Using Mindfulness Techniques in the Classroom

Professors Ranjeeta Basu and Jennifer Jeffries of CSUSM shared several contemplative techniques at a teaching conference on their campus on Friday.

Why Am I Here?
This is a deep reflection practice, most suitable as a semester opener. You instruct your group to close their eyes, then take deep breaths, and think about their answer to the question, "Why are you here in your seat at this moment?" After a while, you ask them to think deeper, with this question, "Why are you really here?" After another while, you ask them to think even more deeply - "Why are you really, really here?" The whole self-reflection process takes no more than 5 minutes total. You then instruct your group to slowly open their eyes and, if they want, find a neighbor to share their answers. To wrap up,  invite volunteers to share their answers with the whole class. It is OK if people do not want to share their answers, say, at the deepest level, for whatever reason.

Study an Object
Prof. Basu, who teaches international trade and wants to drive home a key concept, enjoys giving this attention-strengthening exercise.

You start out by telling your students to study an object. It could be something on them, in their pocket, in their purse, around the room, on their desk, etc. You tell them to examine it very carefully, even using all their senses.

Then, you tell them to close their eyes or use "soft eyes" and focus on the mental image of their chosen object. You then help them to connect to the object by asking questions slowly and providing ample time for silent answers:

• Who gave it to you? Did you give it to yourself by buying it at a store? Did someone give it to you as a gift? Why? Where? Do you remember what happened that day?
• Who made this object? Can you see a real person at the beginning of the production line for this object? Is it a man, a woman, a child? What is the surrounding like?

After you finally instruct your group to slowly open their eyes, invite them to share. By the way, Prof. Basu's point for her class is that international trade is not about goods; it is about people.

Body Scan
This technique shows how you can concentrate your mind. You instruct your students to close their eyes and slowly put their mental focus on a bottom-up journey by following your verbal cues. First, they focus on their toes, then their arches, their heels, their shins and legs, their hips, their abdomen and lower back, their chest and upper back, then their fingers, their lower arms, their upper arms, their shoulders, their neck,  their head, and finally the top of their head. I think as an added benefit, this could be a fun activity for our lower-level students when they learn the vocabulary of the body parts.

A Couple Minutes of Silence
This simple technique works to bring the class to the present. We know students have to be here, not in the past, not in the future, but here with both their mind and body in order to be learning.

A Love Affair
Ask your class, "Have you ever been in love?" Some would chuckle. Some would feel embarrassed. Some would say yes. Some would say no. But you tell them it could be love for anyone. You then tell them to close their eyes and imagine that person that they have been in love with or they would like to be in love with. You should see smiles on their faces. You then ask them to share their feelings. Invariably, you will hear such positive emotions as excitement and passion. You then ask them to transfer that love to your class, pointing out that one cannot learn anything well without passion.

Just Like Me...
We have true compassion, but in charged situations, we often resort to our habitual patterns in life (complaints, confrontation, etc.). For example, when a student accuses you of unfair grading, you can control your own emotional reactivity by starting your thought process like this, "Just like me, the student doesn't want to be humiliated in front of others." You will then be able to offer to sit down with her to go over the rubrics and where she really fell short with her, along with a second chance for her to redo her work. Your approach is one without a lowering of standards but with empathy.