Mindful Breath: Heartfelt Co-Teaching in a Graduate-Level Teacher Education Course

• In Event: 28.088 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: 28.088-8 - Mindfulness and Well-Being Among teachers

Abstract

Vulnerability is core to human nature. But, lacking self-care over-extended teachers can experience “compassion fatigue.” They become reactive, lose empathetic focus, and burn out. Nurturing awareness of and appreciation for teachers’ inner lives during teacher education, can mediate a mindful reset. When stressed, self-regulation, an attribute of self-care, embodied in a mindful breath, can re-focus self | other in empathetic experience. Mindful educators, including bell hooks (1994) and Kenneth Tobin (2015), advocate for emotionally responsive classroom environments. In this documentary account, we present our approach to infusing mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in teacher education to mediate participants’ reflection and resilience and to enhance attunement in compassionate coteaching relationships toward empowerment, equity and solidarity in classrooms and beyond.

Authors

• Malgorzata Powietrzynska, Brooklyn College

• Linda Noble, Brooklyn College