Mindfulness Is When “You Don’t Think at All, You Just Do Whatever You Want Without Thinking of the Consequences”: Reframing Mindfulness in a Third-Grade Classroom

This study explored the influences that five minutes of daily mindfulness activities had on third-grade students in a math and science classroom, as well as both student and teacher perceptions of the mindfulness activities. The researcher implemented five minutes of a mindfulness activity daily during a three-week period. Data collection methods included pre-and-post surveys, observations with field notes, student artifacts, and student and teacher interviews. Qualitative data was analyzed using the constant comparative method to look for recurring themes and numerical data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Four major themes emerged including better understanding of what mindfulness is, the role school and home play, provided structure and quiet calmness, and behaviors stayed consistent. While behaviors stayed consistent, students left the intervention with a better understanding of mindfulness and additional calming and refocusing strategies. The mindfulness intervention also showed to have created a calming environment that allowed students to better concentrate.