An Introduction to Positivity and Relaxation Training (PART)
On the very first day of class as students walk into my classroom, a small branch of pine needles or an acorn gathered from somewhere on the UMass Amherst campus or some aromatic leaves of lemon balm from the UMass permaculture garden rests on my open binder where I sit at the top of a U shaped circle. As I offer students welcoming words of love and kindness, I wonder what they are thinking about me and about the journey we are embarking on.
My name is Ernie Brooks, and I am one of a handful of instructors of our Positivity and Relaxation Training’ (PART) program at UMass Amherst. PART is offered through Campus Life and Wellbeing. It is an opportunity for students to gather for moments of presence with each other. I guide up to seven sections of PART by offering gentle and inspiring encouragement to the students. We explore topics of wellbeing such as quality sleep, social connection, creative expression, and mindful moments. We identify the stress response within ourselves and practice a variety of ways of eliciting relaxation and cultivating genuine positivity. PART offers students the opportunity to explore stress by noticing thoughts, emotions, sensations, and behaviors, all the while practicing ways of flowing through the stress response back towards a baseline of relaxation. These experiences are deeply meaningful for the students who have participated in PART, with research completed by the UMass School of Public Health showing significant improvements in many markers of stress resiliency and wellbeing (Scalise et al., 2025).
‘What are you noticing?’ That’s something I appreciate asking my students to contemplate regularly as part of our experiences in the classroom. This is a question that I hope invites us into wonder…wonder about what we are experiencing and about the possibilities for us. - Ernie Brooks
The Role of Technology in PART
As a Forest Therapy Guide certified through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, I have read research and seen, heard, and felt the stories of people coming to genuine relaxation in the presence of nature, even when nature appears more in the background. Just viewing nature through pictures and videos has been associated with a calming of the stress response in humans and flow towards our baseline of relaxation (Dose of Nature, n.d.), (Ulrich, R.S., 1981), (Ulrich et al., 1991). The simple scenes of nature on the television screen contribute to the overall calming experience of our shared classroom. Inviting students to share how they’re feeling each day, with nature scenes behind me guiding our shared experience, has been the most meaningful way I’ve integrated technology into our classroom. I use the classroom screen to project extended videos of beautiful nature scenes: expressions of Earth's life, from flowing waterfalls and rivers, to forested land with leaves slowly falling, and even Earth as seen from the space above.
Below are examples of images and videos that I use for PART:
Students comment on the nature view of the day, often sharing reflections that anecdotally support the idea that these can help as part of the story of creating a relaxing and safe space to learn. "It feels very zen in here," a student once said to me when they walked into the classroom and noticed the waterfall video playing behind me. We then flowed through a conversation about whether this particular waterfall was a real space somewhere on Earth or an artificial intelligence creation.
Regardless of which, I heard from this student that the waterfall in particular is what they were referring to when they called our classroom a space of ‘zen.’ Students often comment on the beauty of the nature scenes we use, which is meaningful because a core part of PART is noticing and appreciating what enriches our day. They’re frequently curious about whether the places are real. I love sharing images from actual spots on the UMass Amherst campus—like the permaculture garden by Franklin Dining Commons, the Durfee Conservatory, or the forested Sylvan Woods—where they can go for presence and rest.
I wonder how technology can be integrated into more classes in ways, however subtle, to inspire presence and the safety needed to learn. A single image of nature, or anything that may be seen as beautiful, within a PowerPoint presentation, on a distributed piece of paper, or anywhere else could be a signal to someone’s nervous system that they are safe and well in the moment.
Might the technology we have and use integrate in ways beyond just sharing content or facilitating the dynamics of a course? If the technology projects the natural environment, could it also create a safe space that promotes growth and learning? I wonder what a flower, whether shown through a digital image or gathered from a garden on campus, could mean for our students as they come into presence with it in our classrooms.
My Reflections on Technology in PART
My hope is that we may contemplate the creation of spaces that invite us into presence and authenticity. An invitation, for example, to let cellphones rest aside can be balanced by acknowledging with our students that there may be times when we have a need to be connected with someone outside of class through our technology. I know this can be truly helpful for someone who is experiencing a family challenge at home, for example, to be as present as possible in the moment with a class group knowing they are safe to monitor communications coming through on their phone as needed. These little considerations, shared adequately with our students, do matter and come together for the possibilities of a prosperous learning environment.
On the very last day of class, after my students have shared in the circle about something meaningful they are gathering from the Positivity and Relaxation Training, I offer them a few more words of love and kindness. "I wish you well and I hope you take very good care of yourselves and each other." May we offer this presence and compassion through all of our gatherings together within our University of Massachusetts community.
More from IDEAS
Interested in learning more about PART and how instructors integrate technology into their pedagogies and curriculum? Check out Michael Pease: Increasing Student Resilience with The Positivity and Relaxation Training Program (PART)
Dose of Nature. (n.d.). The science. https://www.doseofnature.org.uk/the-science
References
Scalise, A., Cracco, E., DiFulvio, G., Do, H., Luberto, C., Pease, M., Rataj, S., Waters, A., & Bertone-Johnson, E. (2025). Improving student campus wellbeing through the Positivity and Relaxation Training (PART) program [Conference presentation]. APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo.
Ulrich, R. S. (1981). Natural Versus Urban Scenes: Some Psychophysiological Effects: Some Psychophysiological Effects. Environment and Behavior, 13(5), 523-556.
Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11(3), 201–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7