MiEN Conference 2008
Mindfulness as a Foundation for Teaching & Learning
A Day-Long Conference for Educators, Counselors and Administrators
Co-Sponsored by: Association of Independent Maryland Schools, Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, and Friends Council on Education
Saturday, February 9th, 2008, 8:30am-4:40pm
Sidwell Friends School (get directions)
3825 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
For questions, email: mindfulnesseducation@starpower.net
Cut-off date for Online Registration: February 1, 2008
Accommodations
William Penn House
515 East Capitol Street, SE, DC (15 minute walk to Union Station/the Metro) (202)543-5560
Two dormitory style rooms each with bunk beds for ten people have been reserved for the night of February 8. The cost is $30/per person. People wanting to stay there can arrange to do so through MiEN by sending their request to mindfulnesseducation@starpower.net. Information on William Penn House is available at their web site: (http://www.wmpennhouse.org/).
Savoy Suites Hotel
Ten rooms have been reserved with a cost of $109.00 + 14.5% tax per night, double occupancy for 2/8 and 2/9 at Savoy Suites Hotel, 2505 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (a short cab or bus ride from Sidwell Friends) Rate includes- free parking, shuttle to metro and internet. Conference attendees should book these rooms directly by calling 202-625-5410 and ask for a room reserved by the Mindfulness in Education Network. More info on the hotel is available by clicking here (www.SavoySuites.com).
Cut-off date for Online Registration: February 1, 2008
Mindfulness-based Education (MBE), a powerful tool to decrease stress, deepen learning, enhance academic performance, and promote emotional and social well-being, is increasingly recognized as essential for students, educators, and parents.
MBE develops the capacity for attention and awareness, creating optimal conditions for teaching and learning. Schools and universities across the country are introducing mindfulness into their curricular. Well-known institutions including Stanford, UCSF, and UCLA are conducting research in the field.
Mindfulness training develops core skills for teaching and learning:
- Attention and concentration
- Emotional and cognitive awareness and understanding
- Body awareness and coordination
- Interpersonal awareness and communication skills
- Stress management and relaxation
- Emotional balance
Conference Fee: $60, includes a nutritious lunch
Schedule
8:30 - 9:00 am Conference Registration
9:00- 10:30 Conference opening and Plenary Panel Presentations
- Florence Meleo-Meyer, MS, MA; Director, Oasis, an International Learning Center, Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- David Levy, Ph.D.; Professor of Information Science, University of Washington;
- Kimberly Post Rowe, M.Ed.; Mind-Body Educator, Author, Founder of Five Seeds
10:45 - 12:00 Interactive discussion with panel members
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 - 2:15 and 2:45 - 4:00 pm: Break-out sessions tentatively include:
- Early childhood education;
- Teaching young children in elementary school;
- Teaching children in middle school;
- Teaching young adults in high school;
- Teaching university students;
- Teaching teachers;
- Research on mindfulness;
- Personal Practice
Plenary Panel Biographies
Florence Meleo-Meyer, MS, MA, is a senior clinician in the renowned Stress Reduction Program and a Director of Oasis-
an international learning center for professional education and
training within the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care
and Society, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
For more than three decades she has taught meditation and mindfulness
to medical patients and to professionals working in the fields of
medicine, business, education and psychology. She is a licensed
family therapist and holds graduate degrees in education and
psychology. Currently, she is engaged in a wide and pioneering array
of mindfulness-based initiatives in public education for both teachers
and students.
David Levy, Ph.D., is a professor of information science at the University of Washington. Over the past decade, David has been exploring contemplative responses to contemporary problems such as information overload and the acceleration of everyday life, and is now writing a book on the subject. In addition to his professional work in computer science, he has a degree in calligraphy and bookbinding. He is the author of Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age. In 2005 David used his contemplative practice fellowship, awarded by the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, to create a course titled Information and Contemplation.
Kimberly Post Rowe, M. Ed., is the founder of Five Seeds, a non-profit dedicated to bringing mind-body awareness to health care and education. She is the author of several curricula designed to introduce mindfulness to adolescents, and her manual and curriculum guide titled A Settled Mind: Stress Reduction for the Classroom and Beyond, was published in 2007. Her newest project, loosely termed "Contemplative Ecology," draws on the wisdom of mindfulness and other contemplative practices to transform our current ecological crisis. Kimberly resides in Maine with her musician-husband and two wonderful children.
