Contemplative Practices for Exploring Diversity Within and Beyond One’s ExperienceJeremy F. Price, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Education, Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV

I saw the design, development, and enactment of this course as not only a teaching experience for me, but also as a learning experience of self-study as I grappled with the ideas of the affective in relation to the cognitive in teaching and learning. As such, following Murray (2012), this teaching-learning experience allowed me to engage in an exploration of my own sense of spirituality and meaning. As an engaged member of the Jewish community, I incorporated a number of ideas and practices from this tradition and heritage.

The writings of the Jewish thinker Martin Buber has been a strong influence on my academic, career, and teaching trajectory. Encapsulated in his work I and Thou (2004), I leaned strongly on the idea of building relationships, not only in terms of the culture of the course, but also in terms of the intents of

-instrumental relationship also influenced my perspective on treating relationships with sources and texts as voices that contribute to a dialogue rather than bits of information to be used for particular ends.

As a way to encourage this perspective, I also incorporated an activity that was structured around PardesJewish exegesis. Divina ,(פרד״ס) Lectio, often incorporated in contemplative pedagogies, is based on the Pardes structure; yet Pardes has a different sensibility that is still based on contemplation and intention.Because this is not a class on religion, these perspective were recast for a secular frame.

Contemplative pedagogy was a central feature of this course to allow the students in the course, most of them are future teachers who will stay in the region, to recognize the narratives that are told about others, about themselves, and about the people in their state and in the Appalachian region. Contemplative pedagogy was also used in order to help them recognize their inner lives and their inner strengths, and to recognize the stories, narratives, and prejudices that they may convey about others, even if it is unintentional. A contemplative and intentional approach also helped us to recast and reframe these narratives in a way that was consistent with our experiences and history.

The contemplative practices are listed in the table below, organized into the categories outlined by Burggraf & Grossenbacher (2007

The contemplative activities were structured in order to build on one another and to encourage deeper practice over time.

In addition to the specific practices outlined on this poster, each class session was structured in a way to promote a sense of ritualized learning. Each class session began with a warm-up, such as a short meditation, thought exercise, or one of the contemplative practices. For sessions that involved difficult

http://www.faculty.umb.edu/pjt/dialogue.html) as the warm-up. We then engaged in the core discussion or activity of the session. Lastly, we shared brief reflections on what we learned. Each class session followed this basic format, and the ritualized nature helped students feel comfortable to engage in the ideas and be involved in the discussions.

This poster charts the journey of undergraduate teacher candidates learning to recognize the uniqueness and diversity in themselves and others by developing contemplative and mindful inquiry practices (Barbezat & Bush, 2014; Burggraf& Grossenbacher, 2007) as part of a teacher education course. Most students grew up in a predominantly rural Appalachian state where the prevailing narrative from inside and out is that the population is homogeneous and monolithic in terms of characteristics and outlook despite evidence to the contrary (Barlow, 2014; Pollard, 2004; Smith et. al., 2010). Terms such as

region, reinforcing the narrative of a backward, isolated, and intolerant people (Lilly & Todd, 2015).

The purpose of this project is to help the teacher candidates recognize and redefine the narratives that are applied to them. In doing so, the aim is to allow them to recognize the narratives that they may apply to others, especially the children they will eventually teach. By engaging in contemplative and mindful inquiry practices, students learn to speak for and define themselves, recognize the voices and uniqueness of others, value this interplay of diversity, and transcend the narratives that have been spun to constrain their interactions. The course activities are scaffolded to encourage students to bring these experiences with them to inform their practices as future educators.

Contemplative Mode Educational Benefits Activity Structure

Contemplative Reading

Nuanced engagement with texts at deep levels of meaning

Using Pardes and Lectio (פרד״ס)Divina(Muriel Miller Dressler)

Reflective Reading Open attentive engagement with the visual/auditory arts

Mindful Noticing activity with The

(Normal Rockwell)Mindful Noticing activity with

(Nicole Eisenman)

SuspendingAssumption and Judgment

Careful listening, engaging in dialogue while recognizing preconceptions

Mindful Dialogue activity around Relate a time when

you witnessed someone being treated differently because they

Redneck Redefinition ProjectCultivatingCompassion

Perspective taking and learning to value diversity Mindful Listening of Lesley

McSpadden interview

Privilege Walk activity

PanoramicAwareness

Seeing the big picture and cultivating open-mindedness

Contemplative Practices Tree

Table adapted from Burggraf & Grossenbacher, 2007

Sequence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Contemplative ReadingLectio Divina and

Pardes: “Appalachia”

Reflective ReadingMindful Noticing:“The Problem We

All Live With”

Mindful Noticing:“The Triumph of

Poverty”

Suspending Assumptions and judgment

Mindful DialogueRedneck Redefinition

ProjectCultivating Compassion

Mindful Listening: Lesley McSpadden

InterviewPrivilege Walk

Panoramic AwarenessContemplativePractices Tree

Introduction and Purpose

ContextThis project was undertaken in the School of Education at a public comprehensive university in West Virginia, a predominantly rural state in the Appalachian region of the United States. The university largely serves individuals emerging from families with no prior college experience, the working class, and the ranks of veterans. This range of backgrounds, experiences and situations is mirrored in the undergraduate teacher candidates.

The project was a component of a 1 credit pilot course (two one-hour sessions per week for eight weeks) intended for teacher education students entitled

enrolled in the course were in various stages of their educational pathway, and also included one psychology student.

The students in this course were self-selected and motivated, as this was an elective course. This is significant particularly for the elementary education students, where the program, when following the model schedule, has no room for electives (120 credit hours are required for graduation; the program consists of 123 credit hours).

The map for the course as a whole can be found in the table below.

Overview ofContemplative Practices

Sequ

ence

of C

onte

mpl

ativ

e Pr

acti

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Personal Inflections

Mindful Noticing

The Mindful Noticing activity (Barbezat & Bush, 2014), a type of reflective reading (Burggraf & Grossenbacher, 2007), is designed to help students recognize and reflect on the meanings portrayed by

Eisenman were selected for this activities. Adapted from a structure developed by Zojonc (2009), the students were guided through the following:• Take in the painting as a whole, without judging or evaluating your thoughts, just noticing• Focus on one detail, big or small, without judging and evaluating your thoughts, just noticing• Start noticing the words that you associate with the detail, picture these words, arrange them

around the detail, hold on to these words• Take in the painting as a whole again, and then write down the words

Mindful Dialogue

The Mindful Dialogue activity was intended as an opportunity for students to learn to suspend their assumptions and judgment (Burggraf & Grossenbacher, 2007). Based on the mindful listening activity outlined by Barbezat & Bush (2014, pp. 144-5), students were assigned to pairs and were given three minutes each to respond to the following prompt:

Following the structure developed by Barbezat & Bush, one student related their experience while the other student listened carefully without speaking. The listener then retold what they heard as accurately as they could; the speaker was encouraged to offer suggestions to the retelling. The students then switched roles, and then shared some of the insights we learned as a class. Many students related events dealing with race and class in their high schools; one student who works in a childcare setting related her experiences of seeing a black boy being referred for discipline more frequently than his white classmates.

This exercise was not only an opportunity for students to learn to relate their experiences and to listen deeply and mindfully. It was also an opportunity to identify specific events in which they witnessed a prejudicial action in which they may have felt powerless to act or in which they did not necessarily recognize the significance of the event.

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/15/president-obama-meets-civil-rights-icon-ruby-bridges

Students’ Noticed Detailsand Associations

“The Problem We All Live With” (Norman Rockwell)

• Change• Making a difference• Protection

Yellow Band

• Hate, Anger• Destruction• Frustration• Misunderstood• Harmful, Harassing• Idiotic• Fear

Tomato

• Racism• Inequality• Hate• Painful• judgment• Worst word in the world,

never say it

“N-Word”

• Will power• Determined• Fearless• Fear

Girl

• White• Looks nice• Braid & Bow

White Dress

• What was it?• Courage• Contempt

Photo in Pocket

Source: http://bombmagazine.org/article/2548612/nicole-eisenman-and-david-humphrey

“The Triumph of Poverty” (Nicole Eisenman)

• Concern• Caring• Helping• Holding

Baby in Mother’s Arms

• Strange• Sad• Pig-Like Nose• Patchwork

Driver

• Unicorn• Odd• Bright colors which is

usually happy, but looks sad

“Tree Head”

• Addam’s Family• Disturbing• Strange, Abnormal,

Different• Confused, Awkward• Chaos

Half-Backward Man

• Old• Rusted• Valuable• Transportation• Necessity• Home

Car

• Fighting• Falling down• Driven• Little puppets

Little People

Students’ Noticed Detailsand Associations

“You took my son away from me. You know how hard it was for me to get him to stay in school and graduate? You know how many black men graduate? Not many! Because you bring them down to this type of level when, ‘I feel like I ain’t got nothing to live for anyway. They’re going to try to take me out anyway.’”

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Lsn8xVc5U,by way of http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with

Mindful Listening

In order to help students start to recognize their own reactions and the reactions of others in charged encounters, the teacher candidates engaged in a mindful listening exercise. The exercise was designed as a way to first hear their reactions to a situation and bring these reactions to the surface. After the reactions have surfaced and discussed, the students listened again with the explicit purpose of hearing what the speaker was saying and understanding the complexity and depth of what she was saying. This exercise was designed to help students both to suspend judgment and to cultivate compassion and recognize the depth and complexity of speech and dialogue.

A short excerpt from an interview with Lesley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown (shot by police in Ferguson, MO) was selected as the listening passage. This was a difficult experience for

other. Once we were able to recognize this as one of our natural inclinations, we were able to hear the frustration and fear being expressed by Ms. McSpadden.

Privilege Walk

Burggraf & Grossenbacher, 2007). The Privilege Walk is a concrete exercise in which participants learn to recognize their own positions of privilege (or lack of privilege) in an intentional and thoughtful manner. They also learn to recognize the challenges that others encounter in negotiating everyday situations and events through a form of perspective taking by being able to see explicitly how certain

The structure of the activity was based on a standard protocol for privilege walks (e.g., http://www.buzzfeed.com/dayshavedewi/what-is-privilege). We lined up in a line side-by-side holding hands. As each prompt was read aloudto support your family, take one step in public without fear of ridicule or violence, take one step step forward. By the end of the exercise, although there was not a great deal of variation, we were in a staggered line.

Students indicated in discussion that it was an eye-opening experience for them. Those students who

circumstance. Those students who were towards the back of the line indicated that they were surprised by their position. In the exercise debrief, we discussed the ways we can be mindful of the different

Redneck Redefinition Project

The Redneck Redefinition Project was a capstone experience, intended as an opportunity for students to learn to suspend their assumptions and judgment and to cultivate compassion (Burggraf & Grossenbacher, 2007). Many of the students are aware of sensitive to the way that Appalachia is cast in the popular imagination; the relatively high poverty rate in the region, when looking to justify a myth, seems to represent a self-

Through this experience, students learned that one potential origin of the term did come from West Virginia, but not in the way the term is often used today. Historically, it was actually a badge of solidarity among organized coal mine workers from around the world who wore red bandanas around their neck working in the Blair Mountain mines who rose up against the coal companies to demand better and less dangerousworking conditions, better pay, and freedom from company scrip. The confrontation turned violent, and the workers were defeated and their demands remained unmet. As a form of publicity damage control, the

es of progress.

As part of this experience, students were asked to create a design for a panel in which they: (1) provided what they understood as the stereotypical definition of redneck, through words, images, or other representations; (2) provided a redefinition of redneck, how they would like to see the term defined based on their experiences and history through words, images, or other representations; (3) expressed in some way why this redefinition is an important process. These panels were then transferred onto red material squares to mirror the red bandana origin of the term. These squares were then sewn into a quilt to bring all of the designs together.

Students were also asked to provide written reflections of the process on what they learned and how they see things differently. One example panel and reflection is provided below.

…I stumbled across the “teach kids, not stereotypes” picture during a random [G]oogle search. I wanted to include it because it really sums up what the entire project means to me. It’s about more than just rednecks, it’s about all stereotypesand the way they shape our views and our interactions with each other. As a West Virginian, redneck is a stereotype that I can identify with so I can get a general idea of what it is like to be stereotyped against which gives me better insight to other groups and how they are stereotyped. As a teacher, I feel it is important to put those stereotypes that we hold for our students aside and teach the students without discrimination. I believe that if we are to stereotype the children, and treat them accordingly, then there’s really no need for us to teach. In that case, we’ve already given them their story, the role theyplay in that story, and no way for them to write their own story.

I come from a low income, white, West Virginian family. There are many substance abuse problems within my family tree. I’m also a single mother whose child does not know his father. Furthermore, I am also a recipient of various forms of government assistance in order to be able to buy food, see a doctor, have a place to live, afford childcare, and attend college.Many people could read that much about my life and make judgments or stereotype me. Unless they talked to me, they wouldn’t know that I work hard, I’m a good mother, I’m going to college to better my chances for a good job in order to get off of government assistance programs, or that I speak out strongly against drug use, child abuse, and taking advantage of government assistance programs. I feel that the stereotype(s) I fall into mean that I have to fight harder than some others in order to prove myself. I don’t want to be the person putting that kind of pressure on my students when I am a teacher. I believe that encouraging children to know and love who they are is an important part of teaching.

Contemplative Reading

We engaged in two related types of contemplative reading practices Lectio Divina and Pardes(פרד״ס) to delve deeply into the meanings of a text in a nuanced manner (Burggraf & Grossenbacher, 2007)exercise as a way for the students to engage in identity work and to recognize that their experiences and cultural references have been chronicled in art such as art.

Despite its origin in Christian exegesis, the structure for Lectio Divina was secular in nature, Pardes is also

based in religious exegesis, specifically Jewish rabbinic interpretations of religious and legal texts, but the structure for the exercise was similarly focused on a secular approach. Because of the relative

provided a useful framework for experiencing the text and for exploring the intended meanings of the author and the meanings that students brought to the text.

While sharing, many of the students remarked how this depiction of Appalachian life matched the

discussions. A student from New England asked her classmates for help in interpreting some of the terms. Those students who had limited experience in interpreting the symbols of poetry were able to gain a deeper insight into how ideas are expressed symbolically.

The combination of the two approaches allowed for two different types of meaning-making, both of which can be seen as contemplative and intentional in nature, and provided a fuller and more nuanced perspective of and experience with the text. As an educator, I found the two approaches to be complimentary and necessary for a meaningful exploration of the poem with my students. This two-part process

speed boating over the (Barbezat & Bush, 2014, p. 115).

AppalachiaI am Appalachia. In my veinsRuns fierce mountain pride; the hill-fed streams

- you stillGo away shaking your head. I remainEnigmatic. How can you find rapport with meYou, who never stood in the bowels of hell,Never felt a mountain shake and open its jawsTo partake of human sacrifice?You, who never stood on a high mountainWatching the sun unwind its spiral rays:Who never searched the glens for wild flowers,Never picked mayapples or black walnuts; never ranWildly through the woods in pure delight,Nor dangled your feet in a lazy creek?You, who never danced to wild sweet notes,Outpouring of nimble-fingered fiddlers;

Chewing and whittling; or hearing in pastimeThe deep-throated bay of chasing hounds

You, who never once carried a coffinTo a family plot high up on a ridge

You, who never saw from the valley that graves on a hillBring easement of pain to those below?I tell you, stranger, hill folk know

To tranquilize the sorrow and joy of living.I am Appalachia: and, stranger,

.

Muriel Miller Dressler

Pardes (פרד״ס)Peshat .meaning (פשט)Remez (רמז)the literal sense.Derash :from Hebrew darash (דרש) the comparative (midrashic) meaning, as given through similar occurrences.Sod סוד)esoteric/mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation.

Source: https://www.wikipedia.org/en/Pardes_(Jewish_exegesis)

Our Steps:1. Peshat Read and Reflect:

author literally conveying?2. Remez Read and Reflect: What are some of the symbols the poet is using? What is

the poet hoping you will understand or feel?3. Derash Read and Reflect: In what ways does this poem relate to your own

read?4. Sod Read and Reflect: What new insights has this poem revealed to you? In what

ways are you being inspired?

Lectio Divina1. Sit quietly and relax our minds and bodies for one minute.2. Read aloud, slowly, the entire poem, each of us reading one line,

reading to the left to the next reader.3. One minute of silence and reflection.4. Repeat the reading of the entire poem, each of us reading one line.5. Another minute of silence and reflection.6. We share a word or short phrase in response to the reading just give voice to the

word without explanation or discussion.7. Repeat the reading of the entire poem, each of us reading one line.8. One minute of silence and reflection.9. We share longer responses to the text a sentence or two. We listen attentively to

one another without correcting or disputing.10. Repeat the reading of the entire poem, each of us reading one line, followed by

another minute of silence.Adapted from Barbezat & Bush, 2014, p. 115

Contemplative Practices Tree

that is, cultivate a panoramic awareness of contemplative practices students were asked to complete a Contemplative Practices Tree based on the template found on the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society website (http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree). The students were encouraged to think about the routines and rituals in which they currently engage that are contemplative and intentional in nature, as well as to seek out and research new practices that they would like to learn and incorporate into their lives. In addition to completing the template, they were also asked to write a short reflection.

In class, one day was set aside to share and discuss these representations of practice. Students were paired up and took turns describing and explaining their current practices and the new practices that they intend to incorporate into their lives. Although the intent was to have more than one round of pairings, students actually preferred to spend an extended period of time with their partner to discuss their Contemplative Practices Tree. They were deeply engaged in learning about each other and how their intentions shaped the way they interacted with the world. An adaptation of the Mindful Dialogue protocol was used to structure the discussion as each partner took turns explaining their Contemplative Practices Tree.

After the paired dialogue, students were encouraged to write short reflections on what they learned about themselves, others, and contemplative practices. Written on sticky notes, these reflections were then posted on a piece of newsprint paper, examined, and discussed.

It was clear from the dialogue and both sets of written reflections that the students became more aware and mindful of the routines and rituals of their daily lives through this exercise. They learned to recognize the importance of this awareness and the practice of this awareness on their own health and stress levels, and also recognized the connections between their own sense of self and the impact this sense can have on their relations with others, particularly their future students.

Lessons Learned

Overall, the contemplative approaches to curriculum and pedagogy in this course, in order to help students be mindful of the narratives spun around them and unintentionally spun by them, were successful. Students became more aware and mindful of these narratives and had a beneficial side effect of keeping them focused and engaging them on deep and meaningful exploration of materials. In addition, some students not only recognized these narratives but also took explicit steps to make sure that they do not continue these harmful and denigrating moves, even if they are unintentional. Lastly, some of these students also recognized the diversity of their region and history despite the monolithic narrative spun around them. The fact that even a small number of students uncovered this insight, which requires deep introspection and exploration of materials, is a testament to the potential power of contemplative pedagogical practices.

In addition, the combination of Lectio Divina and Pardes was a particularly useful combination of practices and contemplative traditions. When cast in a secular frame, these practices provided for an experience in which explored the text deeply and fully in a manner that would not be possible without both practices working together.

There were two main areas for future consideration: allocating sufficient time and space for practice

the course was only a 1 credit course and therefore only met for a total of 16 hours. Although the structure of the course was intentional and followed a ritualized contemplative approach, it would have been beneficial for the students to be able to engage in some of the contemplative pedagogical practices from the first day and have the opportunity to engage in them more than once, as they did with the Mindful Noticing activity (and it should be noted that even though the second painting was a symbolically more difficult one, their associations were more numerous and more directed).

In terms of the second area, many of the students were able to recognize, through contemplative practices, the power of finding their voice. This can be recognized in terms of many of the panels of the Redneck Redefinition Project. The intent, however, was to turn that finding of voice and power into an engagement with the unjust tendencies to spin narratives for others. This was accomplish only by a small number of students, and I am still working to better understand why this was evidenced in

Original associationswith the term “redneck”

A panel and reflection

Acknowledgements

This project would not have been possible without the students of EDUC1199, Social and Emotional Approaches to Teaching and Learning. I thank them for their willingness to learn with me and for their hard work and effort to grow as educators.

I also would like to express a great deal of gratitude to Dr. Janie Leary of the Community Health Education program in the School of Education, Health and Human Performance at Fairmont State University for her invaluable work on her own time in taking the panels and creating a beautiful and coherent quilt.

Lastly, I thank Dr. Carolyn Crislip-Tacy, Interim Dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Performance and Fairmont State University for encouraging me to teach the EDUC1199 pilot course and for the financial backing of the School to attend the ACMHE conference.