ORIGINAL PAPER Mindfulness as a tool for place-based educators S. Anthony Deringer 1 & Jan S. Hodges 1 & Kent Griffin 2 # Outdoor Education Australia 2020 Abstract Recent theoretical research suggests that socio-cognitive mindfulness and place-based education, when used together, may have a synergistic benefit. The purpose of the study was to examine how mindfulness influences the experience of educators engaged in place-based teaching. A qualitative, constructivist grounded theory approach was used to guide data collection and analysis related to teachers at a school that has placed- based education (PBE) as a central theme. The study design included a workshop about mindfulness with follow-up instructional emails sent throughout the semester, via which data were collected. Multiple interviews with each of the three teachers explored how they constructed meaning around their experiences using socio-cognitive mind- fulness and PBE together. Results indicated that practiced together, mindfulness and PBE created a synergy that benefited the learning environment by enhancing PBE planning and allowing teachers to experience place more deeply all the while providing a richer problem-posing format for content delivery. Educators may find mindful place- based education to be a tool that deepens the learning experience for instructors and students. Keywords Place-based education . Mindfulness . Mindful place-based education . Mindfulness . And place Many progressive forms of education consider the world not as a static reality, but rather as dynamic, where students are challenged to construct their own meanings Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-020-00053-8 * S. Anthony Deringer AnthonyD@txstate.edu Jan S. Hodges jh223@txstate.edu Kent Griffin Kentgriffin@txstate.edu 1 Recreation Program, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA 2 Department of Health and Human Performance, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA