Course Information

Workshop: MBI-TAC Level 2 - Supporting Others with the MBI-TAC: Cultivating Competence in Supervision and Training

When: 26 Apr 2023 - 21 Jun 2023
Where: Online Event
Tutors: Lynn Koerbel, Sophie Sansom

The course will take place over 9 x 3 hour alternating peer groups and taught sessions beginning on April 26th and ending June 21st:

Taught sessions: April 26th; May 10th, 24th; June 7th, 21st
Peer: May 3rd, 17th, 31st; June 14th
 
1.30-4.30pm

Please note that times are UK, BST (British Summer Time) 

The alternate weeks will consist of peer group sessions

There is a home practice requirment (2.5hrs per fortnight) 

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 both for trainee and established teachers as they reflect on their personal development, and also to 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. 


 What is involved?

The skill of reliably discerning competence level takes time and practice. In the first instance, 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 clip. Their 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 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.

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).

There will also be focused training in ways of skilfully offering feedback to supervisees and trainees, which is both accurate and precise, aligns with competence level, and is strengths based and encouraging.


 Key learning objectives:

Building on the learning aims of the level 1 training this deepening training aims to:

1. Refine and differentiate the structure and meaning of the six competence levels within the MBI:TAC

2. Build skills in conducting assessments reliably, through repeated practice in reviewing teaching practice and then cross-checking scores against central benchmarks

3. Build skills in offering verbal and written feedback, which enables transparent understanding of how the assessment point was determined, what teaching strengths and learning needs were observed, and how the teacher could build their skills going forward.

4. Embed understanding of ways of approaching competence assessments, which ensure good practice is followed by the individual conducting the assessment, and by the organisation within which the assessment is situated, especially as it may relate to cultural differences.

5. Develop and refine comprehension of skilful and sensitive ways of staging the introduction of the tool through the different phases of the MBP teacher training.

6. Identify the various lenses we bring to teaching (including culture, social and ethnic) and to offering ourselves and others feedback.


Pre-requisites for attending:

  • Completion of level 1 MBI:TAC training and 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 MBITAC can be freely downloaded here: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/CentreforMindfulnessResearchandPractice-MBITAC.php


The trainers:

Our trainers have been extensively trained in this approach and engage in a rigorous ongoing process of training and supervision. We use strict criteria when selecting teachers/trainers to work with us. The name of the specific trainer(s) for this event is at the top of this page. Just click on the trainer name to find out more about them. 


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:

9 x 3-hour sessions delivered via zoom. 5 of these will be teacher led (at 2-week intervals) – and 4 (scheduled in the intervening weeks) will be peer led. Participants will be given home practice involving assessing clips of recorded MBP teaching and reading material. This training involves the following time commitment:

- 5 taught 3-hour teaching sessions

- 4 peer led 2-hour sessions

- 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 – £414

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Upon offering you a place, we will then invoice you for the full amount.
  3. Your place is fully confirmed once we receive your full payment.
  4. 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.