Applying Mindfulness to a Mundane Classroom

In many classrooms today you will find that learners are very disengaged, often bored, and restless, this could be due to teachers being unable to find a way to make learners mindful and aware of the importance of what they are being taught and that engaging in class will be in their best interest. Learners are disinterested in topics discussed, and the teacher struggles to keep control of his/her learners and will often resort to trying different methods to grab their attention, most of which fail.

In her blog, Abby Willis, writes about the method she used to get the learners to be mindful when performing an everyday task in her classroom. At the beginning of each lesson learners had to move the desks to the sides of the classroom, so that they had space to do their work. This simple task took the learners so long to perform that she had to think of a new way to implement this task that would make the learners aware of the time pressure and also the noise that they were making in the class. So she decided to place bowls of water on each table with a note that said, “Keep the floor dry please.” When the learners saw this, they tried their best not to spill the water on the floor and ended up moving the desks quietly and not a single drop of water was spilled. Once the task was complete, Abby asked the learners how the atmosphere of the classroom changed when they saw the bowls of water. The learners said the classroom was calm, peaceful and organised. This simple method created an atmosphere of mindfulness where the learners were engaged and put their minds towards accomplishing a task efficiently.

In the video called “Effective Pedagogy – teaching the whole child,” Foley suggests steps teachers could use to engage with learners. He highlights the importance of the well-being of the learners and that the way they learn is influenced by the state of their well-being. He says that teachers need to be available for their learners to create a space where learners will grow. Foley suggests that teachers should aim to create mindfulness in their classrooms by focussing on who they are teaching and not what they are teaching.

 

Teachers need to provide comprehensive lessons that are engaging for learners and that somehow get the learners to participate in constructive discussions with one another, where they will be encouraged to flourish and grow.

Social Media in the classroom

It is evident that social media plays a huge role in the world that we live in today. People connect with social media on a daily basis, whether it be via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Social media enables the world to connect with one another and often social media affects the way that people think and feel. I think that social media could be a good tool to use in the classroom, especially since teenagers are probably the most frequent users or followers of social media. However, it is important that it be used in a controlled manner when using it as a method for teaching learners.

Most teenagers today, are so engaged with the world of technology, and I think that using social media in the classroom can make learning a lot more interesting and fun for learners. If learners were allowed to watch YouTube videos and read articles and reflect on them during class time, it could enable them to be connected with what is happening in the world and it would make things more realistic for them, rather than sitting in class after class, totally disengaged and forced to listen to a boring load of information that is read out to them monotonously and does not attract their attention at all.

Also I think that with the rapid advancement of technology it is important that learners keep up with developments and the fast pace media, in order to prepare them for what they will be encountering in their jobs and in their day to day life as an adult. So therefore allowing social media to be used in the classroom can be beneficial to those learners who are not yet engaged with social media, and the learners who are more techno savvy can help their friends who lag a bit behind. Obviously this would have to take place in a controlled and monitored environment, because if learners are just let loose on the internet who knows what they could end up watching or engaging with. Teachers need to facilitate this in such a way that learners are not tempted to just do their own thing, but actually use social media in the way that they are instructed to do so.

There are many pros and cons to using social media in the classroom, and I do think that it might not be effective in every subject, but for most it could be a vital element that enables teachers to create an atmosphere of learning in the classroom, by using a tool that is in the interest of the learners.