Mr. Colin Dodds. (2016, July 12). Mindful minute - snow (classroom, studying, school mental break) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/8y0QzKXb_U8
Introduction
Recent studies have shown that adolescent students' mental health suffers when overstressed, and academic stress is one of the leading causes (Rentala et al., 2019). In addition, interest and engagement in studies naturally drop as students become adolescents due to instructors not addressing their changing needs (Raufelder & Kulakow, 2021). By including mindfulness practices and teaching methods within curriculum design, future instructors will have the tools to help adolescents reduce their academic stress, address their ever-changing emotions, and learn to form healthy relationships (Browning & Romer, 2020). This study aims to show that mindfulness practices implemented in adolescent classroom environments can reduce stress and increase student engagement by discussing easily accessible methods and their benefits. First, however, instructional designers must begin designing mindfulness content at the instructor training level to ensure that teachers are confident and fully prepared to teach the materials within a classroom setting.
imPact. (n.d.). Infographic. https://www.impactplus.com/hubfs/mindfulness_infographic.png
Reducing Academic Stress to Increase Learner Engagement
It is necessary to reduce academic stress to increase engagement in adolescents. Parents and educators expect teenage students to get up early to be on time for classes, rush to lockers and prepare for the next class, achieve good grades, and participate in extracurricular activities. They are also expected to do chores at home, work an outside job, and maintain friendships while preparing for their futures and experiencing cycles of changing bodies and emotions. A 2020 study in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry (Glen et al., 2020) showed suicide to be the leading worldwide cause of adolescent death, and often caused by educational stress. Studies looking to combat mental health decline have demonstrated that implementation of programs such as mindfulness dramatically reduces stress, depressive qualities, and even anxiety.
Restructuring the typical academic day would go a long way. For instance, if schools started later in the day, adolescents would be more likely to get the required nightly sleep. Students wouldn't feel so anxious and rushed if they had more time between classes. Since these are large-scale changes that are impractical at a lower level, mindfulness can bridge the gap by having students enter a quiet classroom and taking time to stretch and be present each morning (Browning & Romer, 2020). In addition, students can mentally prepare for the day. If teachers were to end classes five minutes early for a session of body shaking (Mindful Schools, 2019) to relieve any tension from sitting, students would be more relaxed while rushing to their next class. Students wouldn't feel overworked if homework times were allotted throughout the day or if it was optional. Or for example, if the first class of the day was a meditation session and ended with a healthy snack and the last class of the day was for reflective journaling, students would be mentally and physically prepared to take on each day. They could enter school knowing that it would start stress-free and leave knowing that they left their academic troubles at the door.
Tedx Talks. (2012, May 2). Mindfulness and neural Integration: Daniel Siegel, MD at TEDxStudioCityED [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/LiyaSr5aeho
Social-Emotional Engagement
Adolescents are developing social skills that bridge the gap between childhood and adult life. For example, they are forming romantic connections for the first time, which sets a precedent for how they view healthy relationships in the future. During Tedx Talks, Dan Siegal (Tedx Talks, 2012) discusses the three Rs of mindfulness, relationships, reflection, and resilience. By using methods such as peer-to-peer gratitude or sadness practices, students can discuss emotions with their peers in a healthy, mediated manner (Rentala et al., 2019). They can then carry those practices into the future, helping them form healthy, happy relationships. Reflective journaling allows them to release emotions they may have kept hidden or bottled otherwise and view them from a removed perspective (Mindful Schools, 2022). It gives students a chance to understand why they feel as they do and that their feelings are normal. When students become more self-aware through mindfulness practices, their motivation and resilience increase because they better comprehend the gravity of outcomes (Keller & Deimann, 2018).
Zen Librarian. (2020). Podcast cover art [Image]. https://zenlibrarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Podcast-cover-art-.jpg
Engaging Students Through Compassion
As mentioned in the introduction, one needs to understand how to practice mindfulness before one can teach it. So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a state of nonjudgmental, open-hearted awareness (Kavia & Murphy, 2021). It's not acceptance or denial. It's just being. Taking the time to sit still and bring awareness to breathe, sensations, and surroundings helps students self-regulate, clear their minds, and increase feelings of well-being (Browning & Romer, 2020). It also increases empathy and cultivates compassion (Browning & Romer, 2020). When students are calmer and encouraged to self-reflect in a nonjudgmental environment, they become more comfortable in their surroundings (Browning & Romer, 2020). In addition, they encourage their peers to do the same. Kavia & Murphy (2021) refer to mindfulness as an "unspoken curriculum." It may not be included in the academic part of the lesson plan. However, it is still a crucial part of education and allows students to flourish within a comfortable, compassionate learning environment.
Mindful Schools. (2022). The Mindful Schools approach [Infographic]. MindfulSchools.org. https://www.mindfulschools.org
Conclusion
Mindfulness practices in the adolescent classroom can reduce stress and foster crucial social-emotional skills. This benefit alone can aid in reducing teen suicide and depression rates. In addition, mindfulness helps to create compassionate, empathetic students who are engaged in their studies and comfortable in their perspective learning environments. They will take these learned behaviors and utilize them in their careers. Since children are the future, we should be more mindful of their needs and ensure we give them the best start possible at every stage of their lives.
Mindful Schools. (2019, March 1). 5 mindful movement practices for youth [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/CGX2lU35Jqc
References
Ang, R. P., & Huan, V. S. (2006). Relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation: testing for depression as a mediator using Multiple Regression. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 37(2), 133–143. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0023-8
Browning, A., & Romer, N. (2020). Mindfulness-based practices for schools (developed for the California Department of Education) [Brief]. WestEd. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606075.pdf
Glen, C. R., Kleiman, E. M., Kellerman, J., Pollack, O., Cha, C. B., Esposito, E. C., Porter, A. C., Wyman, P. A., & Boatman, A. E. (2020). Annual Research Review: A meta‐analytic review of worldwide suicide rates in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 61(3), 294–308. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13106
Kavia, S., & Murphy, M. S. (2021). Coming into mindfulness: a practice of relational presence to cultivate compassion in one rural school. LEARNing Landscapes, 14(1), 181–202. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1304978.pdf
Keller, J. M., & Deimann, M. (2018). Motivation, volition, and performance. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed., pp. 78–86). Pearson Education, Inc.
Mindful Schools. (2019, March 1). 5 mindful movement practices for youth [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/CGX2lU35Jqc
Mindful Schools. (2022). The Mindful Schools approach [Infographic]. MindfulSchools.org. https://www.mindfulschools.org
Mr. Colin Dodds. (2016, July 12). Mindful minute - snow (classroom, studying, school mental break) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/8y0QzKXb_U8
Raufelder, D., & Kulakow, S. (2021). The role of the learning environment in adolescents' motivational development. Motivation & Emotion, 45(3), 299–311. Retrieved August 16, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-021-09879-1
Rentala, S., Lau, B., Aladakatti, R., & Thimmajji, S. (2019). Effectiveness of holistic group health promotion program on educational stress, anxiety, and depression among adolescent girls – A pilot study. Journal of Family Medicine & Primary Care, 8(3), 1082–1089. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_378_18
Sullivan, D. (Executive Producer). (2020–2021). Mostly mindful for teens and tweens [Audio podcast]. Zen Librarian. https://zenlibrarian.ca/mostly-mindful-podcast/
Tedx Talks. (2012, May 2). Mindfulness and neural Integration: Daniel Siegel, MD at TEDxStudioCityED [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/LiyaSr5aeho
Zen Librarian. (2020). Podcast cover art [Image]. https://zenlibrarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Podcast-cover-art-.jpg
Principle 1: Relate to the learner
Teachers of middle and high schoolers face challenges with identifying and carrying out ways to motivate their student populations. As Keller & Deimann (2018) explain, motivation increases when the learner sees that the learning is connected with their goals (p. 80). As teachers and instructional designers collaborate on ways to incorporate task-oriented activities with the learning objectives, it is also critical to consider the priorities of this learner demographic. This blog highlights that adolescents often have priorities and expectations for communication and interests that vary significantly from those who plan and implement the content they are to consume. Ensuring there are opportunities for young adult students to reflect and tap into their goals allows…
Brittany Wright
July 2023
Mindfulness entails staying present without feeling overwhelmed. It aids students in stress management, concentration improvement, happiness enhancement, and better relationships. Embracing mindfulness can result in smoother and more enjoyable learning. The principles outlined in "Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology" align with this notion. Integrating mindfulness in instruction creates a nurturing environment, fostering student comfort in taking risks and being more relaxed and receptive to learning (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). This alignment promotes engagement and well-being in the educational journey.
Stress Reduction and Motivation: Mindfulness aligns with the engagement principle of stress reduction, as discussed by Reiser and Dempsey (2018). By practicing mindfulness, students can better manage academic stress and anxiety, which, as mentioned…
Goal Setting
One of the principles of learner engagement is that learners become more engaged when they feel what they’re learning is meaningful and tied to set goals (Reiser, 2005). A benefit of mindfulness is that it allows for the individual to set their own intentions and goals. When students are part of setting their goals, they are more likely to participate in completing them (Sun et al., 2022). Setting goals also reduces stress as the student knows what is expected of them. With expectations set, students can focus on how they want to accomplish their goals. Students have been found to be more likely to choose resources that are more helpful to their success (Huang, et al., 2023)…
Mindfulness can be assumed to require dedicated effort and practice. When googling the term "mindfulness," the search returns highly focused humans in seated poses projecting zen flow states. Allowing time dedicated to a practice that externally appears like just sitting still is a concept most people need help to afford. At the beginning of the pandemic, I participated in an eight-week group mindfulness course with a decade-long yogi and psychologist, Taylor Nelms. Taylor encouraged mindfulness to look different from a lotus pose and a silent mind, meditating as the M states within Shamash Alidina's graphic. Instead, that mindfulness is just a conscious effort to exist in the present. This concept made mindfulness practice much more accessible as a neurodivergent human.…
Creative and effective design
To design effective learning environments, or to develop holistic programs of human performance development, the instructional designer must understand and integrate capability, opportunity, and motivation in relation to their influences on effort, performance, and satisfaction (Keller, 1983a, 2008b, 2010) (2018). Although I thrived in my general education courses, it was my elective classes in high school where I thrived the most. Creative youth development is a dynamic area or community arts education that successfully bridges youth developments, the ongoing process through which youth acquire social, emotional, academic and vocational skills while also meeting their needs for physical and psychological safety, caring relationships, and community connection. (2016)
Positive effects of CYD programs on youth
Young people i…