Navigating Technology-Enabled Mindfulness Practices in and Outside of the Classroom: A Curriculum for Teachers

Mindfulness has emerged as a promising approach to promote relief in instances of adversity, reduce stress and improve children’s overall wellbeing when properly incorporated in a classroom setting. With the increase in use of technology for online and remote learning, the elaboration of a technology-enabled mindfulness curriculum for teachers and educators is of the upmost importance. The following curriculum has been created to introduce technology-enabled mindfulness practices and explore the current techniques which have been found to be beneficial for use with both neurotypical and neurodivergent children. Through a systematic search and in-depth review of the literature via diverse research databases, the most appropriate practices for teaching mindfulness to children aged 6 to 12 in a school setting were compiled and organized into ten distinct lessons. Lesson plans included in this curriculum feature the central components of mindfulness practices and explicitly demonstrate how these practices can be adapted and applied to be suitable for use online by teachers and educators. This curriculum can serve as a basis for future research conducted on practical ways of integrating alternative methods of delivery in school settings, specifically in terms of technology-enabled mindfulness practices. Keywords: child, curriculum, mindfulness, technology, COVID-19