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MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, is an eight-week mindfulness training program that was created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He initially created it for chronically ill patients who were not responding well to traditional treatments, but it is now used for a wide variety of reasons by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. MBSR is supported by a wide body of research showing that it is effective at addressing chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and general stress reduction. MBSR demonstrably and repeatedly helped patients in those eight weeks and in some cases had proven effects up to four years later.

It is a secular program and is one of the largest non-religiously based mindfulness meditation programs. Its roots do come from spiritual teachings, as do all mindfulness meditation programs, but it is largely based on proven medical and psychological research. Because of this, it is open to everyone and does not suggest any religion over another to its students.

What can Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction do for me?

The program can train your attention to help you cultivate self-awareness, which allows you to make more fully reasoned out and wise decisions in your day-to-day life. You are invited to incorporate mindfulness into your routine, which will also help you be more aware of the present and focus on it. These strategies help you avoid rumination, either on the past or the future. You can learn to respond to stress, rather than reacting to it. You can also change your habitual reactivity patterns.

Kabat-Zinn also created the program to try to change people's focus from a narrative of the self where "I" and "me" are emphasized constantly. The question "Who am I?" is far more important than the answer.

MBSR can not cure diseases. It is meant to be a complementary aid to traditional medical treatments or an aid to your life. It also should not be used in lieu of psychological treatment from professionals, only in tandem with it. It can be used for those suffering from chronic pain, often in oncology units. Before starting an MBSR course, please check with your doctor if you are hoping to use the program as a complement to their prescribed treatment.

Research conducted in the decades since MBSR was created shows that the majority of people who complete the program later report significant benefits, including an increased ability to deal with both short and long-term stress, decreases in both physical and physiological symptoms, a strong sense of relaxation, reduction in pain, increased ability to deal with chronic pain, and a renewed excitement and energy to live.

What does an MBSR course look like?

Courses consist of weekly group meetings (these are 2.5 hour long classes), a one-day retreat with a seven-hour mindfulness practice, and daily homework (these generally last 45 minutes). The course is intense, but many believe it is worth the time commitment for the benefits to their health and wellbeing.

Group discussions are an essential part of the program. MBSR is not meant to be done on its own without a certified instructor. There are certified programs in most U.S. states and in over 30 countries as well as online programs, so there are many options for those looking to try a session.

During classes, students will develop mindful awareness and their resilience through practicing a variety of meditative and movement practices. These include body scans (a meditative exercise), sitting meditation, yoga and other forms of gentle mindful movement, and loving kindness meditation.

What should I look for when signing up for an MBSR course?

Make sure your instructor is certified. They may list the information for where they received their certification on their website or they may be listed in a database.

Here are the standards of practice from Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli (PDF). While they do stress that a cookie-cutter MBSR course does not work due to its focus on the present moment, there are necessary aspects.

1. The experience should be a challenge, not a chore. It should be something the participants want to do for themselves, rather than being disheartening and something they have to do to be healthy.

2. An understanding of the importance of the individual's own effort and motivation, meaning that the practice session must be done daily even when it feels hard or unnecessary

3. An understanding that this is a lifestyle change and that it will have to happen immediately. Adding 45 minutes of meditation to one's day six or seven times a week along with the live sessions is a commitment, but one the participant should be aware of going into the course.

4. Fostering knowledge of the importance of the present moment during the practice.

5. This comes from an educational place rather than a therapeutic one, and the timed, but limited live sessions with group practice are important.

6. A medically heterogeneous environment, which is to say that when being used for an explicitly medical purpose, participants should not be split into classes based on their diagnosis. This allows for a focus on what they all have in common, rather than what they are experiencing due to their disease, illness, or condition that makes them separate from other people.

7. Pre- and post-program interviews are not necessary, but can often be helpful. This may be as simple as a survey you fill out before and after the course.

8. The program must consist of: an orientation session (2.5 hours), eight weekly classes (2.5-3.5 hours each), an all-day silent retreat during the sixth week of the program (7.5 hours), "formal" mindfulness meditation methods, "informal" mindfulness meditation methods, daily home assignments, individual and group dialogue about the home assignments, and an exit assessment strategy and individual self-assessment during the week eight course.

9. All course teachers must meet the MBSR standards of readiness and competency.

10. As the group format is essential to MBSR, class size should not exceed the instructor's ability to listen to and aid each student when necessary, or become so large that the group aspects of the program are no longer useful.

Look at the organization providing your MBSR course. Several universities, including Brown, have begun to offer MBSR classes and to train teachers. Taking a program from a reputable university, or from someone who has been trained by them, is a good way to know if you will be taking a true MBSR program. Additionally, there are other well-regarded organizations that offer MBSR courses. If you are not sure if the organization you are looking at is reputable, look up their reviews online or compare their website to the MBSR standards of practice to ensure the course will contain all of the necessary components to be considered an MBSR course.

Where can I find MBSR 8-week programs?

There are courses offered throughout the U.S. and in many other countries. Some are taught by individuals who are not qualified and that do not follow the official standards or course format. Make sure to look into the qualifications of instructors and course format to ensure you experience the MBSR course as it was intended. Here are ones we recommend, including our course.

Where can I find qualified MBSR instructors?

How can I become a certified MBSR program teacher?

MBSR teachers go through a rigorous training process. There are reputable teacher training programs throughout the US, or you can find a program online.

Additional MBSR Resources:

Free Online Course:

Books:

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
From Goodreads (4.2 stars): Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is perhaps the best-known proponent of using meditation to help patients deal with illness. This book is also a terrific introduction for anyone who has considered meditating but was afraid it would be too difficult or would include religious practices they found foreign.

MBSR Every Day: Daily Practices from the Heart of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein:
From Goodreads (4.1 stars): In the tradition of their highly successful A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Elisha Goldstein and Bob Stahl present a unique, accessible collection of daily practices to help readers stay grounded in the here and now.

A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook
by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein:
From Goodreads (4.1 stars): The ultimate practical guide to MBSR-with more than 115,000 copies sold-is now available in a fully revised and updated second edition.

The Mindful Way through Depression
by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel V. Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn
From Goodreads (4.06 stars): The Mindful Way through Depression draws on the collective wisdom of four internationally renowned cognitive therapy and mindfulness experts, including best-selling author Jon Kabat-Zinn, to help you break the mental habits that can lead to despair.

Mindfulness for Beginners
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
From Goodreads (3.8 stars): What if you could profoundly change your life just by becoming more mindful of your breathing? According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, you can. What if paying attention on purpose (and nonjudgmentally) could improve your health? Again, according to Dr. Kabat-Zinn--it can.

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MBSR, or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, is an eight week mindfulness and stress reduction program that was created by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979 a...

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Pizzaiuolo

Gusta pizza

Da michele

Starita

Torcicoda

Pizzaman

O munaciello

Simbiosi
the bridge

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LEGO Serious Play for Education in 3 minutes (final version).

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Eating as mindfully as we do on retreat or in a mindfulness course is not realistic for many of us, especially with families, jobs, and the myriad distractions around us. This is not to mention that our friends, family and colleagues might not have the patience to eat with us as we take five minutes with each bite. So have some self-compassion, and consider formal mindful eating on retreat and special occasions, as well as informal mindful eating in your daily life.

What I want to offer in this piece is what I call more mindful eating, perhaps "informal" mindful eating as opposed to formal mindful eating. Especially during the craziness and stress and extra food of the holidays, that Halloween to New Years stretch in which are more likely to eat mindlessly than mindfully. Here are six simple guidelines to keep in mind to discern between mindless and (more) mindful eating, and bring our bodies and minds back together.

1) Let your body catch up to your brain

Eating rapidly past full and ignoring your body's signals vs. slowing down and eating and stopping when your body says its full.

Slowing down is one of the best ways we can get our mind and body to communicate what we really need for nutrition. The body actually sends its satiation signal about 20 minutes after the brain, which is why we often unconsciously overeat. But, if we slow down, you can give your body a chance to catch up to your brain and hear the signals to eat the right amount. Simple ways to slow down might just include follow many of your grandmother's manners, like sitting down to eat, chewing each bite 25 times (or more), setting your fork down between bites, and all those old manners that are maybe not as pointless as they seemed. What are some ways you can slow down eating and listen more deeply to your body's signals

2) Know your body's personal hunger signals

Are you responding to an emotional want or responding to your body's needs?

Often we listen first to our minds, but like many mindfulness practices, we might discover more wisdom by tuning into our bodies first. Rather than just eating when we get emotional signals, which may be different for each of us, be they stress, sadness, frustration, loneliness or even just boredom, we can listen to our bodies. Is your stomach growling, energy low, or feeling a little lightheaded? Too often, we eat when our mind tells us to, rather than our bodies. True mindful eating is actually listening deeply to our body's signals for hunger. Ask yourself: What are your body's hunger signals, and what are your emotional hunger triggers?

3) Cultivate a mindful kitchen

Eating alone and randomly vs. eating with others at set times and places.

Another way that we eat mindlessly is by wandering around looking through cabinets, eating at random times and places, rather than just thinking proactively about our meals and snacks. This slows us down for one thing, but prevents us from developing healthy environmental cues about what and how much to eat, and wires our brains for new cues for eating that not always ideal. (do you really want to create a habit to eat every time you get in the car, or other situations?) Sure, we all snack from time to time, but it can boost both your mind and body's health, not to mention greatly helping your mood and sleep schedule to eat at consistent times and places. Yes, that means sitting down (at a table!), putting food on a plate or bowl, not eating it out of the container, and using utensils not our hands. It also helps to eat with others, not only are you sharing and getting some healthy connection, but you also slow down and can enjoy the food and conversation more, and we take our cues from our dinner partner, not over or undereating out of emotion.

Having a mindful kitchen means organizing and caring for your kitchen space so it encourages healthy eating and nourishing gatherings. Consider what you bring into your kitchen and where you put things away. Are healthy foods handy? What kinds of foods are in sight? When food is around, we eat it.

There are many reasons that the raisin eating it is such a powerful exercise, but one is that when we slow down and eat healthy foods like raisins, we often enjoy them more than the story we tell ourselves about healthy foods.

You don't have to plan your food down to each bite, and its important to be flexible especially at special occasions, but just be aware of the fact that you might be changing your eating habits at different times of year or for different occasions. And when you do plan ahead, you are also more likely to eat the amount your body needs in that moment than undereating and indulging later, or overeating and regretting it later.

Classic advice is to also not shop when hungry, but the middle path applies here as well. A psychological effect known as "moral licensing" has shown that shoppers who buy kale are more likely to then head to the alcohol or ice cream section than those who don't. We seem to think that our karma will balance out and we can "spend" it on junk food, or other less than ideal behaviors.

4) Understand your motivations

Eating foods that are emotionally comforting vs. eating foods that are nutritionally healthy.

This is another tricky balance, and ideally we can find nourishing foods that are also satisfying and comforting. But think back to that first mindful raisin. Did that seem appealing before you tried it? There are many reasons that the raisin eating it is such a powerful exercise, but one is that when we slow down and eat healthy foods like raisins, we often enjoy them more than the story we tell ourselves about healthy foods. As we practice eating healthier and a greater variety foods, we are less inclined to binge on our comfort foods, and more inclined to enjoy healthy foods, ultimately finding many foods mentally and physically satisfying as opposed to just a few.

5) Connect more deeply with your food

Considering where food comes from vs. thinking of food as an end product.

Unless you are a hunter-gatherer or sustenance farmer, we have all become ever more disconnected from our food in recent years. Many of us don't even consider where a meal comes from beyond the supermarket packaging. This is a loss, because eating offers an incredible opportunity to connect us more deeply to the natural world, the elements and to each other.

When we pause to consider all of the people involved in the meal that has arrived on your plate, from the loved ones (and yourself) who prepared it, to those who stocked the shelves, to those who planted and harvested the raw ingredients, to those who supported them, it is hard to not feel both grateful and interconnected. Be mindful of the water, soil, and other elements that were part of its creation as you sit down to eat whatever you are eating. You can reflect on the cultural traditions that brought you this food, the recipes generously shared from friends, or brought from a distant place and time to be a handed down in the family.

As you consider everything that went into the meal, it becomes effortless to experience and express gratitude to all of the people who gave their time and effort, the elements of the universe that contributed their share, our friends or ancestors who shared recipes and even the beings who may have given their lives to a part of creating this meal. With just a little more mindfulness like this, we may begin to make wiser choices about sustainability and health in our food, not just for us but for the whole planet.

6) Attend to your plate

Distracted eating vs. just eating

Multitasking and eating is a recipe for not being able to listen deeply to our body's needs and wants. We've all had the experience of going to the movies with our bag full of popcorn, and before the coming attractions are over, we are asking who ate all of our popcorn. When we are distracted, it becomes harder to listen to our body's signals about food and other needs. With your next meal, try single-tasking and just eating, with no screens or distractions besides enjoying the company you are sharing a meal and conversation with.

So while formal mindful eating practices may be what we think of when we look back on a mindfulness course or retreat we attended, the reality is that we do live, and eat, in the real world which is a busy place. But we can take the insights gained from our formal practice- slowing down, listening to our bodies, doing one thing at a time, making even small rituals, and considering all that went into our meal on a more regular basis and bring more informal mindfulness to our daily meals.

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6 Ways to Practice Mindful Eating - Mindful

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Eating as mindfully as we do on retreat or in a mindfulness course is not realistic for many of us, especially with families, jobs, and the myriad distractions around us. This is not to mention that our friends, family and colleagues might not have the patience to eat with us as we take five minutes with each bite.

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Antico Noè

La vecchia bettola
Za za

Da Mario

Osteria dei cento poveri

Nerbone

Sabatino
Brindellone

Simbiosi

Il contadino

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Find Your 24 Character Strengths | Personal Strengths List | VIA Institute | VIA Institute

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Everyone possesses all 24 character strengths in different degrees. See the full character strengths list here & learn about your unique personal strengths.

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layla.dari@europass.it

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

The messages found on school and classroom walls should reflect the values that staff and administrators hold dear.

Kristen Prahl / Shutterstock

I once worked with a colleague who focused on social and emotional learning (SEL) for parents. She always maintained that anything that is important to a family is either on the refrigerator... or in it. She made a point of designing materials that could be put on the fridge with magnets that would remind parents of ways to prompt SEL in their kids on a daily basis.

I was reminded of this last October, when a delegation from the Singapore Ministry of Education visited schools in Paramus, Montville, and Roselle, New Jersey, to see how these buildings put SEL into action. These schools have powerful, optimistic visions of their students' futures and see SEL as essential to student success in school and life. Some of their schools have received Promising Practices and School of Character awards from Character.org and have been recognized by New Jersey's School Culture and Climate Initiative.

'A CAT Scan of the Soul'

I couldn't help but notice the attention that the delegation paid to the walls of the classroom and the hallways of the school. I was curious about this and was informed that regardless of what people might tell you they are doing, what they have created and placed on their walls is a great clue to what they value the most. One person described it as being like "a CAT scan of the soul."

The delegation was looking at the walls for answers to certain questions-questions that almost always were answered with some version of "yes."

Here are examples from the three New Jersey school districts just visited and some others.

Emphasizing SEL Skills and core values
Pledge to the Universe
I pledge allegiance to the world
To cherish every living thing
To care for EARTH, SEA, and AIR
With PEACE and FREEDOM everywhere! Dear Big Bad Wolf,
You shouldn't kill the little pigs! Let them live. You need SPS. You've got problems!
From, Billy
The most powerful indicators of core values are not signs that state them, but rather work displayed that integrates them and puts them into action. In one school, every day, in addition to saying the Pledge of Allegiance, middle school students recite these pledges that they cocreated and posted on classroom walls, embodying the school's core values:

Pledge to Myself
This day has been given to me fresh and clean.
I can either use it or throw it away.
I promise myself I shall use this day to its fullest, realizing it can never come back again.
I realize this is my life to use or throw away.
I MAKE MYSELF WHAT I AM.

applying SEL skills to academics

One way of applying skills to academics is to ask students to write letters to characters in books they are reading that reflect the SEL or character lessons they are receiving. One of my favorites was posted on a bulletin board in a first-grade classroom where students participated in the Rutgers University Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program (SPS):

In other classrooms, during social studies, students were asked to write or draw responses to the questions, "What do I think would make the world a more peaceful place?" and "What are ways to be more conscious of our classroom and school environment?"

applying SEL skills to school issues

Almost all SEL programs include a systematic problem-solving strategy that students learn. Have students use this strategy and/or core values to propose solutions to school problems that are then posted on the walls as reminders about how to handle certain situations.

In one class, each student was asked to write about the theme of "No Violence" based on their school's problem-solving model and core values. Groups of responses were posted on the wall on a rotating basis. Here is one example:
Courtesy of Maurice J. Elias
There should not be any violence in this school. Not even at any other school. We need to Stop, Choose, and Move On. We need to persevere and not fight. We have to respect other people's boundaries. No violence! Persevere! Be kind to others!

reflecting positive commitment to the classroom or school

1. What is the problem?

2. What are some solutions?

3. For each solution, ask:
Is it safe?
How might people feel?
Is it fair?
Will it work?

4. Is it working? If not, what can I do now?

The site visitors felt that messages from teachers to their students posted on the wall as a constant and tangible reminder of support can be inspiring to students and a good reminder to teachers about the bigger picture of their work. Below is a message from one fourth-grade teacher.

reminding Students About key strategies
Courtesy of Maurice J. Elias
Expecting students to remember everything they learn in SEL-or any-lessons is not a realistic strategy. By posting reminders of key strategies, teachers make it more likely that students will bring those strategies into everyday classroom interactions. The following was posted in a fourth-grade classroom:
What Makes a Friend a Friend
reminders about caring, kindness, and support

As with the SEL strategies, reminders about relationships improve the classroom climate and help students reflect on their own behavior. These are most effective when cocreated with your students. This poster was found in a second-grade classroom:

A combined fourth- and fifth-grade classroom displayed the following:

F-Forgives you
R-Respects you
I-Involves you
E-Encourages you
N-Needs you
D-Deserves you
S-Supports you

As the delegation completed its visits to schools, Montville school counselor Doug Stech spoke to how engaging youth directly "activates SEL skills and fosters inclusiveness.... We made a change from finding joy in success to finding success in joy." And Roselle superintendent of schools Dr. Nathan Fisher provided an apt summary: "There is no 'Ro sel le' without SEL." We might take the liberty of saying there is no SEL learning without the walls speaking.

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Social and Emotional Learning on the Walls

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Schools that value social and emotional learning will show that through positive messages that convey SEL on the walls of the school.

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The Secret Power of Shinrin-Yoku | REVOLVE

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The Art and Science of Japanese Forest Bathing We all know how good being in forests can make us feel. We have known it for millennia. The sounds of the for ...

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osteria dei cento poveri
la cucina del ghianda (for lunch)
Sabatino
Da rocco (inside the market)
il contadino

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Taking the class out of the classroom to solve space problems.

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The Sensory Room: Helping Students With Autism Focus and Learn

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Antico vinaio

Mercato centrale

Sant’Ambrogio Market

Lampredotto and trippa

Le murate

Rifrullo

Oblate cafè

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The art of happiness through positive education - learning world

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Tourcoing, Collège CNDI

samuel.masset@sctg.fr

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Wellbeing: Developing Empathy, Emotional Awareness, and Agency

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Learn how School 21 explores topics like culture, diversity, and responsibility using drama techniques, grounding texts, and controversial statements.

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Creating a Positive Learning Environment

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How to Set Healthy Boundaries & Build Positive Relationships

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Setting healthy boundaries is an important aspect of great self-care. Here are examples, tips, and worksheets helping you set boundaries.

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5 Minutes Mindfulness - Sitting still like a frog -For Classrooms, Educators and Families

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Gelateria de’ Medici

Rivareno Gelato

La Carraia

Vivoli

La strega nocciola

Procopio

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What is Flow Theory? What does this mean for our students?

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simaitha@aol.com

amandine.michel@sctg.fr

France

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The social and emotional intelligence definition refers to the ability to be aware of one's own feelings in the present moment. In an academic setting, this includes important skills such as being able to communicate effectively with others, work in groups, and control impulses.

Since emotions affect intellectual processes, students who have been provided with instruction in social and emotional intelligence are better behaved and have a more positive attitude than those who haven't received this type of instruction.

What are the Components of Social Emotional Intelligence?

Social-emotional intelligence helps students feel good about themselves while doing positive actions. Thoughts, actions and feelings about self are all intertwined, and socio-emotional intelligence provides instructions in specific components, which include:

Self-awareness - Instruction in self-awareness helps students learn to intentionally build positive thoughts and positive behaviors.

Self-management - Students learn to manage their time, energy, talents and money, which can improve impulse control.

Social awareness - Positive interactions with others requires the ability to empathize with people who may have come from much different backgrounds or cultures. Besides growing in personal awareness and empathy, students learn to be aware of the feelings and actions of people in their support system including family, friends and community.

Relationship management and social skills - Students learn to treat other people with cooperation and respect, and learn how positive treatment of others can lead to improved relationships.

Improved communication and responsible decision-making skills can have a positive impact on learning. Students who may have been fearful or anxious before learning social-emotional intelligence often become able to learn more quickly. Social emotional awareness can help set students on a path for success in school and ultimately in their adult lives.

Social Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence

Although social intelligence and emotional intelligence are related, they aren't exactly the same thing. Emotional versus social intelligence can be thought of as the difference between the way you or your students relate to yourselves versus the way you relate to each other.

When comparing emotional intelligence and social intelligence, emotional intelligence involves self-awareness, self-regulation and self-control. Social intelligence is less focused on one's own emotions or reactions and more focused on sensitivity toward the feelings, moods and motivations of others and the ability to interact with others as part of a group.

How to Increase Social Emotional Intelligence for Your Students

The most effective learning environment is one in which students experience lessons that are meaningful, challenging and engaging in a supportive environment. Increasing social emotional intelligence is an important part of providing students with a foundation for academic performance and positive social behavior.

Different tactics can be used to teach emotional and social intelligence and to increase the use of social-emotional learning in school and in daily life. Students can be encouraged to share their opinions, to grow in awareness of their own emotional reactions and to notice the posture and facial expressions of others. These skills can be incorporated into any subject, such as considering how chemicals react to each other in science and questioning the actions and behaviors of people in history.

How Positive Action Can Help

Positive Action is a social-emotional program that can help stimulate interest in learning and improve behavior. It's a multi-purpose model that has benefits for both students and teachers in several areas including:

Physical - Improved self-awareness can lead to better physical health, including lower body mass index.

Emotional - Better social emotional skills can help to reduce depression.

Intellectual - Students have an increased desire to learn, leading to improved academic performance.

Social - Students learn to interact with others in meaningful and positive ways, which can lead to a reduction in bullying

The philosophy behind Positive Action teaches students that positive actions lead to positive feelings about themselves. Positive Action is a program designed by a teacher for teachers. It simplifies the process of implementing emotional intelligence and social intelligence with prepared lessons that include a comprehensive manual, booklets, activity sheets, and more. Focusing on social and emotional intelligence first thing in the morning provides concepts that can be reinforced throughout the day.

When students feel good about themselves, there are fewer disruptive behaviors such as violence, alcohol, or substance abuse. Students have better relationships with each other and can carry the concepts of social and emotional intelligence into their adult lives, leading to a better chance of success and happiness. Contact us today and find out how Positive Action can revolutionize the learning environment for your students.

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Social and Emotional Intelligence: An Introductory Guide

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The social and emotional intelligence definition refers to the ability to be aware of one's own feelings in the present moment. In an academic setting, this includes important skills such as being able to communicate effectively with others, work in groups, and control impulses.

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Lego Serious Play to help you to help you to create a positive spaces

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Lego Serious Play to help you to help you to create a positive spaces

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How to use Lego Serious Play for problem-solving activities:

Groups of 3 or 4
Duration: around 40 min

Aim: use the 4Cs (creativity, critical-thinking, collaboration and communication) to design a solution to the group's challenge using a metaphor: "LEGO".

1. Confirm the topic you chose and think about the possible questions you'd ask your students in order to help them to come up with the driving question.
7 minutes

2. Discuss the goal or goals of your project and how to connect it with the topic, subjects and driving questions.
7 minutes

3. Build your goal using LEGO.
10 minutes

4. Take a picture and upload it on padlet. Than stand up and observe each other's creations. Let's try to wonder: what are the goals about.
2 -4 min

5. Presentation of the Goal
7 -10 min

6. Debriefing: did you enjoy the activity? What was the hardest and the coolest part of it? Finally, explain the use of Lego Serious Play to develop the 4Cs.
2 min.

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Dove andare a fare un aperitivo a Firenze? Scopri il Caffè del Verone

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Il Caffè del Verone è la location perfetta per fare aperitivo con vista. Scopri la splendida terrazza che si affaccia su tutta Firenze.

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Activity: Strengths-Based Team Building

1. Positive Emotions (P): Begin with a brief discussion on positive emotions. Ask each participant to share a recent positive experience at work.

2. Engagement (E): Divide the group into pairs. Have each pair identify a task or project they find engaging and discuss how they can bring more engagement into their roles.

3. Relationships (R): Form small teams and task them with collaboratively identifying and sharing the strengths of each team member. Encourage open communication and mutual appreciation.

4. Meaning (M): Have each participant reflect on a moment in their career that felt particularly meaningful. Ask them to share this experience with the group and discuss how it aligns with their personal values.

5. Accomplishment (A): Conclude the activity by setting a group goal related to their roles as assistant headmasters. Outline specific steps to achieve this goal, fostering a sense of accomplishment.

This activity not only aligns with P.E.R.M.A. principles but also promotes teamwork, communication, and a strengths-based approach to professional development.

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I'm a teacher of ESL at EOIP-IHEO in Pamplona (Spain) and also part of the school management team. Our students are adults that want to learn and get an official certificate of the languages we teach.

You can reach me via email gmunarrn@educacion.navarra.es

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Developing Emotional Literacy Across the Grade Levels

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Teaching students how to identify and express their own emotions—and consider those of others—empowers them and sets them up for learning.

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Incorporating the Calming Corner Into Station Rotation

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Elementary students benefit from opportunities to take a break from academic learning and explore activities that support their emotional development.

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A short contemplative exercise can help students calm themselves and get ready to learn.

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Il Vegetariano - Ristorante vegetariano e vegano

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Ci piace attingere alle cucine regionali italiane dando però uno sguardo verso il "mondo". Per questo da più di 40 anni creiamo un'alternativa sostenibile alla classica ristorazione Fiorentina pur mantenendo un forte contatto con il territorio e le sue tradizioni.

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Administrators and teachers can join to improve a school's culture by strengthening relationships with students and colleagues.

Jing Jing Tsong / The iSpot

Every day in school, educators strive to build and sustain relationships, recognizing their fundamental role in effective communication, trust, and creating a supportive learning environment. Whether these relationships involve students, colleagues, or administrators, the quality of them profoundly impacts the growth and positivity of school environments.

As a leader of principal supervisors in my school division (Rashard) and as a teacher (Cathleen), we have found that the quality of those relationships can easily be enhanced with a mix of positive psychology and intentionality in a term we like to call heartwork. Heartwork is centered on intentionally creating nurturing, thriving environments for individuals, classrooms, and schools to grow.

The term heartwork also serves as a reminder that our hearts are the motivators of action and play a pivotal role in the relationships formed in our classrooms and schools. We both have found three keys to heartwork that can deepen relationships and help foster more positive school connections: active listening, having an asset-based focus, and promoting a culture of communication and encouragement.

3 Heartwork Keys

Key 1: Listen actively to promote understanding and trust. The first key to nurturing positive relationships through heartwork is authentic active listening. It goes beyond merely hearing words, demanding heightened focus, absence of judgment, and unwavering intentionality.

I (Rashard) once supported a school leader chosen for a new role within our division. Initially, the news was met with resistance, questioning my knowledge of them. Instead of taking it personally, I committed to altering their perception. I embarked on a trust-building journey, visiting the leader's school twice during the crucial first week.

Be fully present. Engage with unwavering presence, eliminating distractions.

Practice reflective listening. Reflect on what's heard to encourage clarification.

Ask open-ended questions. Promote meaningful dialogues with questions beginning with "How...," "What...," or "Why..."

Show empathy. Understand and validate emotions beneath spoken words.

Practice patience without judgment. Building trust takes time; set aside biases.

Active listening is the foundation of trust. Practicing it builds rapport, conveying, "I see you, I hear you, and I genuinely care." Educators should apply five fundamental steps for active listening to build better relationships:

Genuine listening and understanding create an environment where relationships thrive through everyone's thoughts and feelings being respected and valued.

Key 2: Maintain an asset-based focus. I (Cathleen) utilize a strengths directory to foster positive relationships within the school community. This directory highlights the strengths and assets of both students and staff, emphasizing that the school's strength comes from its people.

To create the directory, I use a Google Form with reflective questions that help guide a person to identify their strengths and assets. Once they're collected, I share the results with the class and colleagues, showcasing everyone's skills and hobbies.

Schools often lack space for recognizing each person's value. The strengths directory promotes collegiality, connecting students and staff based on their strengths. For example, a student needing help might find an expert in the directory, or a teacher may discover colleagues with specialized expertise.

Unlike the deficit-focused nature of education, this practice highlights individuals' strengths. It not only fosters relationships but also extends beyond school, with students connecting over shared strengths like video editing or knitting. The strengths directory allows everyone to be seen and valued, promoting relationships based on seeing the best in every person you come across.

Promote open communication. Establish a welcoming environment for students and staff to express themselves freely. Incorporate informal gatherings like "coffee times," utilize suggestion jars, and implement Google Forms to gather valuable input. To effectively address challenges, create structured feedback mechanisms such as weekly school improvement suggestions and advice boxes. Encourage active participation by inviting individuals to voice concerns and share innovative solutions, fostering a problem-solving culture and trust within the school community.

Provide encouragement. Recognize and celebrate individual and collective achievements. Morning shout-outs and a "walk of fame" where students and staff celebrate their accomplishments in and outside of school can boost morale and reinforce positive relationships.

Key 3: Cultivate effective communication and encouragement. Culture and climate, often cited in exit interviews, drive both new and experienced educators away from schools. Nurturing a school's culture is vital for thriving relationships. Support, communication, encouragement, and effort all contribute to a growth-oriented culture in which relationships can thrive.

Teachers could have an area for a fridge door in their classroom where students are given a space to share highlights of their lives, work, and accomplishments, as they might on a refrigerator door at home. By giving every kid an area on the wall to share appropriate content, educators value student individuality and give everyone a space to share highlights of their lives, fostering classroom relationship building.

Going Forward

These three keys-active listening, an asset-based focus, and effective communication and encouragement-nurture positive relationships in education. Cultivating active listening and trust forms a collaborative, respectful learning environment. Embracing strengths propels us to value every voice and unlock leadership. Building a culture of support binds these elements. Through heartwork, we embark on a transformative journey, fostering hope, growth, and positivity to build a relationship that supports every person to thrive.

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Administrators and teachers can join to improve a school's culture by strengthening relationships with students and colleagues.

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mrairom372@g.educaand.es

I.E.S. Ilipa Magna, Alcalá del Río (Sevilla, Spain)

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libreria brac | libreria di arte contemporanea, caffé e cucina

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Libreria d'arte, caffè, cucina vegetariana e vegana - Firenze

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1 week together

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Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

Teachers can merge social and emotional learning and student choice to guide students to better understand themselves.

monkeybusinessimages / iStock

Emotional intelligence includes the capacity to recognize and manage moods and emotions in real-world situations. Considered the starting point of social and emotional skill development, emotional intelligence can also predict future academic success.

Many educational technology tools can support emotional intelligence development. For instance, Pear Deck's guided slide show tool features social and emotional learning (SEL) templates for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint. In my teaching, I have used the interactive Stress Check thermometer, which students can use to check in along a range indicating whether they are in a good space to focus or if they're having difficulty managing emotions today.

Other slides are open-ended, asking students what fills-or what drains-their metaphorical buckets. When I did this activity with my students during remote instruction, answers varied widely. Some expressed gratitude for friends and family, while others shared uncertainties. In fact, tAfter students checked in, a discussion around self-care strategies took place.

In addition to Pear Deck, Nearpod and Microsoft Teams offer SEL tool sets. Some teachers also use surveys, like Google Forms, to check in with students. These may also include reflective activities, as well as mood boards-images of emotive faces along with feelings words (happy, calm, sad) that children click on that match their feelings. Some mood boards adapt Gloria Willcox's 1982 Feelings Wheel, a visual taxonomy of emotions built around core emotions of sad, mad, scared, joyful, powerful, and peaceful. From these, spokes fan out, listing related emotions.

As with many classrooms, the Feelings Wheel hangs in my son's fifth-grade class. Students use it to recognize and label how they feel at any given moment.

Children Can Become 'Emotion Scientists'

The Mood Meter is an emotion check-in tool similar to the Feelings Wheel but slightly different in intent. The goal here is for people-not just children-to become what Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence founder Marc Brackett calls "emotion scientists." In his popular book Permission to Feel, Brackett wrote, "An emotion scientist has the ability to pause even at the most stressful moments and ask: What am I reacting to? We can learn to identify and understand all our feelings, integral and incidental, and then respond in helpful, proportionate ways- once we acquire emotional skills."

The Mood Meter is not a wheel; rather, it presents emotions in four color-specific quadrants connecting moods to energy levels. Along the numbered x- and y-axes, the red quadrant describes high-energy unpleasant moods, while yellow is where pleasant but high-energy emotions reside. The blue zone contains unpleasant, low-energy moods, and green represents pleasant but low-energy moods.

Use Mood-Aligned Choice Boards

Students' moods and energy levels can impact how they learn, as well as their behaviors in the classroom. For instance, students who self-report being in the yellow quadrant may be in the mindset to take part in creative problem-solving activities. Conversely, children who have high-energy, unpleasant moods can be led to harness their emotions in classroom debates or Socratic seminars.

In my new book, , I share gameful strategies to help students develop as emotion scientists in learner-driven environments. More than student-centered, "learner-driven" implies that students feel a sense of control over their education. Learner agency, or autonomy, along with feelings of competence and relatedness, describe three factors of self-determination theory. Self-determination is a basic human need, and sometimes people find other outlets to achieve it when they cannot in their everyday lives. This concept is one of the reasons so many of us play video games outside of work and school.

Choice boards are a strategy that some teachers use as a step toward supporting self-determination. Typically written as a menu of options that students can take to demonstrate learning, choice boards vary. Sometimes resembling a tic-tac-toe board, they can be made digitally using hyperlinks on shared Google or Microsoft Word documents. There are many free templates online, too, including options from SlidesMania. Choice can manifest in physical classrooms as well, with learning centers or stations geared toward specific learning outcomes.

As this video suggests, teachers can create SEL-aligned choice boards that match students' moods to learning activities, thereby deepening emotional intelligence skills while also engendering feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In a gamified classroom, choice boards can become quests. Teachers can use tools like Classcraft to wrap student learning as a choose-your-own-adventure hero's journey.

To level up, students can participate in brainstorming activities on a Google Jamboard if they are in the yellow quadrant or inquiry-based activities if they are in the blue. In project-based classrooms, teachers can align role-play to driving questions, boosting meaning to choices that students make. In a math class, students can approach authentic problems as architects; social students can become archaeologists.

In addition to mood-aligned choice boards, the activities themselves can embed SEL in the curriculum. Consider how students can work together to learn goal setting and team building as skills. Perhaps there are opportunities for learners to cultivate empathy and perspective-taking in lessons, particularly as students reconnect with one another in person, back in physical classrooms.

Self-determination can also be actualized using student choice and voice-a component of project-based learning where passions can drive experiences. If a child loves Minecraft or poetry writing or fan fiction writing and is in the mood to learn, the possibilities are endless.

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A Path to Improving Students' Emotional Intelligence

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) Teachers can merge social and emotional learning and student choice to guide students to better understand themselves. monkeybusinessimages / iStock Emotional intelligence includes the capacity to recognize and manage moods and emotions in real-world situations. Considered the starting point of social and emotional skill development, emotional intelligence can also predict future academic success.

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Discover Your Purpose in Life (Ikigai in 4 Steps)

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1 week together

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Vila Nova de Gaia - Portugal

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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ao.irenecarla@agrcanelas.edu.pt

Vila Nova de Gaia - Portugal.

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Administration & Leadership

Retaining teachers can be a challenge, especially now, but focusing on making the workload more manageable helps.

Hiring, training, and retaining phenomenal educators has always been key to success in education. In the year dubbed "The Great Resignation," however, teacher retention has become an ever-present challenge. There's a strong link between teacher burnout and attrition, and as burnout rates continue to increase and teaching roles become more complex, school leaders must look to burnout reduction to retain and grow their faculty.

Here are five areas where school leaders can make an impact on teacher burnout right now.

1. Extra Role Stress

It's no surprise that extra roles fuel burnout for teachers. This is especially important for new teachers who may need more time to become fully acclimated to their teaching roles. They're often "voluntold" to place additional tasks on their plate, like chaperoning, coaching, coordinating programs, or tutoring.

Wise school leaders know that the benefit of fulfilling these roles will be outweighed by the eventual departure of teachers who have too much on their plate. Begin to ask yourself, "Where can I alleviate roles for my staff? Can I bring in more parent volunteers or reduce the workload of these extra roles?" Be a role reducer, not a role enforcer.

2. Lack of Mentorship

Do your teachers have a clear path to mentorship? Do they have the time and space for mentoring? Positive support and mentorship can have a lasting impact on burnout reduction. Many school leaders and districts, however, create a mentorship program without considering how to effectively execute it.

Consider how and when your new teachers will work with a mentor. Will they be able to see strong, veteran teachers in action? Will the experienced teachers have an opportunity to see the novice work as well? Is there a time slot built in for reflection and dialogue within school hours?

3. Accountability Measures

From the top of every school down, we all feel the impact of standardization and accountability. As a school leader, you may feel that there's little you can do to change an accountability system that also weighs heavily on you.

Effective leaders understand that added pressure with no added purpose will simply lead to more stress and burnout. On the other hand, leaders can build a strong culture by leading with purpose. Any policy you implement with a powerful, clear, connected purpose can be successful.

Culture-building tip: Emphasis on test scores is strongly connected to a lack of satisfaction for teachers. If you need to raise exam scores, allow teachers to sit on the committee that brainstorms that process. They'll feel more purposeful and heard if they have a hand in any decisions about what to implement and how.

4. Lack of Autonomy

How autonomous are your teachers? Research shows a powerful connection between autonomy and job satisfaction. Professional educators want control over the way they perform their job duties.

Even more alarming in terms of burnout is the sense of demoralization. When teachers feel that they have no control, they may also feel like they can't do what's right for their students. A lack of autonomy and a feeling of violating their own morality can leave educators feeling abandoned and burned out at the highest levels.

Be an obstacle remover. Amazing school leaders seek out areas where teachers don't feel autonomous. Sometimes the issue may be huge (like decisions over curriculum). Often, however, you may be able to quickly give them autonomy over small obstacles like hall passes, bathroom policies, and lesson plan templates. An autonomous, respected faculty is one that's positioned to thrive.

5. Burnout Contagion

Have you ever thought of burnout as being contagious? Unfortunately, studies suggest that there are contagious elements to burnout. It may not be as simple as catching an illness by being in the same room or coughing near each other, but burnout can spread across your school community.

To avoid the burnout contagion, give ample opportunity and punishment-free space for teachers to voice concerns related to their burnout. Burnout spread happens behind closed doors when teachers vent and complain about an administration that "just doesn't understand." You can flip that script and show your understanding by valuing and creating authentic spaces for teachers to share concerns directly with you and by following up with meaningful action to alleviate their concerns.

Retaining quality teachers has never been more difficult. Any policy or program you roll out this year must be done with burnout in mind. A faculty that's empowered to combat burnout is the faculty that will remain loyal to your school, advance your district goals, and bring other qualified candidates to your positive working culture.

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5 Ways School Leaders Can Work to Prevent Teacher Burnout

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Administration & Leadership Retaining teachers can be a challenge, especially now, but focusing on making the workload more manageable helps. Hiring, training, and retaining phenomenal educators has always been key to success in education. In the year dubbed "The Great Resignation," however, teacher retention has become an ever-present challenge.

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Instead of pushing through anxiety and stress, you may be able to calm yourself and potentially add more balance to the rest of your day.

As a former elementary educator, I know there were days when I was more anxious than others. Stress can disrupt our nervous system, and if we don't take time for a reset, the feeling may continue to snowball.

There are many methods to help us deal with stress and build a more resilient system when we aren't in the classroom. Usually, these things are seen as something you do outside of school; maybe you go for a run or spend extra time laughing with a friend. But what happens when you're feeling anxious in the middle of the day? What strategies will work in the moment when you feel overwhelmed? We can't always wait until we get home or our students leave to take a moment to reset.

A reset is very literally what you need. Your nervous system has been kicked into high gear by the stress of the classroom situation you are under at the moment. Specifically, your sympathetic nervous system-the one responsible for fight or flight-has been activated. But there are strategies that you can use to move from a stressful state to the more restful state of your parasympathetic system.

Having strategies ready to help you self-soothe in order to calm stress and anxiety is important so that you can use them in the moment versus trying to continue in a dysregulated state. These strategies can't alter external factors like the pandemic or the myriad stress-inducing aspects of teachers' work-but they may help teachers better respond to those stresses.

The following five strategies take five minutes or less and can help teachers reset when it's starting to feel like too much, and time is tight.

5 Stress-Relieving Techniques

Pinch your nose.

Close your mouth to hold your breath.

Try to blow out air; it may feel like you're bearing down.

Hold this position for about 10 seconds.

1. Valsalva maneuver: You may be familiar with the Valsalva maneuver if you have ever flown and needed to help your ears equalize. This strategy has also been shown to be effective in calming a racing heart and resetting the autonomic nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve. To employ the Valsalva maneuver, follow these steps:

Be careful not to try to blow out with too much pressure or you may damage your eardrums. Also, if you have high blood pressure or a heart arrhythmia, check with your doctor before trying this strategy.

2. Hand-over-heart: This is a self-compassion technique that is simple in its design-you place your hands over your heart and breathe deeply into that space while conjuring positive, calming feelings. Somatic therapist Dr. Peter Levine has developed an extended version of hand-over-heart where one hand is placed on the heart and the other on the forehead. Your focus moves to those areas of your body and the sensations between your hands until there is a shift in the way you feel. Then, the hand from the forehead is moved to the abdomen and the process is repeated; focus is placed in the space between the hands, and special attention is given to the sensations there until there is a shift. This technique has been shown to reduce anxiety and release oxytocin, the neurotransmitter that tells your body to calm.

3. Calming music: Music has been used for centuries to calm nerves and improve health. As a teacher, I regularly played calming music in the background at a low volume level while my students worked. But listening to certain songs can have more of an effect than others.

The British Academy of Sound Therapy created what has been hailed as the most relaxing song ever, called "Weightless." It was found to reduce anxiety in a staggering 65 percent of people who listened to it. You can find "Weightless" here, as well as a playlist of other songs that have also been shown to be effective.

4. Breathing: Focused breathing not only activates your parasympathetic nervous system but also is a mindfulness technique to bring you back to the moment and distract you from the thoughts that may be causing the anxiety. A common technique is called box breathing, a type of intentional breathing, where you inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale through your mouth for four seconds, and repeat the process until you feel calm.

5. Self-hugging: This is another self-compassion technique that has been shown to release oxytocin. While hugs in general have been proven to have this same result, sometimes you're not in the space at work where asking for hugs is appropriate. Therefore, as awkward as it may seem, wrapping your arms around yourself and giving yourself a squeeze can have a similar result. Your nervous system doesn't recognize that you're the one providing yourself the affection; it only recognizes the chemical messenger's "calm" direction. If you're feeling self-conscious, you can try to be discreet by wrapping yourself up as tightly as feels comfortable for your situation, excusing yourself to the hall for a breath, or inviting your students to practice any of these strategies along with you.

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Instead of pushing through anxiety and stress, you may be able to calm yourself and potentially add more balance to the rest of your day.