Check out this powerful documentary with our very own Professor Becky Thompson paneling for a post-screening discussion!
From the CHANGING MINDS website:
History — For the last decade, filmmaker Susan Finley had been integrating video production programs into the curriculum of at-risk schools to make learning more engaging and relevant.
During that time, she realized that many of her students were suffering from emotional and cognitive challenges and had a history of academic failure that made it difficult for them to learn.
She knew from personal experience that mindfulness practice could provide students with a strategy to regulate attention and emotions.
When she learned about new scientific findings that confirmed those benefits, she had an idea:
The Pilot Program — Partnering with neuroscientists (from Harvard, Portland State University and Hunter College) Susan designed a pilot program that integrated both the science and mindfulness practice into the school day.
At-risk high school students from Staten Island, many facing their last chance to graduate, would practice mindfulness for just three minutes a day for a semester as part of a school-wide science experiment. Students in a science class would act as research assistants for lead scientist, Tracy Dennis, PhD. to see if their classmates benefited from the practice.
Working with award-winning filmmaker Peter Barton and students in a video production class we filmed the entire process.
The Concord pilot and research strongly suggests that integrating Changing Minds into educational settings can dramatically improve student academic and non-academic outcomes.
Simmons' Sociology Blog 