Mindful Teachers Training Program (MTTP)

Please join us for our Mindful Teachers Training Program (MTTP), an 8-week experiential MKM created series. MTTP uses didactic teaching, discussion and role play to explore and embody the qualities of a mindful teacher and to learn to bring children and teens, grades Pre-K through 12th, age-appropriate mindfulness practices, games, activities and social skills based on social-emotional learning.  Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or the 4-Day Mindfulness Immersion is a prerequisite.*  

The Mindful Teachers Training Program includes:

• Mindful Movement brings children into an awareness of their bodies and changing physical sensations as they move through various poses which take them out of automatic pilot; it also teaches awareness of breathing.

• Mindful Games & Activities teaches children how to pay attention and to increase focus.

• Mindful Relaxation relaxes children through guided awareness of breathing, felt sensations in the body, feelings, which helps regulate over-stimulation and teaches proper breathing.

• Kindness Practices increases compassion and empathy in children both for themselves and others; leads to increased understanding of differences as well as a sense of connection with themselves, others, and the world around them.

Effective teaching requires habits of mind associated with mental flexibility, emotion regulation, and relationship management skills (Helsing, 2007; Schutz & Zembylas, 2009; Zapf, 2002). By cultivating the habit of being flexibly attentive, teachers may be better able to respond to students’ needs proactively, a key contributor to effective classroom management (Marzano, Marzono, & Pickering, 2003). In addition, teachers must problem solve “on the fly” as they interact with students of varying levels of maturity and readiness to learn. To do this in a manner that avoids unequal treatment and opportunities to learn among students with different backgrounds requires great awareness, empathy, and mental flexibility (Chang, 2009). Emotion regulation is especially important because if teachers become overly stressed in the classroom, they cannot leave in order to compose themselves but must self-regulate in the presence of the class and the stress itself, such as a student’s disruptive behavior (Roeser et al., 2012).

Research demonstrates that mindfulness training for children and teens:

• Increases Attention & Focus – resulting in higher academic achievement

• Reduces Stress – allowing kids to learn more and perform better

• Improves Impulse Control – increasing teaching time in the classroom

• Develops Emotional Regulation – teaching children to “respond” rather than “react”

• Builds Empathy & Compassion – cultivating greater understanding of cultural, religious and sexual diversity as well as reducing cruelty, bullying, and violence that create safer and happier school.

Are you in need of CE (Continuing Education) credits for this course?

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) Educators receive 41 Master Plan Points.  By registering with Mindful Kids Miami, you will secure a seat in the course.  Please also register on M-DCPS My Learning Plan for Master Plan Points (MPP).  

To be eligible to receive MPP you must attend all classes and complete the M-DCPS Online Survey.  Link to Mindful Kids Miami Registration Site will also be Posted on M-DCPS Weekly Reader. 

CEs intended for:  Chemical Dependency Counselors, Creative Arts Therapists, Nurses, Educators, Counselors/Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Psychoanalysts, Psychologists.  Credits to be paid at the end of the course.  Costs is $50. You must sign-in and out for each class to receive credits.

Location

Online

Program Details

• 2.5 hour classes

• Meet once a week for 8-weeks

• MTTP Guidebook

• Other materials to support practice

Class Fee

$400 per person

$100 (75% off) for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) Educators.