Journal of Behavioral Health and Medicine 2010, 1, 137-142 Number 2 (Summer 2010)

A MINDFULNESS APPROACH TO IMPROVING CLASSROOM

ATTENTION
Alyssa N. Wilson and Mark R. Dixon
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

The current investigation demonstrates the effectiveness of Mindfulness exercis-

es in a typical elementary classroom. An ABA withdrawal design was used in
demonstrating changes in attending behavior. Participants included twelve first
and second grade students. Five different mindfulness exercises, all specifically
designed and tailored for children, were conducted with the class. A 10s mo-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

mentary time sampling procedure was used to record instances of attending. Re-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

sults indicate an increase of attending behaviors during intervention, when com-

pared to baseline levels. The current study demonstrates the effectiveness of a
child-based mindfulness training model, reliably measured by direct observa-
tion.
Keywords: mindfulness, classroom, treatment package
____________________
In recent years behavior analysts have been A Buddhist approach to psychological well-
making advances in managing the many being, termed "Mindfulness", has been grow-
forms of problem behavior that occur in early ing in western culture over the past 20 years
childhood education. Interventions have in- (Germer, 2005). This approach requires the
cluded the development of classroom-wide client/participant to pay close attention to the
teaching programs (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & present moment. What was once thought of as
Ingvarsson, 2007), more accurately identify- a non-scientific meditation-based approach to
ing children activity preference (Hanley, change behavior is now growing considerable
Cammilleri, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007), and acceptance by the clinical psychological
allowing for more choices to be made by the community (Fulton, 2005). Mindfulness-
children themselves on seemingly irrelevant based therapy has been successful at changing
decisions (i.e., snack options) (Tiger, Hanley, the behaviors of persons suffering from any
& Hernandez, 2006). These typical behavior- number of clinical disorders ranging from an-
al approaches have been successful at achiev- xiety (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992) to binge eating
ing both increases in positive behaviors and a (Kristeller & Hallett, 1999). To operationally
reduction in problem behaviors on the part of define "Mindfulness" from a behavioral pers-
the children. While successful, such ap- pective is difficult because most documenta-
proaches may be labor intensive, time con- tions of success do not clearly specify the en-
suming, and require adherence to, and support tire list of antecedent stimuli (rules or state-
of, a behavioral approach to classroom man- ments) delivered to a client, or the observable
agement by the staff of the classroom and behaviors intended to be changed. Changing
school at large. self-reports of psychological health are one
__________ level of implied success, changing the directly
Address all correspondence to: observed behavior is another - the latter level
Mark R. Dixon necessary for adoption by many behavior ana-
Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program
Rehabilitation Institute
lysts. Therefore the purpose of the present
Southern Illinois University study was to assess the baseline levels of at-
Carbondale, IL 62901 tention in a typically developing childhood
Email: mdixon@siu.edu classroom, and implement a Mindfulness-

137
 138 ALYSSA N. WILSON and MARK R. DIXON
based intervention that did not specify the tar-
geted behavior of "attending" whatsoever and
see if changes in such behavior would in fact
be seen.
METHOD
Participants and Setting
The study was conducted in a classroom
located in a private elementary school in
Southern Illinois. Participants included twelve
students (female N=7, male N=5) in the
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
second and third grade. The mean age of par-
ticipants was 8 (SD=.77) years. The class was
selected by the school Principle based off the
teachers concerns with group dynamics and
behavior.
Apparatus
Observers brought hand held recorders, ear
phones, and data sheets to every session. A
pre-recorded tape was used, indicating when
to look at a student (after 10s) and when to
move to the next student (after 5s ITI).
Measures
The primary dependent variable was termed
"attending", and was defined as the child be-
ing engaged in what was occurring at that par-
ticular moment in the classroom. This in-
cluded looking at or in the direction of the
teacher or student who was talking, following
instructions, looking (and/or completing) a
worksheet, and engaging in classroom activi-
ties. Attending was observed using a 10s
momentary time sampling (10s MTS) proce-
dure, where each student was observed inde-
pendently per 10s.
Experimental Design and Dependent Variable
Integrity
An ABA withdrawal design was used in the
current study. Phase A (baseline) consisted of
five 30min observations, over the duration of
two weeks. Phase B (intervention) consisted
of five 15min Mindfulness exercises, fol-
lowed by 30min of observation per session.
During the return to baseline phase, 30min
observations occurred once a week for two
weeks.
Inter-observer agreement was calculated for
50% of the total sessions across all phases.
Agreement was scored if both observers indi-
cated the same occurrence, or non occurrence,
of each students attending behavior. The re-
liability score was the total number of agree-
ments divided by the number of agreements
plus disagreements. The total percentage of
agreement was 94%, and ranged from 90.7%
to 100%.
Procedure
Each observation was conducted following
the same observational procedure. Figure 1
represents a visual of the classroom. Here,
students are indicated by numbers (e.g. 1-12),
and empty desks are indicated with XX.
At the beginning of each session, the ob-
server(s) would come into the classroom and
sit on the bench located towards the back of
the classroom (see Figure 1 for a representa-
tion of the classroom). The observers sat and
waited for 15min before starting the 10s MTS
procedure or the mindfulness exercises (de-
pending on the phase of the intervention) to
reduce reactivity. Upon starting the observa-
tion procedure, observers simultaneously start
the recording and being with student 1 (indi-
cated with a star in Figure 1). After recording
data for this student, observers would then
move in a counter-clockwise rotation to the
next student, student 2. After recording stu-
dent 7, observers then began to observe the
boys, starting with student 8. This rotational
observation was used to alleviate confusion
between observers as to what student was to
be observed and when.
 IMPROVING CLASSROOM ATTENTION 139
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Figure 1. Visual representation of the seating arrangement within the classroom. Desks
are represented by the dark box shapes, with girls on the left and boys on the right. Stu-
dents were assigned a number based on their seat, and empty seats are labeled with XX.

Baseline. Thirty minutes of direct observa-
tion took place during each baseline session.
Here, observers did not interact with the stu-
dents after the 15min waiting period. After
observations were completed, the observers
removed themselves from the classroom.
Mindfulness Intervention. The intervention
phase was implemented for five days. During
this phase, different mindfulness exercises
specifically tailored to fit the developmental
needs of the students were used. Mindfulness
exercises lasted for 15min, and were con-
ducted prior to direct observations. The same
procedure used for the 10s MTS during base-
line was implemented the same during this
phase of the intervention. Mindfulness exer-
cises were as follows:
Silent Game:
This exercise was a way to slowly introduce
the concept of Mindfulness to the students.
This game had five rules all participants had
to follow, in order to gain access to a rein-
forcer. The reinforcer, which was pre-
approved by the teacher, was Hersheys
kisses. These rules were as follows: 1) You
must keep still in your seat (No wiggle
worm); 2) keep your hands to yourself; 3) no
smiling or making faces at your neighbor; 4)
eyes must be closed, or gaze downward,
throughout the duration of the exercise; and 5)
 140 ALYSSA N. WILSON and MARK R. DIXON
good posture. Once the children had settled
into their seats, the exercise would begin.
The researcher would start the exercise with
the prompt, Ready-Please-Begin. During
the exercise, students who broke the rules
were tapped on the shoulder and did not re-
ceive the reinforcer at the end of the exercise.
At the end of the exercise, all students that
followed directions were given one reinforcer.
The use of a reinforcer was only utilized the
first day of implementation. This duration of
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
this exercise slightly increased over time, and
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
began at 30s. This exercise was used at least
once or twice a day, and was combined with
the Breathing Exercise.
Breathing Exercise:
This exercise was an extension of the Silent
Game, with a few additions, focusing on the
breath. Mindfulness techniques are centered
on the breath, and how important the breath is
to the individual. The same rules applied for
this exercise as for the Silent Game. The stu-
dents were asked to focus on the cold air as it
came through their nose and the warmer air as
it left their body through their mouth. When
the two exercises were combined, this newly
formed exercise was called Silent Game 2.
Silent Game 2:
With this exercise, the Silent Game and
Breathing Exercise were combined after the
children demonstrated an understanding of
each exercise. The rules for the Silent Game
still applied, as did the concepts for the
Breathing Exercise. The exercise was admi-
nistered the same, and began with the re-
searchers prompt, Ready-Please-Begin.
As the intervention continued, the game be-
came longer and visually more structured as a
Mindfulness exercise. During each exercise,
statements were included to enhance the exer-
cise, including Notice the feeling in your
(chest, nose, and mouth), Notice the sounds
(in the room, and of your breath), as well as
Notice what you see, as you sit with your
eyes closed. These statements were made to
stimulate the children to focus on their bodily
sensations, senses, and eventually their
thoughts. It is important to note that the Si-
lent Game duration began at thirty seconds,
and when intervention was complete, the final
duration was at three minutes. The Silent
Game 2 exercise was the most preferred exer-
cise of the class, and students reported prac-
ticing this exercise the most in their own time.
Noticing Self Exercise:
This exercise was a more basic Mindfulness
exercise that began with the Breathing Exer-
cise. Once they became engaged in the
Breathing Exercise for over a minute, the in-
structor began the Noticing Self Exercise, as
follows:
See if you can notice your body as you sit
in your chair. See if you can feel any sensa-
tions (pause 10 s) in your shouldersin
your armsin your hands (pause 10 s) or in
your legsin your feetall the way down
to your toes. What do your toes feel like?
(pause 10 s) How do they feel inside your
shoes? Now see if you can locate your
thumbs. Where are they? (pause 10 s) What
are they resting against? See if you can pin-
point their exact location. What does your
thumbs feel like? Are they hotor
coldare they sweaty? What about the
body part theyre resting againstwhat does
that exact point feel like? Can you notice
the point where your thumbs hit your body?
(pause 10 s) Now see if you can focus on
the rest of your body, as you wit in the chair.
Notice the sounds in the roomthe sound of
my voicethe kids playing outside (pause
10 s). Now see if you can visualize yourself
in the room. When youre ready, open your
eyes, and come back into the room.
Mindful Eating Exercise:
For this exercise, the researcher brought
mandarins to class, to invoke mindful-eating.
This exercise extended the 15 min, as each
student ate one mandarin in thirty minutes.
Prior to opening the mandarins, the class dis-
cussed where the fruit came from, how and
where the fruit grows, who was responsible
for handling and getting the fruit to the gro-
cery store, and the timeline in which it all
 IMPROVING CLASSROOM ATTENTION
100% A B
80%
Percent Attending
60%
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40%
20%
0%
Figure 2. Mean and median percent attending per half-hour observations
occurred. Next, the researcher instructed the
students to peel the mandarin. This process
took about five minutes, as after each peel,
the students discussed the smells, textures,
and feelings associated with the action of
peeling. Once the peelings were off, the stu-
dents were asked to think about what it was
going to taste like, followed by discussing the
different sensations in their mouth, stomach,
and noses. With one piece of the mandarin in
hand, the students were instructed to take a
conscious bite, cautious not to eat the whole
piece. This bite was then slowly chewed, and
thoughts and sensations were again discussed.
The students went through half of the manda-
rin slowly, explaining every sensation,
thought, or feeling along the way as instructed
by the researcher. The students were then
given choices, based on other instructive
141
A
Mean
Median
Date
techniques, on how to eat the other half. The
only rule was that they had to eat one piece,
slowly, at a time.
Return to Baseline. All procedures were
identical to the previously described baseline
condition.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 1 displays the percentage of attend-
ing per thirty-minute observation periods.
Both mean and median percentage values are
represented to represent a clear picture of at-
tending throughout the study. Mean attending
was calculated by the overall percent of at-
tending per student averaged across all stu-
dents. Median attending was calculated using
the same set of percent attending across stu-
dents. During baseline, attending averaged
about 68% across all observations. During
 142 ALYSSA N. WILSON and MARK R. DIXON
intervention, attending averaged about 87%
across observations, with a median value of
86%. There was an 18% increase in attending
across students during the implementation of
the mindfulness exercises. Removal of the
intervention yielded a decrease in percent at-
tending to 73% of observations over two ses-
sions. These findings suggest that the imple-
mentation of mindfulness exercises may have
altered attending behaviors of students.
It is important to note that neither replace-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
ment behaviors nor problematic behaviors
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
were addressed or discussed during interven-
tion. The researcher only discussed how to
in regards to each mindfulness exercise
throughout the duration of the intervention.
Additionally, the class activities varied
throughout the duration of the study, yet each
session took place within an academic sub-
ject (e.g. reading, math, science, and social
studies). The different activities may limit the
current findings, as different activities may
naturally be more reinforcing than others.
However, attending is necessary within any
activity, and should not be confined to activi-
ties liked or disliked.
Another limitation includes the "package"
approach, which included various types of
exercises. This particular approach limits any
clear conclusions about what specific portion
of the content was required for behavior
change. Future research should conduct com-
ponent analyses of our current combined in-
tervention. Also, due to the end of the school
year, a second intervention period was not
implemented. Combined with the short inter-
vention period, students may have lacked a
comprehensive understanding of the terms
and concepts in the Mindfulness exercises.
These results indicate the significance of
Mindfulness exercises in a classroom envi-
ronment. To date, it has been reported diffi-
cult to objectively observe mindful beha-
vior in an individual (Thompson & Gauntlett-
Gilbert, 2008), and has never been attempted
in an elementary classroom with many stu-
dents. The current investigation demonstrates
an innovative process to objectively observe
and reliably record attending behavior.
At first glance, Mindfulness may appear as
nothing more than a meditation-focused
process that has limited if any utility for a be-
havior analyst attempting to see objective
measures of behavior change. However, the
current study progresses the exponentially
growing literature on Mindfulness as it pro-
vided a clear operational definition of the con-
tent of the independent variable, a demon-
strated effectiveness of adoption at both a
child and group based level of implementa-
tion, and measurement of a direct observed
behavior. Taken together, these data suggest
that behavior analysts indeed should examine
the potential for Mindfulness interventions as
actual behavior change procedures.
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