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In this chapter, Daniel Barbezat (Professor of Economics, Amherst College and Executive Director, The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society) and Allison Pingree (Director of Professional Pedagogy, Harvard University) provide an overview of the definition, intention, and benefits of contemplative exercises, and approaches to fostering these practices through university teaching and learning centers, with a cautionary note on possible problems, in hopes that these descriptions will stimulate interest and inquiry into contemplative and introspective exercises and enable further investigation and discovery.
In order to make choices that lead to our well-being, we need discernment andunderstanding to determine the conditions that bring about positive outcomes and
the awareness to recognize them in order to act in ways that are congruent with our
well-being. This is a paper exploring the context of teaching undergraduates to understand the expression of their own desires in markets. In this paper, I will describe an
exercise that illustrates the concepts of Tibor Scitovsky’s work on well-being. Students
experience the concepts outlined by Scitovsky and come to understand them more
deeply through engaging with practices that allow them to directly experience the
embedded ideas. In addition, once they see the benefits from closely watching their
experience, they become more curious about cultivating attention and begin to inquire
more deeply into the nature of their desires and actions.
Contemplative pedagogy is a way for instructors to: empower students to integrate their own experience into the theoretical material they are being taught in order to deepen their understanding; help students to develop sophisticated problem-solving skills; support students’ sense of connection to and compassion for others; and engender inquiries into students’ most profound questions. Contemplative practices are used in just about every discipline—from physics to economics to history—and are found in every type of institution. Each year more and more faculty, education reformers, and leaders of teaching and learning centers seek out best practices in contemplative teaching, and now can find them here, brought to you by two of the foremost leaders and innovators on the subject. This book presents background information and ideas for the practical application of contemplative practices across the academic curriculum from the physical sciences to the humanities and arts. Examples of contemplative techniques included in the book are mindfulness, meditation, yoga, deep listening, contemplative reading and writing, and pilgrimage, including site visits and field trips.
Contemplative pedagogy is a way for instructors to: empower students to integrate their own experience into the theoretical material they are being taught in order to deepen their understanding; help students to develop sophisticated problem-solving skills; support students’ sense of connection to and compassion for others; and engender inquiries into students’ most profound questions. Contemplative practices are used in just about every discipline—from physics to economics to history—and are found in every type of institution. Each year more and more faculty, education reformers, and leaders of teaching and learning centers seek out best practices in contemplative teaching, and now can find them here, brought to you by two of the foremost leaders and innovators on the subject. This book presents background information and ideas for the practical application of contemplative practices across the academic curriculum from the physical sciences to the humanities and arts. Examples of contemplative techniques included in the book are mindfulness, meditation, yoga, deep listening, contemplative reading and writing, and pilgrimage, including site visits and field trips.