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Habits of the Mindful Classroom

by Pamela Longo, Adjunct Faculty (English)


If the unexamined life is not worth living, then what of the unexamined education? The value of examining our processes of teaching and learning extends to faculty and students alike. Reflective practices may make the difference in how we reach our students and what they take away from our courses. Borrowed from principles of organizational mindfulness, such practices can contribute to a vibrant learning environment. A state of being in the present, mindfulness entails various methods that may serve an academic context; but not all approaches will work for every faculty member and classroom. One approach commonly discussed in educational journals borrows from the state of awareness found in Buddhist traditions. The process may feature meditative techniques in which students realize their embodied experience in the classroom or monitor their focus while performing academic tasks. However, despite indications that such practices can improve emotional literacy, research with larger sample sizes has begun to question the benefits, especially for those susceptible to anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence from colleges and universities has demonstrated applications in courses ranging from chemistry and environmental studies to psychology and political science; but more work is needed to assess outcomes.


The organizational approach to mindfulness that I find especially compelling combines situational awareness with attentiveness to processes of cognition. Organizational mindfulness seeks to refine existing categories in response to local conditions. This method takes account of prior knowledge, synthesizes new information, and evaluates multiple perspectives—utilizing the very skills that make learning possible. As a metacognitive strategy, it can be utilized across disciplines and integrated into course planning and implementation in ways that work best for each instructor and learner. High risk organizations (HROs) supply a model of organizational mindfulness that faculty and students could strategically apply. In these organizations, mindfulness principles involve (1) a preoccupation with failure, (2) attention to complexity, (3) situational awareness, (3) resilience through innovation and improvisation, and (4) deference to expertise rather than to authority or rank. Because performance determines success in both academic environments and HROs, many of the HRO principles transfer seamlessly to the classroom. Attention to complexity involves the search for nuance and support of thought diversity; situational awareness incorporates a willingness to adapt to new circumstances; the commitment to persevere by innovating reinforces such adaptation. Even deference to expertise can be built into the learning the environment by incorporating both faculty content knowledge and students’ varied areas of knowledge, interest, and experience.


A mindful classroom, then, practices awareness and self-monitoring, adaptability, and dialogue between students and professors. A key difference between the classroom and an HRO, however, is the way each environment can tolerate failure. In an HRO, the consequences of failure are potentially catastrophic. The freedom to err makes the learning environment unique. A mindset of openness—specifically, to learn from failure—is one that we can encourage our students to adopt. While risk avoidance is necessary in some circumstances, it should be balanced with a measured embrace of risk as opportunity. For a habit of openness to be effective, students must have the chance to take risks, reflect on mistakes and overall learning, and revise their thinking. In the spirit of the mindful classroom, I close with questions for faculty reflection rather than a guide to implement these approaches:


  1. How can we extend to students the freedom to fail (and learn from it), while we assess risks and intervene before students undergo “system” failures?

  2. How can we focus on the big picture of our students’ educational needs and goals, while we model an appreciation for complexity, diversity of thought, and problem-solving?

  3. How can we leverage our knowledge of our disciplines to foster student awareness of their learning?

  4. How can we promote a culture of resilience in our classrooms and institutions?

  5. How can we transform hierarchies of knowledge and power, even as we value the manifold areas of expertise available in our classrooms and throughout the college?


Adapted from a presentation given to the 2017 meeting of the Community College Humanities Association.

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