WELLNESS :: The Mindful Teacher Educator Series :: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto

2022/23 MINDFUL TEACHER/EDUCATOR LUNCH & LEARN SERIES

These sessions provide current and future teachers and educators with the opportunity to strengthen their personal practice and explore various ways of integrating mindfulness-based strategies in education settings. You will have the opportunity to learn about the latest research and the benefits of mindfulness in education settings.

All sessions will be held at 12:30 pm - 1:10 pm. Please register for each session and the Zoom details will be sent to you. And feel free to come late or leave early to suit your schedule.

2022/23 SESSIONS

Jack Miller: Curious about Mindfulness? | Tuesday, September 27, 2022 |12:30 - 1:10 pm | In Person Room 12-199

Jennifer Baradi: The Mindful Teacher | Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | In Person Room 12-199

Shelley Murphy: Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness for Classrooms | Tuesday, January 10, 2023 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | Online | View the Recording

Elli Weisbaum: Building & Broadening Resiliency: Integrating Mindfulness into Education – An Introduction | Tuesday, February 7, 2023 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | ONLINE | V iew the Recording

*NEW SESSION ADDED** Danielle Denichaud: Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in, without Going Crazy. Finding our common story of wellbeing for self and earth | Thursday, May 18, 2023 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | ONLINE | Register Here

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

Jack Miller: Curious about Mindfulness? | Tuesday, September 27, 2022 |12:30 - 1:10 pm | In Person Room 12-199

Jack will share beginner-friendly mindfulness meditation practices along with his experience in teaching this practice. Jack teaches courses in holistic education and contemplative education at OISE. He is author/editor of 20 books including, The Holistic Curriculum, The Contemplative Practitioner, and Love and Compassion: Exploring their Role in Education. His writing has been translated into 9 languages.

Dr. Miller recently published his memoir! Find out more at https://www.infoagepub.com/products/A-Holistic-Educators-Journey

This memoir describes the journey of John (Jack) Miller. The book explores how his personal journey is related to the work he has done in holistic education, contemplative education, and spirituality in education. In holistic education the personal and professional are connected. Professor Miller’s journey includes events, books, teachers, and the many factors in his life that have contributed to his work, which includes more than 20 books and extensive travel around the world. An example of the relationship between the personal and the professional is that Jack began meditating in 1974 and this practice has provided the foundation for much of his teaching and writing.

Jennifer Baradi: The Mindful Teacher | Tuesday, October 25, 2022 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | In Person Room 12-199

During this session, participants will have opportunities to practice mindfulness, meditation, and movement, and have some time for discussion and sharing. Jen will share her experiences and knowledge as a yoga and iRest practitioner as well as a teacher and educator working with the TDSB and TCDSB.

Jen first developed an interest in combining education and yoga while completing a research project on the effects of yoga on academic achievement. Decades later, after being introduced to the healing benefits of iRest® yoga nidra and completing an additional qualification in physical education, she is inspired to integrate learning, teaching, and well-being. Participants are asked to dress comfortably for this session.

Jen Baradi, MAET, M.Ed, OCT, Certified iRest Teacher, 400 RYT Yoga Teacher, is an educator who works with the TDSB and TCDSB. She teaches yoga and meditation in schools, non-profit organizations, public, and private settings. Jen aspires to promote greater well-being and be of service in schools and their communities.

Shelley Murphy: Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness for Classrooms | Tuesday, January 10, 2023 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | Online | View the Recording

Interest in mindfulness practice within school settings has grown rapidly in the last decade. This is likely because there is a growing depth and breadth of research showing the powerful benefits of mindfulness for both teachers and students. However, it is often assumed that everyone has the capacity to engage in any mindfulness practice and also benefit from it. A trauma-sensitive approach recognizes that aspects of mindfulness practice can be activating for someone who has experienced trauma – especially if not offered in trauma sensitive ways. In this session, you learn about the fundamentals of trauma-sensitive, mindfulness-based approaches for supporting the safety and stability of both educators and students within and through practice.

Shelley Murphy, PhD, is a former classroom teacher and a lecturer and researcher at OISE, University of Toronto. She is certified as a trauma-sensitive mindfulness practitioner and has been a mindfulness teacher and educator for over 20 years. Shelley developed and teaches the Mindfulness in Education course at OISE and is the recipient of A Mindful Society’s 2019 Michele Chaban Spirit of Leadership Award for her work and research in the field. Her book on mindfulness for children in classroom settings and beyond, Fostering Mindfulness, was published by Pembroke in 2019.

Elli Weisbaum: Building & Broadening Resiliency: Integrating Mindfulness into Education – An Introduction | Tuesday, February 7, 2023 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | ONLINE | V iew the Recording

In this session, we will explore the scientific evidence that is driving the current interest and popularity of mindfulness practice within the sector of education, and beyond, as a means to support individuals to flourish and thrive. Our aim for this session is to introduce participants to a variety of mindfulness practices and concepts that can easily integrate into their busy lives to help them succeed in academic, work and personal settings. This exploration will will be grounded in a mixture of 1) didactic presentation (focused on the research & evidence base for mindfulness) and 2) practical hands-on mindfulness based activities that be be applied right away to daily life.

Learning goals for this session:

Experience foundational Applied Mindfulness practices that can be integrated into personal and professional settings (including before exams, presentations, job interviews and with students/colleagues)
Explore the connection between neuroscience and mindfulness
Build a toolkit of mindfulness practices to enhance resiliency which you can apply right away in the classroom and workplace.

Elli Weisbaum has worked internationally facilitating mindfulness workshops and retreats within the sectors of education, healthcare and business. She is currently based at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor (teaching stream) in the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health program (BPMH), with a cross-appointment to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in their Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME). She received her PhD through UofT's Faculty of Medicine. Her thesis research focused on applying mindfulness to physician wellbeing. She is currently part of a team of facilitators who are offering the Mindful Awareness and Resilience Skills for Adolescents (MARS-A) program for adolescents with chronic illness at the Hospital for Sick Children. She has collaborated with UofT’s Faculty of Law, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Engineering, Rotman School of Management, the Ontario Hospital Association and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to integrate mindfulness into ongoing programming for faculty, staff and students. Since 2020, she has been teaching and developing a mindfulness curriculum for the MScPT program at the University of Toronto. She is a certified teacher in the Search Inside Yourself (SIY) program, which was developed at Google Headquarters and brings together mindfulness, emotional intelligence and neuroscience. She attended her first retreat with Zen Master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh at the age of ten and has continued training with his international Plum Village community. Elli’s novel background in both academic research and traditional mindfulness practice provides a distinct approach to her ongoing work teaching and researching in the field.

To read more about how Elli integrates mindfulness into her experience as a graduate student visit her blog: Mindfulness for Life http://www.elliweisbaum.com/blog

Danielle Denichaud: Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in, without Going Crazy. Finding our common story of wellbeing for self and earth | Thursday, May 18, 2023 | 12:30 - 1:10 pm | ONLINE | Register Here

Co-sponsored with OISE's Sustainability & Climate Action Network

This talk will introduce the work of longtime environmental activist, author and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, with a focus on the interdependence of our human story and the Earth's story. Offering theory and reflexive practices from living systems theory, eco-spirituality and Macy's 'Work that Reconnects', participants will encounter a language of living hope, where our personal suffering with/for the world is revealed as the key to our collective survival.

**From the Government of Canada, https://wet-boew.github.io/wet-boew-legacy/v3.0/demos/archived/archived-en.html. Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or record keeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us at oise.wellness@utoronto.ca to request a format other than those available.

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