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Staying Present in the Classroom: Tools for Mindful Learning Tool Kit

Allison O’Leary, Associate Professor of Psychology, Brevard College 

 

THIS TOOLKIT WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO

 

  • Explain the importance of mindful learning and guide students in brief exercises to promote mindfulness in the classroom.

KEY OBJECTIVES

  • Describe the role of mindfulness in supporting classroom learning.
  • Help students build awareness of sensations, emotions, cognitions, and actions in the classroom.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS TOOLKIT

  • Step 1: Identify what you or your students need today.

Do students need to settle in? Focus their attention? Manage stress? Reflect on how they’re learning? Start by noticing what’s needed in the moment.

  • Step 2: Choose a matching practice (see Description below)

To ground and relieve stress  → 5-4-3-2-1 Sensory Technique

To tune into emotions → Emotional Check-In

To build awareness of thinking → Metacognitive Reflection

To support planning and follow-through → Strategy Evaluation

  • Step 3: Begin with deep breaths and a centering moment.

Invite students to find a comfortable seated position. Guide them to take 2–3 slow, deep breaths together. This helps calm the nervous system and create space for awareness.

  • Step 4: Be transparent about the purpose and guide the practice

Let students know why you're doing the activity — for example, to support focus, manage stress, or reflect on learning. Then walk them through the exercise using clear, simple language.

  • Step 5: Reflect briefly together.

After the activity, ask students to reflect on what they noticed (about their sensations, emotions, cognitions, or actions) and how they might use that awareness to support their learning. This can be done alone, with a partner, or in small groups.

 

DESCRIPTION

Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve attention, emotion regulation, and mental health, as well as academic performance in students (Zenner, Herrnleben-Kurz, & Walach, 2014). This toolkit briefly describes how mindfulness to four key processes - sensation, emotion, cognition, and action - can be used to facilitate learning in the classroom. Though we often focus on metacognition (or awareness of thinking), it is rarer that we encourage students to attend to other psychological processes that can impact their learning. Four simple exercises are presented to help students tune into their present moment experience to help build awareness, regulate stress, and intentionally adjust learning strategies. This toolkit can be used by both students and teachers to promote more mindful learning in the classroom.

The strategies and exercises in this toolkit can be used at any time in class. Instructors may want to begin or end class with a mindfulness exercise, to include an exercise in the middle of a lecture or activity to help students gauge their understanding, or to use an exercise during a mid-class transition period. Instructors may also want to include a mindfulness exercise to help students regulate if they are noticing the presence of restlessness, distraction, or high emotion in the classroom.

Below, I outline brief rationales and exercises for encouraging mindfulness of sensation, emotion, cognition, and action in the classroom.

  1. Mindful of Sensation: Focusing on physical sensations and environmental stimuli can help students relieve stress and stay grounded in the present moment.
    • Exercise:

5-4-3-2-1 Technique

Name (out loud or to yourself):

        • 5 things you can see
        • 4 things you can touch
        • 3 things you can hear
        • 2 things you can smell
        • 1 thing you can taste

  1. Mindful of Emotion: Observing and labeling emotions without judgment can help students understand how their emotions affect their thinking and performance.
    • Exercise:

Emotional Awareness Check-In

At the beginning of class, ask:

  • What emotions are present right now?
  • Does this emotion feel pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?
  • Did naming the emotion cause it to shift in any way?
  1. Mindful of Cognition: Being mindful of thought patterns can help students identify strengths and shortcomings in their understanding of a concept or task.
    • Exercise:

Metacognitive Reflection

Throughout class, ask:

        • Do I understand the purpose of what I am learning / the task I am completing?
        • Is this task/content easy or challenging?
        • How well do I understand what I have just learned?
           
  2. Mindful of Action: Being mindful of behavior allows students to refine how they approach tasks, organize their work, and collaborate with others for more efficient outcomes.
    • Exercise:

Strategy Evaluation

During or after completion of a task, ask:

  • Am I managing my time well?
  • Do I need to ask for more information to complete this task?
  • How will I work with distractions that arise?

REFLECTION

Students come into my classrooms as their full selves, including sensations, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that may support or hinder learning. Mindful moments can help students pause, notice that they are experiencing, and adjust their focus or approach to learning. In my experience teaching mindfulness in the classroom, students often express feeling more empowered in their learning process. For example, one student said, “I have learned how to respond to distractions to make sure I can come back to a task effectively. I am better able to figure out how to approach a task without feeling attached to it, and my performance is not so bound in my self-image anymore.”

 

RESOURCES