Pause, Breathe, Smile PLD

On Tuesday we had a PDL dedicated to Mental Health which was called Pause, Breathe, Smile. This was facilitated by Janelle in LS2.

This directly links to the Code of Responsibility. Specifically 2.1 and 2.2 (Commitment to learners - promoting the wellbeing of learners and protecting them from harm AND engaging in ethical and professional relationships with learners that respect professional boundaries).

Here are my notes: 

Wellbeing supports are actions that we do in order to calm ourselves down when emotional. They aide our wellbeing. The five main wellbeing supports are broken into 5 categories:

• Connections
• Meaningfulness
• Physical activity
• Learning and Interest
• Quietude 

Pause, Breathe, Smile is split into an 8 week programme for the students. It teaches learners how to cope with their emotions and about being more mindful by showing curiosity, openness, acceptance and love (COAL).

By focusing on the day and not worrying about what the future holds, enables us to think more rationally and with calmness. Bring your head and feet to the same place, in the present

There are three parts to regulating attention, these are:

• Knowing where your attention is
• Knowing where it needs to be
• Directing it to where it needs to be

A study conducted by Harvard University showed that 47% of people do not pay attention to what they are doing. This study gave each participant a phone. They were sent three questions throughout random times of the day. The questions asked related to their attention and their enjoyment. These questions were:

• What are you doing?
• What are you thinking about?
• How happy are you?

Allowing learners to express their emotions without them being wrong is vital. As teachers we must have a neutral stance on their emotions in order to teach them that their emotions are valid. They need to learn how to express their emotions individually. 

Activities we learnt to do with our learners:

• Happiness chart
• Mindful movements
• Mindful breathing
• Mindful eating
• Gratitude task
• Drawing our breaths and turning them into pictures
• Number of emotions task

Overall it was a fantastic PLD. I have taken so much from it not only for myself but for my practice. I look forward to carrying out the 8 week programme.