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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rina Deshpande
Rina Deshpande is a teacher of children and adults in academics and self-regulation through mindfulness practice. After teaching bilingual (Spanish-English) third grade and fifth grade as a public school teacher in New York City, Ms. Deshpande helped found Relay Graduate School of Education as Assistant Professor of Practice and Director of the Elementary Masters Program where she designed, taught, and coached elementary teachers in the classroom. Believing that ongoing learning is the foundation of improving instruction, Ms. Deshpande attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education Mind, Brain, and Education program where she earned her masters degree. She presently continues self-regulation and emotion-regulation research as an HGSE fellow and is a contributing writer to Sonima.com.
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- Srijita on The Unexpected Problem with Learning Styles Theory [Reposted]
- Andrew Watson on Introducing “Schema Theory”
- Andrew Watson on Introducing “Schema Theory”
- andrew watson on Introducing “Schema Theory”
- Lukas on Think, Pair, Share: Does It Help? If Yes, Why?
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Daily Routines in Early Childhood: Help or Hindrance?
“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at

The World’s Obsession With Plastic May Damage Developing Brains
It’s easy to look at the past and guffaw at human negligence related to healthy living. Smoking, now commonly known to cause lung cancer among other illness, was just a few decades ago considered a harmless social norm. Through the
Studying Mindfulness: An Interview with a Scientist on the Frontlines of Meditation Research
Dr. Sara Lazar began a yoga and mindfulness practice after a sports injury in the 1990s. Mindfulness – a practice rooted in Eastern philosophy of tuning into the body, mind, and environment – is quickly gaining credibility in the research
Neurotoxicity: The Impact of Lead Exposure on Learning
It’s buzzing all over the news: the heroic act of pediatrician, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, and her colleagues bringing to light the dangerous effects of lead-contamination in Flint’s water system.1 Lead is a long-known neurotoxin with especially damaging effects on adult
What we’re getting right – and wrong – about mindfulness research
Recently, my sister and I were watching a TV show that explored the minds and brains of geniuses through history. One particular point in the program caught my attention: a man considered a genius was found to have a higher
Can – and should – young children really meditate?
When picturing a kindergarten classroom in America, chances are you imagine messy finger paint on tables, blocks clinking on the rug, oversized read-aloud books, and little kids climbing through colorful Rubbermaid jungle gyms. (Perhaps you imagine a young Arnold being
Practice Mindfulness to Teach Mindfulness
To teach math through a problem like the one below, an effective math teacher would first try the problem herself. “It’s June 1st, and you’ve begun receiving an allowance of $8 dollars on the first of each month. You’ve had
Mindfulness in the Classroom: What’s All the Buzz About?
“Mindfulness” is a buzzword popping up everywhere from the New York Times, prestigious science and education journals, to grade school and university curriculum. Headlines offer intriguing statements like, “Mindfulness meditation may have positive effects on stress, anxiety, and reshape the