Learning in Focus
Featured Are all Mindfulness Practices the Same? Exploring Different Mindfulness Techniques in Design Studio Classrooms View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alberto Iberbuden
What is the role of mindfulness in the future of design education? Recently, the design community has embraced mindfulness as a tool to improve educational practices. Practicing mindfulness within the design studio classroom can enhance students’ creativity, problem-solving skills, and empathy. Previous research reported positive benefits when mindfulness is integrated in these learning settings. However, this promising research path intersection is a) still in its early beginnings; and b) there has been little research into various types of mindfulness practices and techniques in educational settings. We set out to address these research gaps by conducting a university-based pilot study in which we tested three types of techniques in design studio classrooms: focused attention, open monitoring, and loving-kindness. The findings suggest that different techniques have different effects on students' experiences across the creative process continuum. We discuss these findings, their implications for practice, and future research in this area.
Contemplative Practices in Design Education: Activites that Support Emerging Adults in Higher Education View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Martha Sullivan
Contemplative practices are a framework for design education that empowers students, drives cutting edge research and creative work, and cultivates satisfaction in teaching and mentoring for educators. The topic has been under explored in the western world, but is congruent with traditions in India, Nepal, and other parts of the globe that have a higher concentration of buddhist practitioners. In the context of this framework, contemplative practices are defined as those activities that a designer may do to develop awareness, connection, and the capacity for deep concentration. "Contemplative Practices for Design Education" will explain and provide examples of seven contemplative practices in design education that have measurable outcomes in course work. (1) Stillness: quieting the mind; evidence based meditation practice for emerging adults. (2) Environment: established context, immersion, ceremony based on tradition, ritual. (3) Relational: deep listening, storytelling, group dynamics, cultural awareness. (4) Movement: body awareness, perspective, progress. (5) Generative: visualization, the practice of making. (6) Creative: curiosity, art, improvisation, journaling, reflection. (7) Activist: nature of work, equanimity, bearing witness, social justice. The goal of this scholarship is to explore a holistic approach to design education and promote compassion in emerging adults. Composed of both empathy and a spirit of activism, compassion may be what sets future generations of designers apart from their less conscious predecessors. As grounded members of the ecosystem and disruptors to the world’s big sticky problems, designers who mix their technical skills with contemplative practices lead with expertise, inventiveness, and hope.
