When: 24 Jan 2025 - 7 Mar 2025 Supporting Others with the MBI:TAC: Cultivating Competence and Connection in Supervision and Training The Bangor, Exeter and Oxford Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) is a system for assessing and reflecting on the teaching integrity of mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs). Beyond assessment, the MBI:TAC has become an important support for both for trainees and established teachers as they reflect on their personal development, offer peer feedback and also for supervisors and trainers as they support the development of skilful teaching in their trainees and supervisees. The MBI:TLC (Teaching Learning Companion – referred to as the TLC for short) is an adaptation of the original MBI:TAC specifically developed to support this process of reflective practice. Who is the training for? This training for MBP supervisors and trainers is designed to build skills in using the MBI:TAC as a framework and structure for discerning competence level and giving skilful tailored feedback, whether in a formal mentoring or supervising model, or as a regular benefit of peer and self-engagement and support. What is involved? The skill of reliably discerning competence level takes time and practice. The training begins by first offering the benchmarked competence level (i.e. an assessment point that has been centrally agreed by a team of experienced MBI:TAC assessors) is communicated to the participants in advance of reviewing the teaching clip. The course participants' task is to discern what features within the teaching have led to this assessment outcome. Participants then progress to discerning the competence level, building up the domains gradually and cross checking against established benchmarks. Week by week, the training will include audio-visual teaching clips that progressively expand the elements of curriculum and domains to systematically build participants’ assessment and feedback skills. Participants will be given access each week to a benchmarked assessed teaching clip to review on their own between sessions and will subsequently be given weekly feedback on their assessment reliability. In this way participants can gradually fine-tune their skills in assessing in line with benchmarked assessments. There is a critical “learning dialogue” that happens in this back-and forth. The richness of the groups’ exchanges builds important skills in inner and outer observation and skilful articulation. We will give time both to the content issues that are raised when reviewing teaching (e.g., how to prioritise different elements; distinctions between domains and competence levels; curriculum questions); and process themes (e.g., the vulnerability that is inherent in investigating mindfulness teaching skills; the personal process issues that are triggered by assessing/reviewing teaching, and the implicit biases that we all hold as human beings). There will also be focused training in ways to skilfully offer feedback to peers supervisees and trainees, which is both accurate and precise, aligns with competence level, and is strengths-based and encouraging. As we move through the training, there will also be opportunities to view clips together, in the live, online sessions, where we explore some of the challenges inherent in assessment, and the ways we might acknowledge this as we continue to learn and refine our teaching together. In this way, we also acknowledge the evolving nature of the practice of both teaching and training in MBPs. Key learning objectives: Pre-requisites for attending: Completion of level 1 MBI:TAC training.
Where: Online Event
Tutors: Lynn Koerbel, Sophie Sansom
Experience in MBP supervisory/assessing/training roles. Please provide details of the course you attended in the notes section of the application form.
Participants must commit to the entire online training. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, we are unable to negotiate late arrivals or early leaving. If this is not possible, please contact us to discuss before submitting an application.
Key references and pre-workshop reading:
Precourse reading (available for download at www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/publications):
Crane, R.S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P.1, Williams, J.M.G., Bartley, T., Evans, A.,Silverton, S., Soulsby, J.G., Surawy, C. (2013) Development and validation of the Mindfulness-Based Interventions – Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC), Assessment, doi: 10.1177/1073191113490790
Crane R.S., Kuyken, W., Williams, J. M. G., Hastings, R., Cooper, L., Fennell, M.J.V. (2012), Competence in teaching mindfulness-based courses: concepts, development, and assessment, Mindfulness, 3, 76–84. DOI: 10.1007/s12671–011–0073–2
Crane, R.S., Soulsby, J.G., Kuyken, W., Williams, J.M.G., Eames, C., (2012) The Bangor, Exeter & Oxford Mindfulness-Based Interventions Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC) for assessing the competence and adherence of mindfulness-based class-based teaching (mbitac.bangor.ac.uk/documents/MBITACmanualsummaryandaddendums0517.pdf)
Participants are recommended to purchase a copy of the book 'Essential Resources for Mindfulness Teachers' edited by Rebecca S. Crane, Karunavira and Gemma M. Griffith from the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University, Wales, UK. This text will be utilised throughout the training programme and we are pleased to offer a publisher's discount of 20%: https://training.mindfulness-network.org/book-discount/
What to bring/wear:
Please wear comfortable clothing, as we will be doing some practices together.
The latest version of the MBI:TAC can be freely downloaded here: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/CentreforMindfulnessResearchandPractice-MBITAC.php
The trainers:
The trainers specialise in this approach and engage in a rigorous ongoing process of training and supervision. Just click on the trainer name to find out more.
Location:
This will be an online event - a zoom link for the training will be sent out prior to the start date.
In order to participate in the training, you will need:
- A room where you can close the door and engage in the training away from family distraction. As we will be showing clips of teaching, it is particularly important that confidentiality is maintained by ensuring that those who are not on the training cannot see your screen or hear the audio. It may be helpful to use headphones.
- Log in via a computer which is resting on a hard surface and which has audio and webcam. Please don’t use handheld devices to log in.
- When you are not speaking turn on mute to reduce background noise.
Timings:
The training consists of 3 x 4.5 hour taught sessions, plus 4 x 2.5 hour peer led sessions
3 x taught sessions delivered via zoom Friday 24th January; Friday 14th February and Friday 7th March 2025 - all sessions 1 - 5.30pm
In the intervening weeks there will be 4 scheduled online peer led sessions: Friday 31st January; Friday 7th February; Friday 21st February; Friday 28th February - 1 - 3.30pm
All times listed are for UK time zone
The training will also include home practice after each taught session (about 2.5 hours) involving video review and additional study/reading.
Please be sure this is the right time for you to undertake this level of in depth training in the use of the MBI-TAC tool for supervision, training and assessment.
Our rates:
Our rates have no hidden extras:
Standard rate – £386
Bursary-assisted places are available on this event until three months before the event starts. If it is less than three months before the start date of the event, please get in touch to discuss if an application is possible. When applying for a bursary-assisted place, please first register on the event and select the fee ‘I’m applying for a bursary-assisted place’. Once you have registered for the event you will also need to complete and return a bursary application form.
To find out more about our bursary schemes, criteria for bursary applications and to complete the bursary application form please visit: https://home.mindfulness-network.org/bursaries/
Employer’s rate: Recognising the large administrative overhead of dealing with employers, we will be adding a £50 surcharge if the employer is paying directly; where possible we would advise applicants to pay themselves and reclaim on expenses to avoid the charge.
The application process:
Our application and payment process involves the following steps:
- We receive your application form and assess it to ensure that this event is suitable for you. We endeavour to make assessments within a week.
- Upon offering you a place, we will then invoice you for the full amount.
- Your place is fully confirmed once we receive your full payment.
- We will email you the joining instructions in advance of the course.
Payment and cancellation policy:
Please read our Terms and Conditions for information regarding payments and cancellations.
Other information:
Please see the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) for good practice guidelines and other information for mindfulness-based teachers.
Certificate of Attendance. Please note that we give a Bangor University Certificate of Attendance that details the nature of the course and the hours involved. However, this does not constitute an authorisation to teach mindfulness-based approaches. The development and interest in the potential of mindfulness within a range of settings is rapidly growing and training processes are therefore becoming more structured. Within the UK, though, there are currently no formal qualifications/certification processes which regulate competency in teaching mindfulness-based approaches. This requires those of us working in this developing field to inquire deeply into our own practice, our integrity and our intentions, as well as the boundaries of our skills, competencies and understandings.
Contact us:
Please feel free to email us at training@mindfulness-network.org to discuss any questions you may have about the course or whether it is appropriate for you at this time. We will ensure that your query reaches the correct person.
Click here to sign up to this event.
