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Episode #137. Saturday January 28, 5:30 pm Eastern



Issues of social and emotional learning have always been a critical cornerstone of schooling. In particular, mental health and well-being had already become a rising concern for young people prior to the pandemic. But in the last few years, these concerns have grown substantially and there’s a great need to understand approaches that work well in schooling and models or examples of how to support the emotional health and well-being of students. Mindfulness has been one key approach to wellbeing that has recently received popular attention and consideration in schooling. The guests in this session all bring knowledge and experience with studying and successfully implementing mindfulness in school and other education settings as a way to support learners’ mental and emotional health. They are also deeply interested in the connections between mindfulness and creativity and innovation. They have a series of expert interviews and personal reflections in TechTrends on this topic. We will discuss some of the unique insights they have garnered across studies and expert interviews.

Want to practice meditation? See links below from Nalalie Gruber.

Breathing Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhuYRnyU49I
Body Heart Ming Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnEv456w8x0
Natalie Gruber, ASU, Linktree: https://linktr.ee/asumindheart


Dr. Danah Henriksen is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Innovation in the Mary Lou Fulton College at Arizona State University. She studies the intersection of creativity, technology, and wellbeing in education. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed and practitioner journals and presented internationally. She is the author of several books focused on creativity in education and is an Associate Editor of Education Policy Analysis Archives. She has served as the creativity working group leader for EDUsummIT—a UNESCO global consortium of education leaders in policy, practice, and research, and is former co-Chair of the Creativity SIG for the Society of Information Technology in Teacher Education. For more info: http://danah-henriksen.com. She can be contacted at Danah.Henriksen@asu.edu.

 

Natalie Gruber is a doctoral candidate in the Educational Leadership and Innovation program in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. A licensed clinical social worker with certifications in mindfulness facilitation and art therapy, Natalie is involved in the design and implementation of programs geared toward mental health in educational and community settings. She was awarded a grant from Columbia University’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute to offer a university-wide mindfulness program she created to boost student resilience and promote social connection among the student body at ASU. She presented at the 2022 Awakened Schools Conference. Natalie has received multiple grants to support her dissertation research on the promotion of parent and child mental health through mindfulness teaching. She is the co-author of several academic articles and a book chapter in the areas of mindfulness, creativity, and mental health in educational and organizational settings. She can be contacted at Natalie.Gruber@asu.edu.

Sean Hannafin is proud to serve as Principal of David Crockett Elementary School. Mr. Hannafin has over thirty years of teaching/administration experience as a turn-around principal at several elementary schools. Through his leadership, Crockett Elementary has been designated as an Arizona Educational Foundation A+ School of Excellence and also was the first mindful school in the state of Arizona. Mr. Hannafin has organized many unique site-level programs and professional development opportunities for staff and has served on several curriculum development and strategic planning committees. He enjoys working collaboratively with colleagues to maximize learning opportunities for the students and families that he serves. His educational experiences have allowed him to collaborate with a diverse group to meet the common goal of increasing student achievement and well-being. His educational philosophy is based on his uncompromising belief that all students can learn, given a positive learning environment, strong and knowledgeable leadership, and a committed and focused educational team. With “Students First” as his guiding principle, Mr. Hannafin is committed to ensuring all students receive a high-quality education, collaborating with stakeholders, creating partnerships, and building relationships. He can be contacted at SHannafin@balsz.org.