The Compassionate Classroom and
mindfulness for Educators
January 3-12, 2013
January 2013
What do nurturing and supportive teacher-student relationships look like in the classroom and why do these relationships matter?
*Developing supportive relationships in the classroom has long lasting implications on students’ academic and social development.
*Students who have positive and supportive relationships with their teachers will attain higher levels of achievement than those students who experience conflict in their relationship with the teachers.
*If a student feels a personal connection to a teacher, has ongoing communication with a teacher, receives more guidance and feedback than criticism from the teacher, the student is much more likely to build trust with the teacher, engage in the academic content and contribute to the learning process.
*Nurturing and supportive teacher-student relationships draw students into the process of learning and promote their desire to learn when materials are relevant and interesting.
Earl Stevik states that “that success in the language classroom depends less on materials, techniques or linguistic analysis, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom” and further elaborates that “the most important aspect of "what goes on" is the presence or absence of harmony: it is the parts working with, or against, one another.” In this 10 day course we will look at the relationships in the classroom (teacher-self, teacher-student, student-self and student-student) and explore ways that mindfulness, (the ability to pay attention to the present moment without judgment) and empathy (the ability to truly understand or imagine the depth of another person’s feelings and needs) contribute to collaboration, connection and harmony in those relationships which in turn support dynamic and joyful learning.
*Developing supportive relationships in the classroom has long lasting implications on students’ academic and social development.
*Students who have positive and supportive relationships with their teachers will attain higher levels of achievement than those students who experience conflict in their relationship with the teachers.
*If a student feels a personal connection to a teacher, has ongoing communication with a teacher, receives more guidance and feedback than criticism from the teacher, the student is much more likely to build trust with the teacher, engage in the academic content and contribute to the learning process.
*Nurturing and supportive teacher-student relationships draw students into the process of learning and promote their desire to learn when materials are relevant and interesting.
Earl Stevik states that “that success in the language classroom depends less on materials, techniques or linguistic analysis, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom” and further elaborates that “the most important aspect of "what goes on" is the presence or absence of harmony: it is the parts working with, or against, one another.” In this 10 day course we will look at the relationships in the classroom (teacher-self, teacher-student, student-self and student-student) and explore ways that mindfulness, (the ability to pay attention to the present moment without judgment) and empathy (the ability to truly understand or imagine the depth of another person’s feelings and needs) contribute to collaboration, connection and harmony in those relationships which in turn support dynamic and joyful learning.
Raj Gill is the Director of Prosperity Circles Coaching International in BC Canada. She is a trainer certified by the International Centre for Nonviolent Communication, a published author www.nvctoolkit.org and founding member of Freedom Project Canada. Raj is an Inclusive Travel Guide who has been helping to develop and lead Inclusive Leadership Adventures since 2002. Raj provides coaching and mentoring and offers Compassionate Communication and Emotional Intelligence trainings in a wide variety of settings such as schools, prisons, Community Colleges and non-profit societies. Two of Raj’s role models are Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. She is a strong believer in the power of human connection and compassion for resolving conflict and creating Universal success. Raj enjoys working with people co-creating a motivational and supportive environment for managing the human aspect of growth and development
Mary Scholl runs a teacher education center and community English program in rural Costa Rica. She has been teaching languages and working with teacher education for over 20 years. She has also been studying and practicing mindfulness for 20 years and Compassionate Communication for 3 years. She has lived and taught in both public and private settings on three continents and has worked on teacher development programs in the U.S., Japan, Brazil and LIbya. She has also worked with institutional change as the on-site coordinator for a school change project in Rio de Janeiro. Mary is particularly interested in reflective practice, leadership within the classroom, the role of creativity and compassion in language learning, the potential that descriptive,non-evaluative feedback has to promote effective growth and change in a teacher’s practice.
CONTACT US: info@espiralmana.org
telephone in Costa Rica: +506-2468-0020, +506-8863-5744
in USA +1-585-200-3091
telephone in Costa Rica: +506-2468-0020, +506-8863-5744
in USA +1-585-200-3091
Work beyond Costa Rica
