Richie Davidson, Ph.D.

Linda Lantieri, M.A.

ML Education Research Network I

The Mind and Life Education Research Network (MLERN I) was formed in 2006 to create a multidisciplinary intellectual forum dedicated to exploring issues at the intersection of mind, brain, education and contemplative practice. This intersection was very novel; there was little in the way of systematic developmental-educational thinking in the Buddhist traditions despite interesting sets of practices such as debate in the training of young monks. 

Because of this, a primary agenda of MLERN became scientific and intellectual dialogue and discovery. A primary goal of the network for the entire three years was to explore, from various scientific, applied and contemplative perspectives, with various assembled groups of individuals, questions such as:

• Do any contemplative resources regarding mental training for children and adolescents in the Sanskritic traditions of India exist?
• What does science tell us about the prospects for the cultivation of self-regulatory skills such as impulse control, and interpersonal skills such as empathic listening in children, adolescents, and emerging adults through various kinds of mental and physical training?
• What are the social-emotional, attentional and interpersonal skills young people need today, in addition to their academic skills and knowledge, to be successful, happy and socially-responsible members of school first, and society and the global community later? How can we cultivate these same social-emotional, attentional, and interpersonal skills in educators and parents so they can serve as positive role models for young people in these regards?
• Might contemplative practices have anything to offer with respect to the mental training of “21st century skills” in young people and educators and parents alike – those that foster calming and centering, concentration, clarity, compassion, and interpersonal and intercultural ease of presence?
• How can we design age-appropriate measures of these kinds of 21st century skills so we can measure their development all across the lifespan and in the context of interventions that employ contemplative practices?
• What are promising extant programs for children, adolescents, emerging adults and educations that could serve as “testbeds” for the development of measures and preliminary studies of the efficacy and effectiveness of such programs?
• What are the risks and cautionary tales of history we should be aware of as we explore the idea of introducing mindfulness and compassion practices in secular cultural settings like public schools?

Three Pilot Studies Were Funded as part of MLERN I:

1. Amishi Jha, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
   Developing age-appropriate attention and working memory measures for use in mindfulness-based training with children and adolescents
2. Mark Greenberg, Ph.D., Penn State and Tamar Mendelson, Ph.D., M.A., Johns Hopkins University
   Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a school-based mindfulness intervention for urban youth
3. Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D., Portland State University and Kim Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D., University of British Columbia
   Testing the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness-based professional development program for public school teacher

Interesting work. To know more read on as this is extremely relevant to our times in that it will revolutionize the current system of education, that is being imparted in our schools.

ML Education Research Network I

The Mind and Life Education Research Network (MLERN I) was formed in 2006 to create a multidisciplinary intellectual forum dedicated to exploring issues at the intersection of mind, brain, education and contemplative practice. This intersection was very novel; there was little in the way of systematic developmental-educational thinking in the Buddhist traditions despite interesting sets of practices such as debate in the training of young monks. Because of this, a primary agenda of MLERN became scientific and intellectual dialogue and discovery. A primary goal of the network for the entire three years was to explore, from various scientific, applied and contemplative perspectives, with various assembled groups of individuals, questions such as:

• Do any contemplative resources regarding mental training for children and adolescents in the Sanskritic traditions of India exist?
• What does science tell us about the prospects for the cultivation of self-regulatory skills such as impulse control, and interpersonal skills such as empathic listening in children, adolescents, and emerging adults through various kinds of mental and physical training?
• What are the social-emotional, attentional and interpersonal skills young people need today, in addition to their academic skills and knowledge, to be successful, happy and socially-responsible members of school first, and society and the global community later? How can we cultivate these same social-emotional, attentional, and interpersonal skills in educators and parents so they can serve as positive role models for young people in these regards?
• Might contemplative practices have anything to offer with respect to the mental training of “21st century skills” in young people and educators and parents alike – those that foster calming and centering, concentration, clarity, compassion, and interpersonal and intercultural ease of presence?
• How can we design age-appropriate measures of these kinds of 21st century skills so we can measure their development all across the lifespan and in the context of interventions that employ contemplative practices?
• What are promising extant programs for children, adolescents, emerging adults and educations that could serve as “testbeds” for the development of measures and preliminary studies of the efficacy and effectiveness of such programs?
• What are the risks and cautionary tales of history we should be aware of as we explore the idea of introducing mindfulness and compassion practices in secular cultural settings like public schools?

Three Pilot Studies Were Funded as part of MLERN I:

1. Amishi Jha, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
   Developing age-appropriate attention and working memory measures for use in mindfulness-based training with children and adolescents
2. Mark Greenberg, Ph.D., Penn State and Tamar Mendelson, Ph.D., M.A., Johns Hopkins University
   Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a school-based mindfulness intervention for urban youth
3. Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D., Portland State University and Kim Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D., University of British Columbia
   Testing the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness-based professional development program for public school teacher

Interesting work. To know more read on as this is extremely relevant to our times in that it it revolutionize the current system of education, that is being imparted in our schools.

There are plenty of dire predictions about what will happen to our cities if the worst predictions about global warming were to come true: flooding, droughts, famine, chaos and massive death. But Matthew Kahn, an economist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, sees a different future. He tells that story in his new book Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter Future.

Kahn looks to the past for clues to how cities adapt to changing circumstances. Chicago recovered strongly from the devastating Chicago Fire of 1871. He argues that Japanese and German cities recovered rapidly after World War II and experienced sharp population growth.  So how will cities adapt in the future? Kahn expects that cities will continue to compete for desirable residents, and that residents will make their own locational decisions based on risk preferences. For example, while the risk-averse may choose to locate to “safe” cities like Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Minneapolis or Detroit (Kahn’s top 5 picks), cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York will continue to attract people. Especially if these cities prepare for a warmer future.
Looks interesting. I will definitely like to lay my hands on this at the earliest.

DE Vs Non-DE - A Comparative Study

5 DE vs 5 Non-DE schools were chosen from Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Sambalpur, Bargarh and Ganjam districts. Data on average pass percentage in Maths, Science and English, in the annual examination (HSC for class 10 and school internal examination for class 8), for the academic year 09-10, was collected and compared. The Non-DE schools were selected from amongst those not having computers.

The study was an exercise in primary data collection in order to explore a correlation (positive or negative), if any between effective and appropriate use of technology in education and academic performance – in terms of overall pass percentage in Mathematics, Science and English.

There was a structured intervention, over a period of three years, in 30 DE schools (with computers) as part of the Digital Equalizer Program in techno-pedagogy. The 30 Non DE schools were selected from amongst those without computers. 

The results of the study are pretty interesting.
Summary of findings:

Class 10

• Overall pass percentage in Mathematics in DE schools is 89.06% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 66.27
• Overall pass percentage in Science in DE schools is 88.49% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 65.50
• Overall pass percentage in English in DE schools is 85.78% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 64.97

Class 8

• Overall pass percentage in Mathematics in DE schools is 59.80% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 36.60
• Overall pass percentage in Science in DE schools is 65.69% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 40.42
• Overall pass percentage in English in DE schools is 56.18% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 36.84