Over the past few decades, mindfulness in education has been much more than a topic of conversation. Teachers and lecturers across Europe utilise mindfulness tools to deliver holistic learning rather than mere subject matter instruction.
Dr. Antonio Romerosa, Professor (2009) at the University of Almería (Spain), Christiane Thomas and Lena Eisenmann, both from Bildungszentrum Weissacher Tal in Germany, spent a week at Atlantic exploring and deepening their knowledge of mindfulness.
At the end of the course week, they shared insights into their classroom experiences back home and their Erasmus+ journey at Atlantic.
In the modern classroom, many educators turn to mindfulness practices to bolster support for their students.
Antonio Romerosa, a professor at the University of Almería in Spain, explained that mindfulness in his work with students was new to him. Nevertheless, he wanted to discover new teaching methodologies to better serve his students:
At the beginning I had thought that maybe it’s nice but not really important. But after this course week enjoying the lesson I am reaching the opinion that yes, it’s important to know the different possibilities that mindfulness provides to help you teach better.
In contrast, Christiane Thomas, a teacher at the Weissacher Talk Bildungszentrum, has long implemented mindfulness in her daily life and work:
I’m doing quite a lot of meditation in Christian ways. So I’m praying and doing contemplative prayers. I’ve been to monasteries.
I’ve done similar things in class. The student reaction varies. Some like it, some are frustrated, and some don’t really know what to do and start laughing.
Lena Eisenmann, although familiar with mindfulness practice, sought to introduce mindfulness as an approach rather than a tool-focused practice:
I didn’t quite try the tools. I just tried to implement the thinking or help them (the students) to think that they can do better and not get frustrated. I want them to experience that even though something they are working on might not work at the beginning, they can persevere knowing that it will get better. That’s the kind of mindfulness I’ve brought into the classroom. Now with the tools learnt this week, I think they can explore mindfulness a bit more.
Lena, Christiane and Antonio plan to use the tools acquired during the course. Here is what Antonio said:
I would like to implement some of these activities we have learned here to my students to improve their learning capacities. I don’t know if it’s going to be possible or not, but I am going to try.
When asked about their top tool received from Kevin, their teacher, Lena had a clear favourite:
We did mindful eating, and it opened up a totally new way of eating and feeling the senses in your mouth and an awareness of what happens when you’re eating. I think this would be a good way for students to just think about what they are doing while they are doing it.
For Christiane, the music tool Kevin introduced won out:
He was playing some music, and we were writing the lyrics.It was very nice.
Explaining that they had penned the lyrics for a global hit in class 😉, Antonio agreed with Christiane, adding, however, that all the tools they tested were valuable:
All of them were special in a way. You could feel yourself being more mindful in other kinds of ways. It gives you a repertoire you can use with different kinds of students.
Discussing the benefits of mindfulness as a stress reliever, Lena described the personal benefits she had already gained during the course week:
There were a lot of things going on at home, at school today, so I had to deal with a lot of those things during our break. At the end of the break, I had two minutes left, so I stepped outside and just stood there, looking around. And I let everything fall away. Then I came back and I thought, oh, I just did a small meditation, and I got calmer amd was ready again for everything in class.
Enthusiastic about the skills and tools acquired throughout the course week, the three participants emphasised the importance of a step-by-step approach. Antonio said:
I think there are not techniques you can use like an on/off switch. Students may hesitate. I think it’s a process, and you have to start slowly. Maybe with time, you can achieve a level of quiet that is good for everybody.
Beyond the classroom, the three participants enjoyed spending time in Galway, as Christiane explained:
I like Irish culture, and I like Ireland and the pubs. So it was great. I had a good time.
Asked to provide feedback on their Erasmus+ experience at Atlantic Centre of Education, Lena said:
I had the feeling that the teachers see what we need and what we’re interested in and try to respond. So if we’re interested in culture, they try to bring it into the class as well, even though mindfulness is the course topic.
Kevin also taught us some things about Ireland, and whenever we had questions about grammar, he also discussed them.
Antonio very much appreciated the opportunity to discover Irish culture while also sharpening his English skills:
Here, you are in touch with Ireland and Irish culture. It’s interesting.
We’ve met beautiful people, not only from here but also from other countries. I’m improving my English a lot, because the language learning is not disconnected from the course. All the aspects connected make this experience very beautiful.
I also like the small groups. I’ve been to other Erasmus classes before, but the classes were bigger. Here, it’s small classes, and you benefit much more.
Having the opportunity to meet other European educators and share experiences emerged as a clear course bonus, as Antonio explained:
I think that maybe at the base of this Erasmus project is the idea of exchange between educators around Europe. If we are only in our country, our region, we don’t see anything more, but with this programme, we can meet and get to know other European cultures and talk to people who have similar problems. It’s nice.
We would like to thank Antonio, Christiane, and Lena for being such outstanding course participants and taking time out to share their experiences. We hope to welcome them again very soon.