Mindful Minds: A Professional Learning Activity to Help Students Improve Mental Wellness

Objective:

This professional learning activity aims to help students better understand mental wellness and learn practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining emotional well-being.

Time for Completion: Approximately 45-60 minutes

Introduction:

Mental wellness is essential for our overall health and happiness. As students, it is crucial to understand the importance of mental wellness and learn practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining emotional well-being. In this activity, we will explore the concept of mental wellness, learn practical strategies to manage stress and anxiety, and reflect on how we can prioritize our mental wellness moving forward.

Activity Steps:

Step 1 (10 minutes): Watch the Ted Talk "All it takes is 10 mindful minutes" by Andy Puddicombe to learn about the benefits of mindfulness and how it can help us manage stress.

Link:https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes

Step 2 (15 minutes): Review the stress self-assessment tool from ChangeToChill.org to determine how the tool works to create a personalized approach based on student responses. Take note of how you might use this with students needing extra support.

Link: https://www.changetochill.org/stress-factor-quiz/

Step 3 (15 minutes): Explore the resources on the ReachOut website dedicated to mental wellness for teenagers. Take note of any strategies or resources that resonate with you.

Link: https://au.reachout.com/

Step 4 (15 minutes): Review the following activities for practicing stress-reducing techniques. Consider how they might help students:

• Practice mindfulness meditation with the free app Smiling Mind (10 minutes). Link: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

• Try progressive muscle relaxation with a guided video from the American Psychological Association (15 minutes). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihO02wUzgkc

• Take a short walk outside and practice deep breathing exercises (15 minutes)

Reflection Prompt: How can you incorporate the strategies and techniques you learned in this activity into your daily teaching routine? What other activities or practices can you add to your routine to prioritize mental wellness for your students?

Additional Resources:

Dan Harris: Hack Your Brain's Default Mode with Meditation | Big Thing https://youtu.be/FAcTIrA2Qhk

Learn Meditation in 5 Minutes with Dan Harris

https://youtu.be/LKZ9sN3nL2c

Feedback:

Please click the link below to help us improve this activity!

https://forms.gle/KvKBLGhrn5MbPA9C9

FreeP.L.A.Y. Activity © 2023 by P.L.A.Y. Professional Learning and You is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International