Introduction to What We Are Doing and Why It Matters
This week will be an introduction to what the program will look like and get everyone on the same page about some terminology. The big question we will discuss is why this all matters and why knowing the reasoning behind what we do can be beneficial.
To keep us all on the same page, let's go over a few definitions of terms that will be used throughout the program:
Burnout: The aftermath of severe stress and exhaustion that distorts the mental, physiological, and emotional functioning of a person (Maslach & Leiter, 2016).
Mindfulness: Paying attention to the present moment, intentionally and non-judgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).
Activity:
You will be invited to reflect on the question, “What’s your why?”, exploring why you began teaching and your motivation. With provided materials, everyone will create their own magnet, designing a “remember your why” with reasons why you got into teaching, why you keep going, or why you are motivated to make changes. This magnet can be placed on your desk or anywhere else that will help you remember your motivation and purpose as well as a reminder of the practices we will learn throughout the program.
Practice:
Pay attention to times when you are more likely to stress. When you find yourself at a difficult or challenging point in a day, look to your magnet and encourage yourself to remember your why.
Additional Resources:
Understanding Stress and Burnout (video)
Introduction to Mindfulness and Identifying Stressors
How can we reduce stress if we don't know what causes it? This week, we will explore the Mayo Clinic’s 4 A’s of decreasing stressors which include:
Avoid
Alter
Accept
Adapt
In addition to managing stressors, mindfulness can play a significant role in helping us respond to the stressors in our lives. So much of what we, as humans, stress about is out of our control. The What of Mindfulness will help explain what mindfulness can do to help enhance your work and life experience.
The first mindfulness tool we will practice this week is a breathing technique known as mindful breathing which consists of Diaphragmatic Breathing (belly breathing). You may be thinking, "I breathe all the time, how will this be any different?" This, again, leads us to the importance of knowing the reason why we do things (being mindful of them) and how diaphragmatic breathing can make physiological changes in your body. Here's how to do it!
Practice:
Find a time at least once a day to practice mindful breathing. Notice how it affects the way you respond to situations.
Prep for next week: Pay attention to what you do in a day, what your priorities are, and the different roles you take on in your life.
*BONUS*: Get your students involved! Having students do 3-5 belly breaths after recess, before a big test, or just at any point in the day can have the same benefits that deep breathing has for adults.
Additional Resources:
If you have a smartwatch or Apple watch, there are applications to use for breathing exercises and you can even set notification reminders!
All About Occupational Balance
There never seems to be enough time to do what we need to get done and yet, every human gets 24 hours each day. What we do with those hours matters, so let's be intentional with them! Occupational therapy focuses on helping all individuals participate in occupations that are meaningful to them. A breakdown of the different occupational categories can be found here. (The article is from a site that focuses on helping children and youth, but it can apply to all ages!)
This week, we will explore "What's on Your Plate", looking at the responsibilities you have and things that are important to you. Through the activity, we will problem-solve ways to make time for occupations that are a priority to you. To capture what is on your plate, consider the following:
· What roles do you have as a person? (ie, teacher, parent, sibling, coach, etc.)
· What do you HAVE to get done each day?
· What are your responsibilities at home?
· What do your students expect of you?
· What activities or community groups are you involved in?
· What are the priorities in your life?
Now that you have looked at what you have on your plate, let's categorize them into areas of occupation. We'll use this chart to make a visual representation of how you spend your time and use it to make any necessary changes to achieve your desired occupational balance.
Practice:
Identify an area of occupation where you put in more time than needed and dedicate some of that time towards an occupation you need to/would like to do more of.
Additional Resources:
Understanding Student Behaviors and How to Promote Positive Teacher-Student Interactions
This video is not required to be watched beforehand, but it is highly recommended as it will provide a good background of understanding.
This is my favorite week! Part of mindfulness is non-judgementally being aware of those around us as well as knowing what we can and cannot control. This week, we will focus on what's called the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (don't let the big words scare you...it's simpler than it sounds!). This model has been brilliantly developed by trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller "What Happened To You?" that explains how traumatic experiences can physically change the way our brains develop and are able to respond in different situations.
I am sure everyone can think of at least one particular student they have taught or even just a child you have seen and have asked yourself "What's wrong with them?!" Bruce Perry highlights the idea of shifting our thinking from "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" This mindset shift draws our attention to the fact that oftentimes, a child's response is out of their control because their brain physically develops differently due to life events at a younger age.
To learn about different life events that commonly cause trauma in a person's life, we will explore the Adverse Childhood Experiences tool (ACE), which notes life events that happen before the age of 18 that may indicate traumatic experiences.
Regulating Yourself and the Classroom (Video)
Knowing this information and being aware of students' brain processing skills will help to reshape the way we view others and encourage us to respond to others rather than reacting. It helps remind us that kids are not always in control of what they do and that can affect the way we respond to them and interact with others in general. This model has entirely changed the way I view others, especially children, and I hope it can do the same for you!
Practice:
This week when interacting with students, try to notice whether their “cortex is open” or not. Before you respond to them, stop and think about what the best way might be to respond depending on their current capacity. In addition, try to be intentional about providing positive teacher-student interactions throughout each day.
Additional Resources:
If this topic interests you, there is a plethora of information available on Dr. Bruce Perry's work with trauma and brain development. I will include links to his website, some podcast episodes on this topic, as well as some of his training videos.
If you are a reader, his book "What Happened to You?" is a fantastic read and, written alongside Oprah Winfrey, it is delivered in reader-friendly language while accurately explaining the complex science of brain development. (The audiobook is also available on Amazon).
Continuing Education Course related to ACE and Mental Health
Kelly Mahler has some additional (and some free) resources that can help to practically apply ways to help students self-regulate through a sense called interoception.
NMN Stress and Trauma Series - A series of 15-20 minute videos broken down into topics.
The Neurosequential Network (NMN) Website
Trauma-Informed Educators Network Podcast- Dr. Bruce Perry (Spotify)
About Adverse Childhood Experiences
Trauma-Informed Inclusive Environments Podcast Episode
Using Mindful Communication to Support Positive Social Interactions and Relationships with Coworkers
Our days are full of interactions with other people, whether by choice or by chance. The people we work with can have a significant impact on the way we perceive the enjoyment of our job. We know that social interaction is a huge part of being human, and having supportive friendships can boost things like our health and our work performance.
We'll start with what not to do, looking at how Poor communication can cause unnecessary stress.
We will take a look at different communication styles, what yours is, and how you can effectively communicate with others who have different communication styles.
In step with the principles of mindfulness, we will explore the tool of mindful listening this week. Conversations should be a two-way street, and though we may not be able to change the way another person is communicating, we can do our part to make conversations meaningful.
Who knows, maybe by changing the way you listen you will discover that you have more in common with some co-workers than you thought you did!
Practice:
Practice mindful listening in at least one conversation each day this week and be aware of the varying communication styles. Try it with your students too and pay attention to how it affects your conversations with others.
Additional Resources:
The Neurosequential Model we looked at last week provides helpful input on The Power of Connection.
How Our Bodies React to Stress and How We Should Respond
Many of us may know that stress can physically impact our bodies, but often it can be hard to prioritize our bodies and stay attentive to what they are telling us. This week, we will focus on responding instead of reacting. Instead of letting our bodies react with tension, we will learn about helpful ways to respond to the cues our bodies give us in different situations.
First, we will do what is called body mapping to identify specific areas of our body where we feel or carry stress.
We will then explore a technique called Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) that has you tense certain muscles at a time to bring awareness to how they feel, and then notice the difference when you relax them. (Video).
We only have one body, so it is important to take care of it and not let stress get the best of it!
Practice:
Pay close attention to where you often feel stress in your body. Use the PMR technique at least one time each day this week either in a moment of stress or when you just need a break to refocus.
Additional Resources:
Changes We Can Make To Give Our Bodies the Rest It Needs
So many Americans struggle with getting proper sleep and then wonder why we are so tired throughout the day. While getting good sleep doesn't eliminate tiredness altogether, it can impact our energy and mood throughout the day which affects our ability to perform the things we need to each day.
The Importance of sleep for performance will explain how quality sleep can benefit many aspects of our wellness.
Articles and snippets of information float all over the internet about ways to get the best night's sleep. In reality, we are all different, and what works for one person may not work for another. In addition, it can be overwhelming when an article tells you 20 different things to do and you can't even fathom finding time or effort to do half of it.
So let's start simple. No hour-long routines or 10 steps to the best night's sleep, but simply 2-3 changes. Many strategies are shown to be effective, but we are just going to pick a few to build your own sleep routine. From the list below, start with 2 or 3 habits that you would like to start practicing as a part of your sleep routine.
Practice:
Keep the Build Your Own Sleep Routine visual reminder in a place that you will see it easily. Participate in the 2-3 new habits you selected every night this week and pay attention to how your mind and body respond.
BONUS CHALLENGE:
To celebrate our last week of content, we are raising the stakes with a challenge! Everyone who completes their selected sleep routine EVERY night for the next week (7 nights) will win a prize!
Additional Resources:
Putting It All Together and Continuing What We've Learned
By this point in the program, we have talked about a lot of information and different strategies to help balance our work lives. Hopefully, you have been able to learn something new that works for you.
This week we will simply be recapping the past 7 weeks, discussing outcomes, and completing the post-group survey. Everything on this website will be available to you from here on out to refer back to as you please.
Summary of Weekly Topics
Week 1- What and Why: Introduction to what we are doing and why it matters.
Week 2- Putting Stress to the Test: Introduction to mindfulness and identifying stressors.
Week 3- A Lot on My Plate: All about occupational balance.
Week 4- Reshaping What We See: Understanding Student Behaviors and How to Promote Positive Teacher-Student Interactions
Week 5- Let’s Talk About It- Using Mindful Communication to Support Positive Social Interactions and Relationships with Coworkers
Week 6- Respond vs React: How Our Bodies Respond to Stress and How We Should Respond
Week 7- If You Don't Snooze, You Lose: Changes We Can Make to Give Our Bodies the Rest They Need
Thank you so much for taking the time to participate and I hope you enjoyed it!
Additional Resources:
As you view a weekly module on your own (either if you missed a week of an in-person group session or are viewing the modules online independently) could you take a second to let me know? This will help me keep track of who participated and accessed information in the program. Simply click the "check-in" button below and just type your name and the week you viewed.
That's it!