1. Ms. Raisa Hasan
11/3/2016- MAP Proposal
MAP
MINDFUL ACTIVITIES PROGRAM (Proposal)
The purpose of the program:
The purpose of this program is to help students sharpen their mindful skills i.e., 1) Selective
attention -Amongst many background distractions in a class student will able to redirect
themselves to the present task as needed. 2) Increased tolerance: Students will be able to think
more logically during an altercation, once the flight/fight response kicks in, they will be able to
weigh out pros and cons of the circumstances before action. 3) Improve mindful decision making:
When presented with two difficult choices, student will be rational about picking the one that is
most beneficial to them in the present and future. 4) De-stressing skills: Students will learn
mindful/diaphragmatic breathing and use it as a de-stressor when faced with anxiety about
curriculum in class, and social stressors, stressful times will be approached with a help-seeking
present, positive mindset. Students will apply the skills to their academics in school and lives
outside of the school. The Mindful activities practiced in this skills-building 1:1 initiative; will
help students understand the neuroscience behind focus/concentration which they can then
implement in necessary aspects of their lives.
How are students selected? :
Students are selected on a basis of behavioral issues that hinder them from achieving up to par
grades in their classes. This is calculated by accounts of disciplinary actions certain students had
in the past years and current status—a student with more than 6 accounts of major disciplinary
actions (OSS) within a short span of time (3-4 weeks) is eligible to participate in the program. This
is a voluntary program, hence, students who show an interested and desire to learn from this
program will have the potential to successfully learn the skills. This may be students who are
struggling with the material in a particular class, or someone who has good grades but are
behaviorally challenged in the class, which results in RESET/ISS/OSS. Other cases may include a
student having an average grade in a particular class, but having the potential to advance with a
higher grade through more concentration/focus and behavioral control.
The plan for achieving the goals:
The goal of this program is for students to control their emotions and thoughts, to the level where
it helps them concentrate and focus via selective attention. It should also help in recognizing certain
thoughts/feelings/emotions and catching them before they escalate and hinder progress in the
classroom (and/or society in general). The program will be supported by Dean of Students and the
Alternative Education Technician- during in school suspension/RESET circle discussion time.
When teachers have students in their classrooms for lunch detention, information sessions about
mindfulness and the neuroscience behind it could also be offered during that time. Training length
of program will be between 4-6 sessions per student and/or groups. Individualized duration of
program will also be created for 1:1 sessions.
PLAN of Activities to achieve the goals (First 4 activities below will be taught by Dean
of Students):

2. Ms. Raisa Hasan
11/3/2016- MAP Proposal
 Mindful Listening/Hearing- With sounds (inside and outside of the room). This could be
practiced with music as well which teaches Selective Attention- In which student will listen
to an instrumental and pick one instrument in the song, as other instruments build up in the
song, student will try to follow that one instrument chosen initially. Every time the mind
strays, they will bring their attention back to the selected instrument—as many times as
needed. This activity lasts approximately 5-6 minutes in one session on average. [Teachers
can also try playing classical music during important or lengthy tasks in the classroom!].
 Row Boat Concept- Teaching the concept of Mindfulness via the “Row Boat” concept.
Essentially, this is an analogy; the row boat = the mind. The wind(s) on the water = the
thoughts—wind blows (thoughts blowing) in all directions. This makes the boat move,
however if the boat is tied to a rope and there is an anchor at the end of the rope—the boat
(mind) will move when the wind blows, but it won’t go too far! The anchor/rope-redirects
the boat/mind back to the present moment or activity. This will take about 6-7 minutes.
 Mindful Breathing (diaphragmatic breathing/belly breathing)- “The diaphragm is a
large, thin sheet of muscle dividing the thoracic (chest) cavity from the abdominal cavity
(belly), and is the major muscle of breathing. As the diaphragm contracts, the lungs move
downwards, expand and fill with air. Diaphragmatic breathing, along with breathing
through the nose (not the mouth) is essential for healthy breathing.”
7 major health, academic and overall school community benefits of this are:
1) **Diaphragmatic breathing rebalances the autonomic nervous system, reducing heart
rate and breathing rate and changing from sympathetic fight or flight to
parasympathetic calm and relax. (This may help students avoid confrontations with
teachers/peers—Which is a general goal in each student’s Goal Contract).
2) Efficient gas exchange.
3) Less tension and tightness in the neck and shoulders as the muscles here can relax.
4) Diaphragmatic breathing gently “massages” or moves the abdominal organs, aiding
digestion and helping lymphatic drainage; much of the lymphatic system is located just
below the diaphragm.
5) The breathing will aid in redirecting the students’ minds back to their present task in
class.
6) Students will be able to concentrate and re-focus in their assignments as needed, they
will also reach out for assistance when faced with something they feel they might have
no control over—this will improve the mutual understanding between students & their
teachers.
7) Overall, students may learn this skill and suggest or teach it to their peers. Students are
welcomed to pass on the information to staff. The school as a community could use the
benefits of this and attempt to incorporate/practice it when needed in their lives, since
we’re all human and as adults we too need to refresh, redirect take a moment to
ourselves & rejuvenate!
The breathing exercises would last about 1-2 mins each session.

3. Ms. Raisa Hasan
11/3/2016- MAP Proposal
 Mindful Eating- Mindful Eating is what students can do when they bring their lunch to the
session. This can be practiced with any piece of food, just one piece i.e., a piece of fruit,
candy, chocolate, fry, etc. Eating is something that uses ALL 5 of the human senses- seeing
the food, feeling the food while chewing or holding it, smelling, hearing it when it’s being
chewed and of course tasting the food. It is taught that at any given moment in time, all 5
senses are present with the student, and he/she could tune into any one of them, especially
hearing, seeing and touching when they need to calm down or refocus their thoughts in the
present moment. This would take approximately 6-7mins.
 Decision making activity- [Taught by Alternative Education Technician and DOS]
Lastly, there is a worksheet I’ll provide which has about 12 boxes, each box has a question
providing two choices. Most of the questions have two extreme choices e.g., “Would you
rather be very tall or very short?”, or two equally terrible choices, “Would you rather lick
a moldy trashcan or the bathroom floor?”. Students are asked to deeply think about each
question, then they MUST make a choice, choosing none of the choices is not an option.
With this, it is taught that at times in life, one is faced with two bad choices and must make
a decision anyway—they must critically think about each choice and find pros and cons to
make this choice, “Would you rather have it rain nails or bowling balls?”. This helps
students on critical decision making, and exercising cognitive abilities to make better
choices in life overall. Depending on how many students, this should take 10mins.
When will the students meet:
As stated in the permission slip which must be signed by the parent/guardian prior to student
starting—this program will take place during student’s lunch time, towards the ending of gym or
ending of an elective class. Planned duration of program is tailored to each student and their
needs. For instance, some students who grasp the concepts quickly may only have it 1 or 2X a
week for 3 consecutive weeks. Others who need more time to learn the techniques may have it
3X a week for 4-5 consecutive weeks. They will graduate from the program based on the Dean
of Student’s judgement of how well they have learned the skills and if they have used it to help
improve their behaviors in classes. Otherwise, the duration of the weeks may be subjected to an
extension, depending on their performance.
Follow-up once a student graduates from the program: DOS will interview students who
have fully participated in the program at 4 weeks; to find out in what ways they still use the skills
learned. Students will also be monitored by their accounts of disciplinary actions after the
program. A trend will determine if the skills have been beneficial academically and behaviorally
after the program. Students will also be given a post- MAAS scale to fill out for follow-up score.
Student may help their peers who are having difficulties in school. Student can also share the
information taught with family members who could benefit from it, so it results in a more
balanced home environment for them.
MEASUREMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAM & STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF
MINDFULNESS-
MAAS (MINDFUL ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE) [Validated, Brown & Ryan,
2003] Could be used without special permission:

4. Ms. Raisa Hasan
11/3/2016- MAP Proposal
Day-to-Day Experiences Instructions: Below is a collection of statements about your everyday
experience. Using the 1-6 scale below, please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently have
each experience. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you
think your experience should be. Please treat each item separately from every other item.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: [Almost Always, Very Frequently, Somewhat Frequently, Somewhat Infrequently, Very
Infrequently, Almost Never]
1) I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later. 1 2 3 4 5
6
2) I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something
else. 1 2 3 4 5 6
3) I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present. 1 2 3 4 5 6
4) I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying attention to what I experience
along the way. 1 2 3 4 5 6
5) I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.
1 2 3 4 5 6
6) I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time. 1 2 3 4 5 6
7) It seems I am “running on automatic,” without much awareness of what I’m doing. 1 2 3 4 5 6
8) I rush through activities without being really attentive to them. 1 2 3 4 5 6
9) I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I’m doing right now to
get there. 1 2 3 4 5 6
10) I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I'm doing. 1 2 3 4 5 6
11) I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time. 1 2 3 4 5
6
12) I drive places on ‘automatic pilot’ and then wonder why I went there. 1 2 3 4 5 6
13) I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. 1 2 3 4 5 6
14) I find myself doing things without paying attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6
15) I snack without being aware that I’m eating. 1 2 3 4 5 6 3
MAAS Scoring: To score the scale, simply compute a mean of the 15 items. Higher
scores reflect higher levels of dispositional mindfulness.
 DATA DRIVEN: Students in the program will complete this assessment before and after
being in the program for at least 6-9 sessions. Dean of Students will provide the results of
the questionnaire to their teachers, so they are aware of what sorts of activities student is
mindful in compared to others. *Trends on students’ disciplinary actions by admin before
and after the program will be an indicator of the impact the program had on behavior related
improvements. Students’ grades from before and after the program will be compared to see
if the program had a positive effect and improved classes students were struggling in
before. These results and the students’ answers to each of the 15 items could be an indicator
on what they need to continue working on and what they have improved in. This is a self-
assessment and will rely on the student’s answers only. This has the potential to measure
the effectiveness of Mindful skills among each individual taught in MAP.