Displaying 1 - 3 of 3
As contemplative pedagogy on higher education campuses grows, so does interest in supporting additional faculty in using contemplative practices. At our small, liberal arts teachinguniversity in the southeast USA, our faculty contemplative learning circle has steadily widened and worked to integrate mindfulness and other practices into our campus activities.
We became interested in how contemplative practices are already happening in our classrooms without being named as such, and if finding out about them might elucidate opportunities to support faculty in deepening and expanding current efforts. This paper presents
the findings from an interview study with 35 faculty members not formally participating in
faculty activities involving contemplative pedagogy. Faculty spontaneously mentioned some
activities that may be considered contemplative in their descriptions of effective teaching
strategies, such as class discussions, experiential activities, and journaling. Among a provided list of contemplative activities, the most frequently used were discussions/debates,
journaling/reflective writing, and beholding, though the ways in which faculty implemented
the activities varied. Faculty offered many examples of activities that could be considered
contemplative or introspective, and the ways they used the activities differed by discipline.
When asked directly, 18 participants reported that they used contemplative practices or
pedagogy in some way, nine reported that they were uncertain about the definition and/
or whether they used them, and eight responded that they do not use them. Many faculty
members also indicated interest in learning more about how to incorporate contemplative
practices in teaching, suggesting an opportunity for enhanced faculty development efforts.
Public health courses that provide opportunities for applied learning to develop students’ understanding of health disparities and methods for achieving health equity are of critical importance. Contemplative pedagogy can cultivate among students personal skills such as open awareness, introspection, nonjudgment, and compassion as students engage with communities across class, race, and other lines of difference. This article describes how contemplative practices are introduced and aligned with learning objectives in an undergraduate community-engaged course on health parity at a public liberal arts university in North Carolina, with the intent of contributing to the growing literature on contemplative education and how it may be appropriate in public health education. Contemplative pedagogy in this course offers opportunities for students to learn with their minds, bodies, and hearts. This article presents course context and structure, introducing contemplative practices to students, and two specific examples of contemplative activities that may help students better understand diversity and their role in sustainable health equity. The article concludes with a discussion and resources for instructors interested in contemplative pedagogy. As contemplative pedagogy gains ground in college instruction, it may also provide critical skill-building for students of public health.