Participants took part in sessions involving mindfulness techniques, behavior management, developing lasting relationships with students, and CPR and First Aid training at Trying Together’s UnConference: Authentic Engagement in Out-of-School Time Programs on June 5.

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The conference, held at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, was led by Trying Together, APOST, and the Allegheny Department of Human Services and featured sessions with WQED, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Brookline Teen Outreach, and other regional programs.

The morning kicked off with three different tracks – a First Aid/CPR class and two other tracks that featured three sessions apiece on a variety of topics relating to caring for children. The afternoon’s activities included a tour of interactive activity stations in the Entertainment Technology Center and Everyday Mentoring Training provided by The Mentoring Partnership.

Morning Sessions

During the CPR/First Aid class, participants were shown how to properly apply gloves before assisting with CPR services and given the three steps as a responder – check the scene for safety and check the person, call 911, and then provide care. Participants then practiced responses on mannequins.

In a Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy class, “Wellness Through Nature Chilling,” participants learned about practicing mindfulness through nature. They observed leaves and were asked by session leaders Patty Himes and Kathny Hunninen how the leaves felt and smelled. Later, they sat in chairs spread throughout a field behind the CMU building to observe what they saw in its natural surroundings.

A session titled “PBS 101” featured WQED’s Cathy Cook and Gina Masciola talking about the station’s Family Corner Newsletter, summer safety, Pride Month and Juneteenth resources, and programming for families.

“We expect that the resources we’re sharing are meant to support what you’re already doing,” Masciola said. “We always say that if WQED is doing its job correctly, you’ll turn us off and do something. It’s about inspiration and exploration.”

During a session titled “Building Relationships Through Cultural Connections,” the Center of Life’s Sarah Crawshaw discussed how educators should not assume that students are comfortable with being given a nickname without them explicitly approving it – especially for students from other countries or cultures whose names might be challenging to pronounce.

“It’s important for children to feel comfortable and confident in their names,” she said, adding that students should feel comfortable in correcting educators who mispronounce their names.

Kierra Price, of Brookline Teen Outreach, discussed the difference between traditional and positive behavior management during another session.

“Societally and culturally, we tend to lean into behavior management, which has caused more problems,” she said. “Traditional behavior management typically involves no conversation, but positive behavior management is about fostering an environment for conversation. If we can build a stronger relationship with a child, we can meet their needs much better and provide a better redirection for them.”

In a session on mindfulness for co-regulation, Awaken Pittsburgh’s Shannon Jenkins explained the Autonomic Ladder, which argues that the nervous system produces three elementary states – ventral vagal (a feeling of safety), sympathetic (fight-or-flight), and dorsal vagal (shutdown). She cited an example of a teacher mistaking children whispering after a test for cheating and ripping up their papers, which led to the students being in the dorsal vagal state.

Participants discussed how their bodies react when they feel angry, happy, or nervous. They took part in an activity in which they rubbed their palms together vigorously, raised their arms, and breathed in and out. Attendees said they noticed a cool tingling and a sense of release.

In the “Regulate & Recharge” session, Open Up’s Tessa Karel said that her organization’s mission is to find ways to remove barriers – whether financial or the ability to feel comfortable in a space – to help people improve wellness. The session focused on mindfulness techniques, including one in which participants stood in a circle and passed an invisible energy ball.

Afternoon Sessions

During the afternoon, UnConference attendees were able to tour four activity stations in the Entertainment Technology Center – The Cavern, The Cave, The Green Screen Room, and the CMU Brick Club, where participants learned about LEGO play methodology to help young people with social-emotional development.

Elsewhere, the Mentoring Partnership led an Everyday Mentoring Training session that focused on such tenets as speaking and listening from the heart, honoring privacy and remaining present, speaking and listening with respect, and protecting one’s community in regard to early childhood education. They said that everyday mentoring focuses on expressing care, challenging growth, providing support, sharing power, and expanding possibilities. 

“Be mindful of how to respect young people,” said Sophia Duck, The Mentoring Partnership’s training and engagement manager. “The category of sharing power makes young people feel seen and heard – you’re saying, ‘I value you.’”