The purpose of this project is to study whether a mindfulness-based training program supports self-regulation, resiliency, effective classroom behaviors, and persistence in teaching.
Participants in this study will be undergraduate pre-service teachers already enrolled in the Early Elementary Certification Program (EECP) in the School of Education. This competitive admission program is four semesters long and consists of 4 certificate granting areas. Over the course of 2 years (i.e., 4 semesters), the investigators will recruit a total of 8 cohorts; 2 from each certificate granting area. Participants will be recruited during their second semester in the program for enrollment during the third semester (i.e., enrollment first semester of senior year). Cohorts will be match randomized by cohort type, ensuring that 4 cohorts are randomized to treatment and 4 cohorts are randomized to teacher education as usual, and that one of each type of cohort is randomized to treatment and control, respectively. All participants will complete a battery of self-report and behavioral tasks, as well as undergo a standardized classroom observation prior to the start of the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at follow-up (5-8 months post intervention). Follow-up testing will occur during the final month of the final semester in the EECP program, a time during which participants will be full-time student teaching, training that best approximates in-service teaching. The qualitative component of this study will involve participants partaking in approximately four-hours of interviews (either group or individual based on a hierarchal sampling criterion), before and after the intervention period. In addition, all student EECP records will be qualitatively analyzed (i.e., supervisor notes, state certification portfolios). Each September for three years post-graduation, participants will be contacted and instructed to complete an online survey consisting of self-report inventories and information about whether they are continuing to teach and if so, the name and district of the school they currently work. Participants randomized to treatment will receive 1.5 hours of mindfulness training for 8 to 10 weeks during their third semester. Thirty minutes of this will occur during mandatory cohort seminar time, with the remaining one-hour after the end of cohort seminar time. In addition, during the intervention period they will participate in two 4-hour "Days of Mindfulness." In total, intervention participants will receive about 21 hours of instruction in mindfulness over the intervention period. During the following semester (4th semester), intervention participants will receive 15 minutes of mindfulness "booster" practice each week as part of their mandatory cohort seminar. This novel mindfulness based intervention is incorporates elements of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Kabat-Zinn, 1982), as well as contemplative practices that might be defined as social connectedness practices or constructivist practices (Dahl, Lutz, \& Davidson, 2015). The curriculum has been developed by experienced mindfulness teachers (\>10 years teaching experience, on average), all of whom have extensive meditation histories and most of whom have long-term experience as classroom teachers. The training will consist of formal and informal mindfulness meditation practices.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
98
UW Madison Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Change from baseline on CLASS assessment tool (La Paro, Pianta, & Stuhlman, 2004)
A standardized classroom observation tool assessing teacher classroom behaviors.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Symptoms Checklist 90 Revised (Derogatis, 1994)
a 90-item self-report of psychological symptoms comprised of 9 symptom axes (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism). An aggregated score across all 9 domains provides a Global Severity Index score of psychological health.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Maslach Burnout Inventory - Education Survey (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996)
a 22-item self-report of teaching related burnout
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention): ~14 months after baseline, ~26 months after baseline, and ~38 months after baseline
Change from baseline on Emotional go/nogo (Hare et al., 2008)
An emotional inhibition paradigm.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Persistence in teaching: Current profession and role (if teaching, name of school)
Self-report on employment status following graduation and teacher licensure.
Time frame: ~ 14 months after baseline, ~ 26 months after baseline, and ~ 38 months after baseline.
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Change from baseline on Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (Quirin, Kazen, & Kuhl, 2009)
A computer-based behavioral measure of implicit affective bias in which participants are provided with 5 nonsense words and asked to rate the words on a scale of emotional valence.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention): ~14 months after baseline, ~26 months after baseline, and ~38 months after baseline
Change from baseline on General Self-efficacy Scale (Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992)
A 10-item self-report of general self-efficacy
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ryff & Keyes, 1995)
A 54-item self-report inventory assessing psychological well-being.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention): ~14 months after baseline, ~26 months after baseline, and ~38 months after baseline
Change from baseline on Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988)
A self-report survey of general positive and negative affect.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Emotional Styles Questionnaire (under development)
A self-report designed to assess styles of emotional responding.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11-12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8-11 months after baseline (5-8 months post-intervention): ~14 months after baseline, ~26 months after baseline, and ~38 months after baseline
Change from baseline on Open response on difficulties in teaching
A one-item open response on difficulty in teaching.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983)
A 10-item self-report on perceived stress in the last month.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Implicit Association Task (Race, child and adult versions; Baron & Banaji, 2006)
A behavioral task designed to assess implicit biases related to race.
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer et al., 2008)
A 39-item self-report of mindfulness
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)
Change from baseline on Breath Count Task (Levinson et al., 2014)
15 minute behavioral measure of mindfulness
Time frame: 1-2 weeks before intervention (i.e., baseline), 11 - 12 weeks after baseline (1-2 weeks post-intervention), 8 - 11 months after baseline ( 5-8 months post intervention)