Contemplative Education Commons^™

Collaborative Aesthetic Experiences And Teacher Learners: Arts-Practice Research In A Teacher Education Classroom, Theresa A. Catalano, Inoussa Malgoubri, Jennifer Bockerman, Hector Palala Martínez, Mackayla Kelsey, Leonardo Brandolini, Ilia Shcherbakov

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the experiences of six teacher learners and one teacher educator in a graduate course on aesthetic education at a Midwestern university in the U.S. Using collective autoethnography and arts-practice research, the researcher/participants examine how aesthetic experiences were activated in the learning environment and how this activation supported the development of transformational rethinking that led to the changing of formed habits of teaching. Findings reveal how aesthetic teacher education can be therapeutic, aid in building connections between the teacher and students (and among students), inspire wonder and discovery, facilitate the valuing and including of cultural and linguistic backgrounds …

Post-Truth's Effect On The Brain And The Future Self: A Critical Communication Pedagogy Response, David H. Kahl Jr.

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

The university was created for the critical examination of ideas to seek truth. However, the proliferation of post-truth messages has made this goal more difficult to reach, creating an important communication pedagogy problem. Hegemonic forces create post-truth messages to mislead people and play to their existing beliefs in order to maintain and advance power. Post-truth messages are particularly effective because they cause cognitive overload and temporal discounting. Critical communication pedagogy (CCP) is a means by which instructors and students can evaluate post-truth messages. CCP allows for dialogue to reduce the cognitive issues that post-truth messages cause and allow for the …

Centering Linguistic Justice In The First Year Writing Classroom: An Argument For The Incorporation Of Code-Meshing And Narrative In Academic Writing, Traci Salazar

Masters Theses

The author addresses several questions across three chapters in relation to linguistic identity and standard language ideology in academic writing, particularly as it pertains to the First Year Writing classroom. Firstly, what is standard language ideology, and what are the detriments of its effects on students in the writing classroom? This answer is considered with an emphasis on the implications for students whose home languages are not in close proximity to Standard English (SE) and boils down to a homogenous language that is deemed ideal and is imposed upon others by dominant institutions, such as academic institutions. Within a literature …

Augustinian Composition Pedagogy And The Catholic Liberal Arts In The Time Of Generative Ai, Gavin F. Hurley

Journal of Catholic Education

This article proposes a theoretical basis of Augustinian composition pedagogy by tracing the symbiotic relationship between writing and knowing found within St. Augustine’s Letters, The Trinity, Soliloquies, and Confessions and connecting them to modern writing-to-learn composition pedagogies. Given today’s trying times of generative AI, this article argues that Catholic schools revitalize the writing arts in a manner proposed by Augustine—that is, to enrich inward contemplation and outward love for others. In embracing such philosophy of writing and applying it across the disciplines, Catholic schools can enrich their distinctively Catholic liberal arts mission—and ward off dangers found in …

Exploring The Perspectives Of Teenage Tutors Who Tutor Elementary Students In A One-To-One Reading Tutoring Program, Talya M. Taylor

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been minimal studies on tutoring programs that pair elementary students with teenage tutors (Jacob et al., 2016). Innovative tutoring programs are important as student reading achievement has declined since the onset of COVID-19 and school systems face instructional staff shortages. Through the lens of Self Determination Theory, this study explored how tutor autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000) to choose instructional strategies and delivery methods influences student reading progress through one-to-one tutoring.

Centered in a constructivist world view, qualitative research methodology was used to explore the relationship between teenage tutors exercising autonomy when delivering a scripted reading curriculum and …

The Pulse Of Connection: Professors' Experience Of Positive Relationships With Students–An Interpretative Phenomenology And Photovoice Study, Ileya N. Grosman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In higher education, the focus on student success often takes center stage in research and the professor-as-teacher practice. While numerous empirical studies concentrate on the growth and development of undergraduate students, this dissertation delves into professors’ relational and felt experiences in positive teaching-learning relationships. Four terminal-degreed professors from four different schools and three different disciplines–education, humanities, and leadership–engaged in photography and were then interviewed. Participants reflected on their photographs and their experiences in a teaching-learning relationship with their students. The present study aimed to illuminate the unspoken language of connection by utilizing interpretive phenomenology and photovoice to uncover professors’ relational …

Re-Thinking Education For Sustainable Development: Key Learning Insights From The Sdsn Usa Transformative Education Summit 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Sumie Song, Deepak Sridhar, Wendy M. Purcell, Ann Nielsen, Iveta Silova, Matthew A. Witenstein, Wen-Wen Tung

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper summarizes key learning insights from the 2023 U.S. Summit on Transformative Education organized by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network USA. Over 400 members from higher education institutions, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, students, and teachers, joined the online event held February 23-25. The Summit created a bridge between social justice issues with an historical lens and sustainable development. Learning insights include those shared by session speakers, dialogue among participants during thematic conversations and regional networking forums, comments made by attendees on session Jamboards and the Zoom Chat function, and post-Summit feedback. A high-level thematic review was undertaken to cluster …

Letter From The Editor In Chief, Jeffrey Lee

Transform

The TRANSFORM journal is a space for leaders, mentors, researchers, and practitioners of transformational leadership to be seen, heard, and valued; it is a place for making connections. Relationship-building is central to transformational leadership at all levels of an organization; this fundamental truth is a trending topic in literature. Otherwise, however, leadership can be an isolating experience.

As an ethnographer, I believe the best way to launch an academic, peer-reviewed journal is to do what I do best: storytelling. I want to share my thoughts on transformational leadership through a story in the form of a letter to my younger …

The Effect Of Reading Habits On Academic Success, Taylor Hicks

Masters Projects

The goal of most students is to achieve academic success. In order to be successful, students must form healthy reading habits because there is a positive correlation between academic success and reading habits. The more students read, the greater their chances of performing well academically. By participating in frequent reading, students will, not only perform well in school, they will also expand their vocabulary, improve their writing skills, and sharpen their critical thinking skills. We are in the midst of a literacy crisis, though. Students are choosing other avenues for entertainment instead of reading. This could potentially have detrimental consequences. …

Synergizing Occupational Science And Occupational Therapy: Designing An Integrated Foundations Course For Health Education, Natalie A. Perkins, Guy Mccormack, Anne Dunlea

Pacific Journal of Health

The Occupational Therapy Department at University of the Pacific embarked on a tailored initiative to reshape the occupational therapy foundations course for entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) students. Collaboratively designed and co-taught by the first and second authors, experienced occupational therapists in both clinical and academic realms, alongside the third author, a seasoned occupational scientist with a rich background in instructing graduate and undergraduate professionals, this innovative course aligns with the program's biopsychosocial philosophy.

The primary objective of this course was to provide students with an expansive perspective on the fundamental role of occupation in human life. Various assessment methods …

Implications Of A Community-Based Learning Faculty Fellows Program To Facilitate Teaching And Learning In The Jesuit Tradition, Debra Fetherman, Julie Schumacher Cohen, Ovidiu Cocieru, Gerard Dumancas, Brian Snee, Patricia Wisniewski

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

The University of Scranton is one of the 28 Jesuit institutions of higher education located in the United States. Committed to community engagement and the development of Ignatian educators, a Community-Based Learning (CBL) Faculty Fellows Program was implemented academic year 2022-2023. The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and the Engagement of Hope framework were used as models to develop, implement, and assess a CBL faculty development program. Program activities were designed to build faculty skills, capacities, and their identity as community-engaged practitioners. Lessons learned through program assessment on the impact on faculty’s transformation to Ignatian educators and their ability to imagine new …

“A Joyous And Frightening Shock”, David W. Jardine

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper uses several photographs to focus on a hermeneutic exploration of several terms that have become used in contemplative or holistic education circles: mystery, elusiveness, miracles, energy, and aliveness. It ends with brief thoughts on the presence of my 22-month-old grandson on various ventures -- gardening, seeing and hearing birds nearby, feeling captivated by the Earth -- that his grandfather knows well.

An Inquiry Into Hope And Imagination In Jesuit Education: Ignatian Design Thinking As A Lens For Exploration, Stacy Neier Beran, Patrick M. Green

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Hope and imagination are foundational to a Jesuit education, and as central tenets, inform teaching and learning through Ignatian pedagogy. The authors explore hope and imagination in the Jesuit context through the lens of scholar-practitioner inquiry, drawing from the local context and practice of an Ignatian design thinking course as a source of knowledge. This inquiry approach is rooted in practice-based research, and situates scholarly exploration through lines of inquiry and problems of practice, specifically exploring how design thinking fosters curiosity and creates space for teaching imagination and hope. The authors draw on their teaching experiences, course design, and professional …

Teaching Queer Trauma: Applying Meditation As A Pedagogy Of Compassion, Kody Muncaster

Feminist Pedagogy

Mindfulness practices can help greatly when teaching potentially triggering courses on queerness and trauma. Meditation allows students to learn how to manage triggers, enhancing their distress tolerance and their ability to fully engage with course material. It also has practical benefits for applied courses, as students will learn how mindfulness practices can help when working with queer and traumatized clients in, for example, a social services setting. This original teaching activity describes a course I taught called 'Queer Trauma and Resilience: Canadian Perspectives,' and outlines several meditations that were taught progressively throughout the course. Debriefing methods are included as well …

Silence As An Educational Tool To Deconstruct Normative Societal Structures And Create Epistemic Trust, Milad Mohebali, Elmira Jangjou

Feminist Pedagogy

This article advances a teaching strategy to help students reflect on how they engage in class discussion by considering silence and silencing of voices in classroom discussions among peers as epistemic violence where a student’s capacity as a knower is questioned. We provide examples of silence(ing) we experienced as graduate international students from the Global South studying educational policy and leadership studies in the United States, to then share how we have used silence as a pedagogical tool to deconstruct the assumptions of the field and the society that keeps the silence as normative. We introduce third thinging as a …

“A Word For Nature”: A Reflection On A Contemplative Teacher-Training Course In The Desert, Netta Baryosef-Paz, Nirit Assaf

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, environmental, and contemplative course the authors taught at Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv. Entitled “I am in Nature,” the course was co-taught by an ecologist and a literary scholar. It included a two-day base camping and hiking experience in the Negev Desert and three on-campus meetings. The students read Nature Writing and Ecopoetry, practiced guided mindfulness meditations in the field, and kept contemplative-writing journals. In this community voices piece, we offer an innovative pedagogy for higher education that centers on the integration of the learner’s mind, body, and heart through interdisciplinary, contemplative, …

Knowing The Unknowable: Visions Of Troubled Lands, Estella C. Kuchta

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper describes the author’s clairvoyant visions of war and personal experiences of transrational knowledges. It is an account of one Westerner coming to know outside of and despite Western episteme. Transrational knowing was modelled by companion dogs in the author’s childhood and literary figures in early adulthood, and was experienced as a means of self-protection. Western culture fosters skepticism about transrational knowledges, such as psychic visions and telepathic connections. This paper asserts that transrational knowing—whether between humans, other species, or humans and other species—is a valid and readily available form of knowing that exists outside of and in spite …

Teaching To Develop Perspective, Skills, Confidence, And Identity As Problem-Solving Engineers, Russell Kirk Pirlo

Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

The “core” of an engineering degree program typically comprises the concepts, equations, and technical skills needed, as well as their practical application to common problems of the profession. This core is then divided into the “content” that must be covered in each course. It is widely recognized, however, that successful individuals do not thrive as professionals on content alone. Thus, there is significant and increasing emphasis across higher education to “educate the whole person.” These efforts aim to develop “deep” qualities like grit, critical thinking, perseverance, learning from failure, valuing diversity, teamwork, leadership, curiosity, recognizing opportunity, creating value, and acting …

Giving And Taking Care During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Secondary Teachers’ Experiences Of Social Emotional Learning, Janna Jobel, Rebecca J. Lloyd

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been primarily researched in elementary schools, and within this context, SEL curriculum is often presented as an isolated, preplanned curriculum, with a list of curricular objectives to be delivered. A phenomenological inquiry was conducted to better understand the ways in which SEL and SEL curriculum are understood and experienced in a high school context. Data gathered from close phenomenological observations and interviews with three high school teachers in mathematics and physical education afforded the opportunity to orient, interpret, and describe the phenomenon of SEL-in-action. Rich descriptions of SEL as it is lived were generated and …

Book Review: Kumar, Ashwani. (Ed.). (2022). Engaging With Meditative Inquiry In Teaching, Learning, And Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials In Diverse Contexts. New York, Ny: Routledge., Giovanni Rossini Phd

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Book Review of following text:

Kumar, Ashwani. (Ed.). (2022). Engaging with Meditative Inquiry in Teaching, Learning, and Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials in Diverse Contexts. New York, NY: Routledge.