Please Note: Application link below. Please apply and the registration link will be forwarded. Thank you. 

Developed as a way to uniquely support each teacher’s needs, the MBSR Curriculum Study Group & Skill-Building Workshop invites each participant-teacher to identify the meditation practices, didactic presentations and teaching domains that they wish to focus on and deepen. 

Delivered in a live online format using video-conference, a cohort of participant-teachers meets weekly with a senior teacher-trainer from the Brown Mindfulness Center. Together we investigate the intentions and components of various curricular elements, and participants have the opportunity to practice teach according to specific and chosen needs. We also explore pedagogical issues, MBI:TAC domains, teacher qualities and teaching as a practice—as vital and alive as one’s personal meditation practice. 

Course objectives include:

• Investigation of curricular elements  
• Refining comprehension and delivery of curriculum, developing responsiveness to what is called for in the moment, while holding to the fidelity of the program
• Exploration of teaching challenges and questions
• Reflecting on and discussing the inner experience of teaching as it reflects one’s personal mindfulness practice
• Review and discussion the MBI:TAC domains of teacher competency

There are opportunities for brief practice teaching to peers, with feedback from peers and the senior teacher-trainer. In addition, the week-to-week class material is viewed through the larger lens of the nature of teaching MBSR, meeting the suffering of participants, and traveling for eight weeks through the course of one’s own and the group’s life. 

At the end of the mentoring, participant-teachers produce a self-reflection on learning and receive developmental feedback and recommended next steps from the senior teacher-trainer. 

At the conclusion of the MBSR Curriculum Study Group & Skill-Building Workshop, mentees will be have had the opportunity to:

• Practice and strengthen teaching skills (guiding practice, offering didactic experiences, group dialogue and inquiry);
• Strengthen individual and group relational skills;
• Develop greater comprehension and practice of skills in inquiry;
• Analyze and discuss the overarching elements of the MBSR curriculum that unfold week to week and are also expressed in the entire program;
• Comprehend and articulate the themes of the MBSR curriculum as they relate to the core underpinnings of MBSR: 1) Buddhist principles and contemplative methodologies, 2) stress physiology, stress psychology and neuroscience, 3) experiential education, and 4) and group dynamics;   
• Recognize and investigate personal patterns that may influence teaching, especially as they relate to suffering, challenge, and meeting others who are experiencing difficulties; 
• Demonstrate and articulate areas of competence in the MBI:TAC teaching domains, identify areas of growth and areas to develop as part of formative self-assessment;
• Formulate next steps as part of an ongoing learning plan for skills training, personal practice, and inner development.

There are opportunities for brief practice teaching to peers, with feedback from peers and the senior teacher-trainer. Home practice assignments between sessions include preparation, reading and some teach-backs. This is an additional 12-15 hours over the course of the program. In addition, the week-to-week class material is viewed through the larger lens of the nature of teaching MBSR, meeting the suffering of participants, and traveling for eight weeks through the course of one’s own and the group’s life. 

Requirements:

• Successful completion of the Teacher Advancement Intensive (or an equivalent training (to be determined via application process)
• Have taught 1-3 full 8-week MBSR courses, or planning to begin teaching your first course within three months of the MBSR Curriculum Study Guide & Skill-Building Workshop.    

TEACHER: Patti Holland, MS, CRC

SCHEDULE: 

Participant-teachers meet for orientation and nine weekly sessions with home practice assignments between sessions.

Orientation (required) Thursdays 9:00 am - 11:30 pm (Eastern Time) January 21
9 sessions on Thursdays 9:00 am - 11:30 pm (Eastern Time), January 28 - March 24..

LOCATION: Live, on-line via Zoom

PROGRAM FEE: $1955.00