{"id":757,"date":"2010-09-05T10:54:52","date_gmt":"2010-09-05T15:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=757"},"modified":"2010-09-05T10:54:52","modified_gmt":"2010-09-05T15:54:52","slug":"beginning-with-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/beginning-with-silence\/","title":{"rendered":"Beginning with Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this semester, after eleven years working in faculty development, I led my first session that didn't have anything to do with technology.<\/p>\n

The subject? A moment of silence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We began the session with a brief moment of silence, then I asked some questions to prompt a short discussion.<\/p>\n

What mindset is most conducive to learning? What mental states might actually obstruct learning? What do we do as teachers that encourages the latter or the former?<\/em><\/p>\n

We went around the table and talked about these things for a bit.<\/p>\n

Then I took us back to the beginning and asked how the prefatory silence shaped the discussion. Did it foster a better mindset? The consensus seemed to be that it did. It provided a transition that allowed people to let go of their previous tasks and focus on the matter at hand.<\/p>\n

Then I asked the faculty present to consider if such a technique could work in their classrooms. In fact one person (a Dominican brother) has been doing this for thirty years. Another person tried it for one semester a while ago with seemingly good results. Another has just started practicing a moment of silence this week, inspired by this very session.<\/p>\n

After we talked about the potential challenges and pitfalls this technique presents, I distributed copies of the Tree of Contemplative Practices<\/a> and noted that silence was but one practice of many. At this point I asked if anyone sitting around the table engaged in any sort of contemplative practice that they'd care to share with the group. Interestingly all three faculty who have used silence to open class also are regular practitioners. But the balance of attendees did not seem to engage in any regular practice. Or perhaps they just didn't want to share at this point.<\/p>\n

I threw out the phrase \"contemplative pedagogy\" as a blanket term for using contemplative practices in teaching, which linked with integrative learning seems to be part of a emergent trend in the academy today. I mentioned the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education<\/a> which I joined this summer. I also hyped the faculty book club which I'll be leading this semester. We're reading The Heart of Higher Education<\/cite>. I also referenced Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry<\/cite>, a book I just finished and am still digesting.<\/p>\n

And then I talked about why I think all of this is potentially important to the University and its mission, and asked what the group thought. I also confessed myself remarkably unqualified to be promulgating this topic, since I know so little about it, but I just feel it's so important. And of course I had to mention that contemplation was not just a means to an end, but a worthwhile end to itself \u2014 if you can call something inherently transformative an \"end.\"<\/p>\n

I let the group know I was interested in collaborating if anyone wanted to study the effects of a moment of silence on classroom learning.<\/p>\n

Finally we talked about possible future directions for the conversation which we'd begun. Indeed, the main purpose of this session, to my mind, was to gauge faculty interest in contemplative pedagogy and integrative learning. I hope this is the beginning of a sustained dialog on the topic. I take it as my responsibility to nurture that dialog and expand the circle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this semester, after eleven years working in faculty development, I led my first session that didn't have anything to do with technology. The subject? A moment of silence. We began the session with a brief moment of silence, then I asked some questions to prompt a short discussion. What mindset is most conducive to ...continue reading \"Beginning with Silence\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[78,107,284],"class_list":{"0":"post-757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-integrative","7":"tag-contemplative-pedagogy","8":"tag-discussion","9":"tag-silence","10":"h-entry","11":"hentry","12":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-cd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/conversation-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":757,"position":0},"title":"Conversation #5: Classroom Discussion","author":"Bart Everson","date":"December 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Conversation #5 I tell my students that one of my goals for every class that I have is that I want them to be uncomfortable at times. I say that if they're comfortable with everything we've discussed and it doesn't sound new to them or unusual then they're not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Old Podcast Archive (\u22642018)"","block_context":{"text":"Old Podcast Archive (\u22642018)","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tracy Zinn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/podcast\/images\/tracyzinn.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15283,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/remote-mindfulness\/","url_meta":{"origin":757,"position":1},"title":"Remote Mindfulness","author":"Bart Everson","date":"April 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's say that you used to begin class with a moment of silence. Or perhaps you incorporated some other elements of mindfulness or contemplative pedagogy into your teaching. Did those practices survive the transition to remote teaching this semester? Perhaps they fell by the wayside in the rush to get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Contemplation-Green.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8128,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/engage-students-through-online-collaboration\/","url_meta":{"origin":757,"position":2},"title":"Engage Students Through Online Collaboration","author":"Janice Florent","date":"September 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent In a recent eLearning Industry article, Dr. Amy Thornton, Director of the Center of Online Learning at Columbus State University, listed multiple strategies to engage students online. Dr. Thornton wrote that it is important to allow students to engage with content in different ways to ensure learning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photomontage with globe in foreground","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/photomontage-1313559_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/photomontage-1313559_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/photomontage-1313559_640.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8420,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/flipped-learning-be-actively-passive\/","url_meta":{"origin":757,"position":3},"title":"Flipped Learning: Be Actively Passive","author":"Janice Florent","date":"October 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Flipped learning environments are dynamic, interactive, and engaging. Students are actively engaged in solving problems, talking with each other, working through a task, or creating a product. The instructor provides assistance and asks questions when necessary. 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The discussions are likely to be underwhelming if the discussion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"gears with silhouette of two heads facing each other","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2013\/12\/03\/08\/19\/exchange-of-ideas-222790_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2013\/12\/03\/08\/19\/exchange-of-ideas-222790_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2013\/12\/03\/08\/19\/exchange-of-ideas-222790_1280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21181,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/now-ever-quiet\/","url_meta":{"origin":757,"position":5},"title":"Now More than Ever: A Quarter of Quiet","author":"Bart Everson","date":"February 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development invites you to join us for a regular silent meeting. We'll meet each Wednesday afternoon throughout the 2024-2025 academic year. Drop in when you can. What to expect? 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