{"title":"An experiential reflection of a mindful lecturer: exploring enhancement of active learning in higher education","authors":"M. Mantzios, H. Egan","doi":"10.1080/23752696.2019.1629826","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The practice of mindfulness is described as an awareness that emerges through purposefully paying attention in the present moment, non-judgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Practice usually entails attentional training, which is executed through meditation. Mindfulness meditation involves actively observing the present moment by attending to the breath, moment-to-moment, and without adding any meaning to the feelings and thoughts that emerge. This process assists people who observe the constant flow of information unfolding in the present moment and to systematically develop an ability to accept (instead of judge) the experiences that are encountered. Working with mindfulness meditation practices has been shown to lead to other multi-layered indirect benefits, such as compassion, self-compassion, and equanimity, which are parts of advanced mindfulness practice (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Grossman & Van Dam, 2011). Interestingly, while benefits of mindfulness have been explored within higher education contexts, and improvements in achievement and mental health across student populations have been reported (e.g. Bennett, Egan, Cook, & Mantzios, 2018), the potential for teacher development and enhancement of teaching and learning has not been explored. Researchers have primarily focused on the health benefits within student populations (Bowen & Marlatt, 2009), while similar benefits have been observed in teaching staff when appropriate population-specific practices are put into place (Braun, Roesner, Mashburn, & Skinner, 2018). From simple and quick interventions (Mantzios & Giannou, 2018a, 2018b) to longer mindfulness programs (Beshai, McAlpine, Weare, & Kuyken, 2016; Gold et al., 2010), the evidence of mindfulness practices for health and well-being has been considerable in the past decade. However, are there any direct benefits to teaching and learning of students with more mindful teachers in higher education? In the next section, we put forward one example of how a mindful teacher could enhance active learning during core lectures and big groups of learners. Within higher education settings, the usual teaching practice is to embed more interactive and engaging material (such as videos, multiple-choice questions, different scenarios or case studies) in between the slides that hold the essence and the key","PeriodicalId":43390,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education Pedagogies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/23752696.2019.1629826","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Higher Education Pedagogies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2019.1629826","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
The practice of mindfulness is described as an awareness that emerges through purposefully paying attention in the present moment, non-judgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Practice usually entails attentional training, which is executed through meditation. Mindfulness meditation involves actively observing the present moment by attending to the breath, moment-to-moment, and without adding any meaning to the feelings and thoughts that emerge. This process assists people who observe the constant flow of information unfolding in the present moment and to systematically develop an ability to accept (instead of judge) the experiences that are encountered. Working with mindfulness meditation practices has been shown to lead to other multi-layered indirect benefits, such as compassion, self-compassion, and equanimity, which are parts of advanced mindfulness practice (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Grossman & Van Dam, 2011). Interestingly, while benefits of mindfulness have been explored within higher education contexts, and improvements in achievement and mental health across student populations have been reported (e.g. Bennett, Egan, Cook, & Mantzios, 2018), the potential for teacher development and enhancement of teaching and learning has not been explored. Researchers have primarily focused on the health benefits within student populations (Bowen & Marlatt, 2009), while similar benefits have been observed in teaching staff when appropriate population-specific practices are put into place (Braun, Roesner, Mashburn, & Skinner, 2018). From simple and quick interventions (Mantzios & Giannou, 2018a, 2018b) to longer mindfulness programs (Beshai, McAlpine, Weare, & Kuyken, 2016; Gold et al., 2010), the evidence of mindfulness practices for health and well-being has been considerable in the past decade. However, are there any direct benefits to teaching and learning of students with more mindful teachers in higher education? In the next section, we put forward one example of how a mindful teacher could enhance active learning during core lectures and big groups of learners. Within higher education settings, the usual teaching practice is to embed more interactive and engaging material (such as videos, multiple-choice questions, different scenarios or case studies) in between the slides that hold the essence and the key
期刊介绍:
The aim of Higher Education Pedagogies is to identify, promote and publish excellence and innovations in the practice and theory of teaching and learning in and across all disciplines in higher education. The journal will provide an international forum for the sharing, dissemination and discussion of research, experience and perspectives across a wide range of teaching and learning issues. The journal will prove a valuable resource for individuals in the development and enhancement of their own practice, and for institutions in the promotion of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Higher Education Pedagogies will focus on disciplinary pedagogies and learning experiences; the higher education curriculum, i.e. what is taught and how it is developed and enhanced including both skills and knowledge; the delivery of the higher education curriculum; how it is taught and how students learn, and academic development; the role of teaching and learning in the development of academic careers and its place within the profession. Higher Education Pedagogies welcomes papers which are accessible to both specialist and generalist readers and are theoretically and empirically rigorous. Through advancing knowledge of, and practice in, teaching and learning, Higher Education Pedagogies will prove essential reading for all those who wish to stay informed of state-of-the-art teaching and learning developments in higher education. Higher Education Pedagogies is sponsored by the Higher Education Academy.