Donetta Hines

In her research proposal, Lela Mosemghvdlishvili (2022) posits five “Design Principles of Contemplative Pedagogy” to guide instructors. These five design principles work synergistically to foster, nurture, and grow a contemplative learning environment and community.

Mindfully attending

Although Mosemghvdlishvili presents these five principles unhierarchically, in a circle, I begin with “mindfully attending” because “[a]ttention (mindfulness to the present moment) is the basic literacy needed to be nurtured continuously and an entrance competence to attend to introspective experiences” (original emphasis, “Design Principles,” 2022). To paraphrase Mosemghvdlishvili, attention is also a basic literacy for learning, requiring knowing where our attention is and (re)orienting to the place, people, task, and purpose at hand, and engaging in what makes learning meaningful for oneself and one of the other 5 design principles, “First-person inquiry” (see below).

In related contemplative research, mindfulness scholar Oren Ergas (whom Mosemghvdlishvili also references) adds a third necessary component, “attitude,” to this combination of attention with intention/purpose (Ergas, 2019). This attention trio means that we not only know where our attention is and intentionally (re)direct it, but that we also bring attention to the attitude, emotion, feeling, or valence our words convey and evoke. For example, do I “want to write” or “need to write,” or “force myself to write”? Do I tell myself “I’m never going to do well in this course” or do I wonder “hmm, what could help me learn this concept better?” In other words, attitudes of curiosity, openness, (self) compassion, resilience, kindness, and gentleness, as opposed to negativity-bias, absolutes (e.g. never, always) criticism and force, “forcing” oneself), are necessary for learning.

These shifts in attitude, or tenor, of the words and attitudes we use with ourselves and each other echo Carol Dweck’s research (2006) on growth mindset and purpose in successful learning, and remind me of David Treleaven’s trauma-informed embodied practice with the fist: trying to pry one fist open with the fingers of the other hand only makes the muscles tense and the fist resist. But laying a gentle hand on top of the fist and even caressing it softens the muscles and the fist as it begins to release in response. Thus, the intention and the attitude we bring to mindfully attending make a difference, as do Mosemghvdlishvili’s additional four principles.

Allowing silence

In our busy worlds and lives, allowing and making time for silence gives an opportunity for reflection. Such reflection can begin outside of our bodies, with sounds, sights in our environment, visualizations of people and places. With continued/repeated opportunity for silence, these external anchors eventually move inward, to our bodies, our hearts, and our minds, integrating them. The reflections can be metacognitive or sensory – body scan/movement, (re)orienting in the space, auditory, visual, tactile, or gustatory. The silence allows us to mindfully attend to one thing, refocusing when necessary.

Silence invites connecting with self and from self to external then back to self, with curiosity, openness, each person deciding their own attentional anchors and attractions, making meaning on their own. Silence also changes our habitual exposure to noise, be it aural, verbal, visual, corporal, mental, or cognitive. As the verb “allow” evokes, most of us could benefit from intentionally dedicated silent time so that we “allow” ourselves these opportunities for reflection. Thus, we can design our classrooms to offer or “allow” a daily 1-3 minutes of silence, which segues us to Mosemghvdlishi’s next principle.

Reorienting time

Reorienting time involves slowing down and dedicating time for silence and mindfully attending in the classroom, which also makes space for a diversity of learners, learning styles, paces, and needs. In addition to inviting silence and reflection, reorienting time synergistically cultivates a process and sense of exploration and curiosity instead of the high stakes and urgency evoked by the habituated, perceived need for instant mastery, as well as the negative affect that arises when the instant mastery doesn’t arrive quickly, or at all. Nevertheless, Mosemghvdlishi’s verb “allow” also applies to reorienting time; contemplative scholar and practitioner, Daniel Siegel uses the term “time-in” to posit the minute or more we can give ourselves in a day to mindfully dedicate to silence and reflection (2013, 112). Not only, Siegel writes, does it help disconnect us from the noise and “endless stream of information” and reconnect us with ourselves, our (self) empathy, insight, presence, and focus, but it also benefits our immune systems (2013, 112-4). spaces specifically, Siegel encourages educational institutions to “tak[e] a step back from routines and busy schedules and create[e] a new approach to education overall” (2013, 115) whereby “[t]eachers could expand their focus beyond the traditional three R’s of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic to teach reflection, relationships, and resilience” (2013, 114).

Siegel posits that such a small yet consistent allotment of reflective time benefits teaching, learning, and life, including enhanced self knowledge/awareness, better school relationships, and happier educational spaces (2013, 114-5). which is also supported in teaching and learning scholarship on creating self-regulated learners (e.g. Nilson 2013, p. 10).

First-person inquiry

First-person inquiry, then, emerges with as much as from mindfully attending, allowing silence, and reorienting time. By allowing space and time for reflection, students practice engaging their own curiosity, to what is meaningful for them, and they step into self-regulated learning. Such first-person inquiry is transformational rather than transactional, expeditious, or instant-mastery focused.

Perspective shifting

With each of these principles, and as an ensemble, one can see how habitual and received perspectives shift. Normalizing time and space to mindfully attend and reflect shifts learning to emerge through first-person inquiry, grow through interaction with the others in the learning community, and leads to experiential meaningfulness, transformational education.