence Decreases emotional reactivity Decreases emotional reactivity (Ortner et al., 2007) Relating to others and oneself with kindness, acceptance, and compassion Relating to others and oneself with kindness, acceptance, and compassion (Fulton, 2005; Wallace, 2001) Benefits of Mindfulness (Davis & Hayes, 2012) Davis & Hayes, 2012Davis & Hayes, 2012

Applications of Mindfulness Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program in Health Care and Medicine Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program in Health Care and Medicine o Core: Mindfulness meditation o Orientation:Educational rather than therapeutic o Practice: Cultivate present awareness by systematically directing attention (Center for Mindfulness, Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School) Center for Mindfulness, Univ. of Massachusetts Medical SchoolCenter for Mindfulness, Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School Contemplative pedagogy in education Contemplative pedagogy in education o Fosters development of the whole person (creativity, empathy, compassion, self-awareness) o Integrates meditative practices (Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University) Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt UniversityCenter for Teaching, Vanderbilt University

Source: Hodes (2014) Cornell Chronicle Cornell Chronicle

Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Room to Breathe Trailer

Why Mindfulness is Needed in Education? Sun Conference March 18, 2016 To reduce toxic stress (i.e., distress) To transform our fight-flight-freeze habitual responses To manage compulsive-busyness, rumination, dissociation, and narcissism. (Mindful Schools website)Mindful Schools website

Mindful Schools Sun Conference March 18, 2016 “trains educators to integrate mindfulness into their lives and their work with youth” impacted more than 300,000 students worldwide since 2007

Mindful Schools Sun Conference March 18, 2016 “trains educators to integrate mindfulness into their lives and their work with youth” impacted more than 300,000 students worldwide since 2007 offers courses that focus on Source: Mindful SchoolsMindful Schools

Contemplative Education in Higher Ed Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Contemplative Education (Naropa University) Contemplative Education Contemplative Education (University of Redlands) Contemplative Education Contemplative Pedagogy (Vanderbilt University) Contemplative Pedagogy Contemplative Studies (Brown University) Contemplative Studies Contemplative Studies (Emory University) Contemplative Studies Contemplative Studies (Rice University) Contemplative Studies Contemplative Studies (Univ. of San Diego) Contemplative Studies Contemplative Science Center (Univ. of Virginia) Contemplative Science Center Creativity and Consciousness Studies (Univ. of Michigan) Creativity and Consciousness Studies

An Exploratory “Study” A math course for prospective teachers A math course for prospective teachers Summer 2 in 2015 Summer 2 in 2015 Asked if they like to try something new Asked if they like to try something new Watched Watched o 8 videos on mindfulness o 7 guided meditation videos o 4 videos on kindness Sun Conference March 18, 2016

Videos on Mindfulness

Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Guided Meditation Videos

Results from Pre-Post Survey Less impulsive (p =.0001) Less impulsive (p =.0001) o BIS-11 Scale (Patton, Stanford, Barratt, 1995) o 30 items ( e.g. “I do things without thinking”; “I act ‘on impulse’”) Less mindful (p =.0002) Less mindful (p =.0002) o Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown & Ryan, 2003) o 15 items (e.g. “I find myself doing things without paying attention”) Sun Conference March 18, 2016

Results from End-of-Course Online Survey 90% agreed or strongly agreed with statements like 90% agreed or strongly agreed with statements like o “I am now more knowledgeable about mindfulness and its benefits.” o “I am more likely to practice mindfulness now than before taking MATH 2304.” o “If I become a teacher, I will have my students engage in mindfulness practice on a regular basis.” Sun Conference March 18, 2016 Attitude change Attitude change o 80% checked “even more interested and curious to try it on my own” o 75% checked “it's relaxing and calm, a nice break from class routine” o 55% checked “I now believe this will be helpful in my life”

Results from End-of-Course Online Survey Students’ written comments Students’ written comments Sun Conference March 18, 2016 o “I really enjoyed this class, and even when I was getting very stressed during the class and when we would do mindfulness exercises it would make me relax and become more focused on the assignments. I wish to take these videos and use them on my students so they can relax.” o “it allowed me to learn how to concentrate and also to view the world in different ways.”

Thank You Sun Conference March 18, 2016