174 • ii: MindFulnESS in EduCATing FOR SElF-REgulATiOn And EngAgEMEnT
downloadable audio files); intensive and focused teacher education that enhances teachers’
effectiveness and well-being; and program implementation that attends to implementation
fidelity (i.e., a manual and script; Kuyken et al., 2013).
The program’s webpage is mindfulnessinschools.org. The co-founders are Richard
Burnett and Chris Cullen. There are two levels of curricula: .b (dot be) and Paws b.
Specifically, .b is a 10-week course for ages 11 to 18 delivered in the classroom or small
groups in other youth-related settings. The name refers to the process—stop, breathe, and
be (Lawlor, 2014). The lessons include a brief presentation by the teacher with visuals, film,
sound (audio), practical exercises, and demonstrations. The 10 lessons include:
- An Introduction to Mindfulness
- Playing Attention: Training the Muscle of Your Mind
- Taming the Animal Mind: Cultivating Curiosity and Kindness
- Recognizing Worry: Noticing How Your Mind Plays Tricks on You
- Being Here Now: From Reacting to Responding
- Moving Mindfully
- Stepping Back: Watching the Thought-Traffic of Your Mind
- Befriending the Difficult
- Taking in the Good: Being Present With Your Heart
- Pulling It All Together
Paws b is a program for children ages 7 to 11. It consists of either six 1-hour lessons
or 12 30-minute lessons taught by school teachers or by an external Paws b teacher. The
curriculum contains PowerPoint lessons with film clips, short meditation practices, discus-
sion and exploration of experiences, and home practice encouragement and support. It is
related to some other aspects of the school curriculum such as music, sports, art, drama,
how to be mindful lining up to come into a classroom. Tabitha Sawyer’s, co-creator of
Paws b, TED Talk can be found here youtu.be/bT5UFU9ZGnI. She gives a background and
overview of what the program does.
There are several steps to bring the MiSP program to your schools. First, the school staff
learns mindfulness via an 8-week course, taught by a MiSP instructor—school staff learns
about mindfulness before learning how to teach the students. Next, the teachers learn how
to teach the students. The training is 3 days for Paws b and 4 days for the .b curriculum. In
order to train to be a MiSP teacher, you must complete the 8-week mindfulness course (or
an equivalent training such as MBSR or MBCT) and then practice mindfulness on a regular
basis for at least 6 months (mindfulnessinschools.org). The training includes all materials
necessary to teach the curriculum: student booklets; the how to teach .b/Paws b; teacher’s
notes on each lesson; PowerPoint slideshow of each lesson; audio and video files; and a
period of membership in the MiSP Teachers’ Network. Note, materials are not sold—you
must be trained in order to receive the curriculum.
In a study of 522 students aged 12 to 16 across 12 secondary schools, Kuyken et al.
(2013) found that overall rates of acceptability were high compared to controls (usual
school curriculum). At post intervention, students who participated in the intervention
reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms. Interestingly, at follow-up, interven-
tion students showed continued fewer depressive symptoms, lower stress, and greater
well-being. Aligned with what we know from other research, the students who practiced