Contemplative Science: An Insider Prospectus

Britton, Willoughby B.; Brown, Anne-Catharine H.; Kaplan, Christopher T.; Goldman, Roberta E.; DeLuca, Marie; Rojiani, Rahil; Xi, Mandy; Chou, Jonathan; McKenna, F.; Hitchcock, Peter; Rocha, Tomas; Himmelfarb, Josh; Niles, Halsey; Eckert, Allison M.; Frank, Tana

doi:10.1002/tl.20051

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…In other words, they were acknowledging metacognition -which "represents the capacity to be aware of, reflect upon, and exercise control over one's cognitive processes, including those important to learning" (Shapiro et al, 2011, p. 512). Metacognition is an integral part of mindfulness (Britton et al, 2013) and is believed to be a very important component of deep comprehension (Shapiro et al, 2011). One student commented:…”

Section: Additional Insights From the Survey Comments Of The Third-yementioning

confidence: 99%

“…By contrast, at the university level, student exposure to the practice and potential benefits of mindfulness is generally confined to extracurricular options that are specifically aimed at stress management and promoting mental health. Although quite a few medical and psychology programs now require students to take a separate mindfulness course (Britton et al, 2013;deBruin, Meppelink, & Bogels, 2015), the use of contemplative teaching practices directly in-class within regular core courses for those undergraduate programs or indeed within any other typical university curriculum is very rare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Possible Learning and Teaching Benefits of Short Mind-calming Exercises in Undergraduate Courses

Grogan¹

2019

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The potential benefits of meditation exercises to promote more focused student attention and engagement have only rarely been quantitatively investigated at the college/university level. Here, I report student perceptions on the impacts of regular short mind-calming exercises at the beginning of every class in second, third, and fourth-year biology undergraduate courses, using voluntary anonymous surveys that were completed by at least two-thirds of each class (total enrollments 326, 68, and 15 respectively). In the third year course, 93% of respondents indicated that the exercise was “enjoyable and relaxing”, 73% indicated that it was “a valuable use of lecture time because I feel it enhances deep learning”, 75% found it a useful perspective “to achieving balance/calm in my life”, and 76% rejected the suggestion that although “the exercises are useful, they are not course-related material and therefore are inappropriate within class time”. Responses to several other distinct survey statements were also strongly positive, and furthermore, very similar favourable results as above were obtained in the other two courses. Overall, although it is unclear whether these very short exercises actually enhanced learning, many students perceived that it did. Finally, my teaching performance in university-based student assessments of the third-year course was significantly elevated in the year with mind-calming exercises compared to each of the previous nine iterations in which I had been an instructor. Together, these quantitative results suggest that the regular use of such exercises has multiple direct and indirect benefits that may contribute to more effective undergraduate learning and teaching.

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Section: Additional Insights From the Survey Comments Of The Third-yementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Possible Learning and Teaching Benefits of Short Mind-calming Exercises in Undergraduate Courses

Grogan¹

2019

cjsotl-rcacea

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Where we’ve Been, Where we’re Going

Quinlan

2016

How Higher Education Feels

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Teaching meditation to college students within an historical and cultural context: A qualitative analysis of undergraduate reflections on contemplative practice

Sensiper

2022

Curr Psychol

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There is a growing interest in contemplative practices in higher education. Researchers have explored the use of meditation to address the increasing requests for counseling and as a resource for improving student mental health. Contemplative practices have also been incorporated into the fundamental learning objectives in some US universities. This study of teaching methods uses first-person narratives from twenty-three 10-week seminars to examine how meditation practice benefited undergraduate students at a large public university in the US. The seminar, “Contemporary American Buddhism: How Meditation Became a Part of the Mainstream,” provided meditation instruction within an historical and cultural context and was taught over a nine-year period. Four hundred undergraduates’ reflective writings were included in this study. During the seminars, students participated in structured in-class meditations, practiced mindfulness exercises, read contemporary texts, viewed recent media and wrote reflective exercises. Students learned how meditation has been adapted for contemporary society, engaged in critical thinking, and reflected on their experiences. An examination of their narrative self-reports indicates outcomes similar to studies using highly structured meditation protocols; an improvement in overall well-being, lessened anxiety, better focus and increased emotional control. This study of teaching methodology also shows that students expressed a desire to continue the practice once the seminar was complete. The results suggest that a structured and systematic investigation of this teaching model would add significantly to the discussion on how to teach contemplative practice to college students.

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Contemplative Science: An Insider Prospectus

Cited by 8 publications

References 90 publications

The Possible Learning and Teaching Benefits of Short Mind-calming Exercises in Undergraduate Courses

The Possible Learning and Teaching Benefits of Short Mind-calming Exercises in Undergraduate Courses

Where we’ve Been, Where we’re Going

Teaching meditation to college students within an historical and cultural context: A qualitative analysis of undergraduate reflections on contemplative practice

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