West Nottingham Academy & NYU Mindful Education Lab
About the Mindful Education Lab
West Nottingham Academy partners with the Mindful Education Lab at New York University (NYU) to bring research-informed approaches to learning and student well-being to West Nottingham. This includes mindfulness, yoga, and breathwork, all of which have been shown to boost student well-being, mental clarity, and learning.
Led by NYU Professor Dr. Joshua Aronson, an internationally-recognized social psychologist, Mindful Education Lab brings top researchers into the WNA environment and involves WNA students in collaborative relationships with college undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from several universities.
Mentor: Dr Joshua Aronson
The NYU Mindful Education Lab studies how attention, stress, and psychological processes influence learning and performance.
Its work draws on research in:
- Social psychology
- Education
- Clinical and counseling psychology
- Cognitive science
The lab also explores how these insights can be applied in educational settings.
A Distinctive Academic Partnership
This collaboration reflects WNA’s commitment to connecting students with top-tier universities and contemporary research.
Faculty from the NYU Mindful Education Lab regularly visit campus to engage with students and educators, introducing key ideas around mindfulness, learning, and human development.
WNA students visit colleges, attend scientific conferences, and help conduct scientific research. These interactions provide students with mentors from major universities affiliated with the Mindful Education Lab, including undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and researchers.
Learning Through Exposure
Rather than implementing a fixed program, this collaboration focuses on introducing students to ideas and practices grounded in research, allowing them to:
- Develop greater awareness of how they learn
- Build habits that support focus and well-being
- Engage with concepts typically encountered in university-level study
Looking Ahead
The partnership between West Nottingham Academy and NYU is in its early stages, with the goal of creating meaningful, research-informed opportunities for students over time.
As the collaboration evolves, it will continue to emphasize:
- Academic integrity
- Appropriate scope for students
- Long-term educational value