This week I got together with a great group of teachers from the Mercer County Education Association to present a professional development workshop. Over 30 participants showed up from different school districts looking to add some mindfulness to their classrooms. Over the two hours we spent together, we practiced our “noticing” skills individually, in pairs and as a group. Everyone had a great time and left looking forward to using the Prosocial Matrix to promote happier and healthier classrooms and relationships.

Mindfulness is simply being aware of the present moment. When we are noticing something, we are bringing attention to an experience for a reason or purpose. Noticing is something anyone can do. The more we notice what is going on around us and what thoughts, feelings and urges are showing up inside of us, the better we are at learning, making choices, and getting where we want to go!

The prosocial matrix is a simple visual and verbal too that you can use to be mindful and to have happy and healthy classrooms and schools. It also works great if you are not such a big mindfulness fan since you don’t need to know a thing about mindfulness to notice. Noticing is a natural process that we humans possess and there is no right or wrong way to “notice”.

The prosocial matrix is based on science and a process developed by Dr. Kevin Polk and his study and work in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Training. Through my training and collaboration with him I am bringing the Prosocial Matrix to educators, organizations and families. They are using it to make a difference for living and learning. Teachers and students learn to use noticing or being aware in the present moment to be in touch with what works to move toward satisfaction and success.

Once everyone has experienced the matrix point of view and how it works, we use the prosocial matrix to ramp up mindfulness for the entire class.

Noticing is Mindfulness Made Easy and Leads to Happy and Healthy Classrooms

Noticing is an engaging process and a move toward connecting with self and others. The process of noticing sets teachers and learners up for success with less struggle and stress. With the mindful matrix approach we start out helping each person get in touch with who is important to them. They then notice what kinds of unwanted thoughts and feelings can show up and get in the way of moving toward their important people and things. Once this happens they learn to notice what actions they do to get away from the yucky stuff that shows up inside of them. They  also notice the things they want to do to move toward who is important to them.

What really ramps up mindfulness is the visual diagram the teachers have completed in the picture above. This can be done individually or as a group and it is a lot of fun. Everyone is invited to participate by answering a few respectful questions and writing down their responses. Students and teachers do this together and it makes for powerful learning. The end result is a process where teachers and students use the matrix to share collaboratively, help each other stay on track, and achieve their goals.

All of this noticing will lead to choosing actions to try out and then notice how well they work (or don’t work). Noticing goes hand in hand with psychological flexibility which is simply being able to make moves that work, even when the yucky stuff is getting in the way.

Students and teachers in school are important to each other. So are their families and friends. Once we got some noticing and flexibility going with our workshop folks, we were ready to experience the group matrix. With the group matrix we establish psychological safety, the feeling that people have my back and I have a voice and a part to play. When students and teachers take part in psychologically flexible and safe classrooms, they pull together and accomplish great things. This is known as two loops around the matrix, which is done mindfully and with collaboration and shared purpose in mind. By the end of the evening the group was ready to go back to their classrooms and give it a whirl. I have already heard from a few who have begun using it.

Once a class or group has experienced the prosocial matrix point of view and how it works, they can go on continuing to help each other and become empowered, high performing teams. The rest is up to them.