Description

This  program is designed to equip music teachers with the skills to integrate mindfulness practices with music in their classrooms. The program emphasizes the importance of fostering emotional well-being, focus, and creativity among students through Musical Mindfulness. Teachers will gain hands-on experience with activities that blend music and mindfulness, inspiring them to adopt these practices in their teaching.

Teachers will learn how to implement regular, regimented mindfulness practices to improve  classroom management, student engagement, student accountability, and overall outcomes.  Teachers will leave the session empowered to deepen their own mindfulness practice and they will have many tools to implement mindfulness practices into their music and/or band classes.

Educators will: 

 Understand the Principles of Mindfulness:

• Teachers will gain a thorough understanding of mindfulness, including its benefits for mental and emotional well-being, and how it can be effectively applied in educational settings.

Integrate Mindfulness Practices into Music Lessons:

• Teachers will be able to  incorporate mindfulness activities into their music classes, using techniques such as mindful breathing, mindful listening, and mindful performing  to enhance students’ focus and emotional regulation.

 Facilitate Experiential Learning:

• Teachers will be able to design and lead experiential learning activities that combine music and mindfulness, providing students with hands-on opportunities to practice being present and aware.

Foster a Mindful Classroom Environment:

• Teachers will know how to create a classroom atmosphere that supports mindfulness.

 Assess and Reflect on Mindfulness Practices:

• Teachers will be equipped with formative assessment strategies to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness activities and adapt them to meet the needs of their students.

Support Students’ Social-Emotional Learning (SEL):

• Teachers will understand how to use musical mindfulness to develop key SEL competencies, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Empower Students through Musical Mindfulness:

• Teachers will be able to empower students to use mindfulness practices as tools for self-regulation, stress management, and emotional expression through music.

Enhancing Student Agency:

• Empowerment through Self-Regulation: By teaching students mindfulness techniques, teachers will help them develop greater control over their emotions and behaviors, enabling them to take charge of their learning and personal growth.
• Encouraging Creative Expression: Students will be encouraged to explore and express their emotions through music, fostering a sense of ownership over their creative processes.

Supporting Identity Development:

• Building Self-Awareness: Musical mindfulness helps students develop a deeper understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and identities as they reflect on how music resonates with them personally.
• Cultivating Emotional Intelligence: By engaging in mindfulness practices, students learn to recognize and articulate their emotions, contributing to a stronger, more resilient sense of self.

Fostering a Love for Music:

• Deepening Musical Engagement: Mindful listening and experiential music activities help students connect more deeply with music, enhancing their appreciation and love for it as both an art form and a tool for well-being.
• Creating Positive Musical Experiences: By associating music with mindfulness and relaxation, students are more likely to develop a lifelong love of music, seeing it as a source of comfort, joy, and personal expression.

YA Connections

NJSLS-VPA:

• Creating: Participants will create activities that will work foster mindfulness practices in music classrooms
• Performing: Participants will compose and perform a short song using affirmations
• Responding: Participants will respond to mindfulness meditations with enhanced relaxation, clarity and focus
• Connecting: Participants will connect music instruction with mindfulness practices to enhance their students focus, emotional well-being and SEL outcomes

Professional Standards for Educational

• Respect: Teachers should respect and honor each student’s efforts and offer encouragement.
• Learning styles: Teachers should recognize and accommodate learning styles and abilities.
• Learning Environment: Teachers should strive to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

Culturally Responsive Practice

• Teachers will engage with ways to assign agency to students.
• Engage with music & mindfulness l practices grounded the lived experiences of students and their personal connections to comfort, joy, and self expression

Social Emotional Learning

Musical Mindfulness practices develop many SEL Competencies including self awareness, self regulation, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.