Mindfulness in the Academy – Transforming our Work and 2015 CELT Vol. VIII

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

Mindfulness in the Academy explores how mindfulness and meditation practices can strengthen well-being and learning within higher education. The paper discusses faculty members’ and an educational developer’s efforts to apply mindfulness in classrooms and to build a community of practice around a mindfulness initiative. It introduces mindfulness as an intentional awareness of the present moment, explains reported benefits for attention, memory, concentration, and stress management, and illustrates implementation through personal teaching stories and institutional experience.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Need for Mindfulness in the Academy

Paula’s story – Stumbling into mindfulness

Jill’s story – Searching for ways to quiet the mind

What is Mindfulness and How Does it 'Work'?

Mindfulness in the Academy – Transforming our Work and 2015 CELT Vol. VIII [celt. uwindsor.ca](celt. uwindsor.ca) [www.stlhe.ca](www.stlhe.ca) Ourselves ‘One Moment at a Time’ Paula Gardner & Jill Grose Brock University In this paper we (a faculty member and an educational developer) discuss our attempts to be more mindful in the academy with attention to mindfulness practices within the classroom and the development of a community of practice at our institution as ways to foster community and deepen learning. Included within the paper is an introduction to mindfulness and the benefits of mindfulness and mediation practices -generally and within education. In addition to providing current resources we include details of our own experiences as examples through which others maybe able to incorporate these practices into their own classrooms and institutions. Introduction AcMareonerdaays an academic was never a 9-to-5 to Friday endeavour. Today, however, as the pace of our world moves increasingly faster and greater responsibilities areassigned to members of the academy, the need to pay attention to personal health and wellness, and to be mindful of how we engage with others has become more pressing. Faculty members, instructors and administrators often report feeling stressed and overwhelmed as they struggle to balance the many demands of academic life (Kinman & Wray, 2013) while students are increasingly seeking services related to mental health issues (University of Toronto, 2014) . One way to address the struggle for balance in our academic life may be the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness is an ancient practice founded in many Eastern philosophies including Buddhism, Taosim, and Yoga. Fundamentally, mindfulness is about consciously bringing our awareness to the present moment – to the here-and- now experience. Jon Kabat-Zinn (2003), a world authority on mindfulness, defines it as: “Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”(p.144) . Mindful activities, particularly those involving various forms of meditation, have the potential to assist faculty, staff, and students become more resilient in responding to the day-today pressures of academia. Research suggests that practicing mindfulness can improve academic performance in terms of increasing attention, memory, and concentration as well as one’s ability to manage stress (Shapiro, Brown, & Astin, 2011) . On a broader level, mindfulness activities can help support the development of the “whole person”, allowing us to consider the broader purpose of education and its transformational role in human development (Palmer & Zajonc, 2010; Shapiro, Brown, & Astin, 2011) . In transforming our learning experiences, whether our own or those of our students, we need to focus first on transforming ourselves. Mindfulness offers opportunities to do so. In this paper, we (a faculty member and an educational developer) discuss our own attempts tobe more mindful in the academy with attention to mindfulness practices in the classroom as a way to foster community and deepen learning. We also share our experiences creating a community of practice (Cox & Richlin, 2004; Kimble, Hildreth,& Bourdon, 2008) focused on mindfulness-a new initiative at our institution for faculty and staff. The Need for Mindfulness in the Academy Paula’s story – Stumbling into mindfulness My experience using mindfulness in the classroom began…very unexpectedly. It is a shock to me now to realize how much I didn’t know about what I was doing, and Iam quite sure that had I actually thought it all through before starting, there is no way I would have begun. It was the first day of my first semester teaching at the City University of New York and as usual negotiating a city of 8 million took its toll. I entered the classroom - after 3 subway transfers, asprint across 4 lanes of traffic, anda narrow miss with a bicycle courier riding

FAQs

What does the paper define mindfulness as?

Mindfulness is described as intentionally bringing awareness to the present moment in a purposeful, non-judgmental way, as defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

How does mindfulness relate to academic life in the paper?

The paper links mindfulness to managing pressures and stress in academia, and to supporting faculty, staff, and students in building resilience and deeper learning.

How is mindfulness implemented in teaching according to the authors’ experiences?

The paper shares personal classroom experiences, including beginning classes with meditation, as examples of how mindfulness practices can be incorporated into courses and institutional routines.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa