Contemplative Pedagogy: A Quiet Revolution in Higher Education

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (134) ◽  
pp. 83-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Zajonc
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quiet Revolution ◽  
Contemplative Pedagogy

Teaching Religious Studies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene V. Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Religious Literacy ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
Contemplative Pedagogy ◽  
Multiple Contexts ◽  
Teaching About Religion ◽  
The Ideal

Teaching about religion in American higher education has been shaped by multiple contexts, from the personal and institutional through the national and international. One persistent question concerns the purposes of teaching about religion, from Christian character formation to broad religious literacy as a prerequisite for informed citizenship. As the number of departments grew throughout the twentieth century, fundamental disagreements about the purposes of collegiate study of religion, the ideal curriculum, and the role of the teacher persisted. Contemporary movements, like advocating for religious literacy, “contemplative pedagogy,” and the push for infusing “spirituality” into higher education actually reprise earlier arguments. The field remains divided on several fundamental issues.

scholarly journals Toward the Implementation of Contemplative Practices in Higher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
Valerie Bonnardel ◽  
Terry Biddington ◽  
Brandon May ◽  
Rhiannon Jones ◽  
Simon Roffey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Initial Report ◽  
Contemplative Practices ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Contemplative Pedagogy ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The University ◽  
Short Time

Endorsing the role of Universities as caregiving organisations and following an initial report on contemplative practices (CP) in Higher Education by the Institute of Theological Partnerships (2016) and the Mindful Nation UK (2015), a Contemplative Pedagogy Working Group (CPWG) was convened to explore the possibilities to implement contemplative pedagogy and practices at the University. CP such as Buddhist meditation have direct bearings in developing and cultivating compassion. With the intention to foster a culture of gentleness within the University, a survey was administered to 301 students to: 1- probe their attitudes toward the introduction of CP at the University and 2- to collect information on their use of technology. Results indicate that 79% of students will be favourable to the introduction of CP at the University on a voluntary basis and 58% will be keen to engage with the practice. However, if short time practices were to be introduced in classes, 44% will be self-conscious and admit it will affect their practice. Seventy percent admit difficulty with their attention during lectures and exam revisions and 58% are distracted by mobile technologies used in classes, report of distractibility is more marked among the youngest. The survey’s result highlights student’s tendency to consider learning about CP in relation to the mind and emotions should be part of their education. This awareness is indicative of a change in students’ expectation and support the CPWG initiatives in offering regular Zen meditation practices and building up a Cosmic Garden within the University premises. Challenges in fostering a compassionate learning and teaching environment and concerns related to the pervasive use of technology in classes, in particular the correlation between the variety of online multitasking and the worry of feeling self-conscious during CP will be discussed.

scholarly journals Mindfulness and gamification in the higher education classroom: Friends or foes?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia G. Karadjova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Public University ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
Contemplative Pedagogy ◽  
Innovative Practice ◽  
The Brain

The paper provides short overview of the gamification, mindfulness and contemplative pedagogy approaches in the higher education with focus on specific experiences in the Information Literacy (IL) field in higher education. Students seem to engage eagerly with both mindfulness activities and games in the classroom. Although at first these two might give an impression of activities which stand on opposite sides an evident overlapping has been present through employing games as mindfulness activities. The paper discusses the Brain Booth Initiative at a rural, public university as an example of an innovative practice, which shows how mindfulness and gamification complement each other in helping students optimize learning and support their wellbeing. In addition to the scholarly literature the Brain Booth initiative shows that librarians are well-positioned to adopt contemplative pedagogy in their information literacy instruction and to serve as resources for departmental faculty, who may be willing to explore its use in their courses.

scholarly journals ‘Teaching of’ and ‘Teaching about’ Meditation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Romaskiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Zen Buddhism ◽  
Contemplative Practices ◽  
Contemplative Education ◽  
Contemplative Pedagogy ◽  
Pedagogical Theory ◽  
A Share

The growing interest in meditation and meditation inspired classroom practices has garnered a share of advocates and detractors. The recent critiques in Candy Gunther Brown’s Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools (2019) offer the most trenchant legal and ethical obstacles to implementing a contemplative education in American public schools. I trace the contours of Brown’s legal claims relevant to higher education and propose a pathway forward by arguing for the importance of underpinning contemplative practices with sound pedagogical theory. I offer one example of contemplative pedagogy based on metacognition as implemented in my Zen Buddhism course. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document