Contemplative Pedagogy: Fostering Transformative Learning in a Critical Service Learning Course
Abstract
Background: Research demonstrating the positive outcomes of service learning among university students is robust and some describe the impact as transformative. Purpose: To help me better understand how I can support transformative learning in my classroom, this study explored how an intergenerational critical service learning project fostered change among student participants. Methodology/Approach: Data consisted of reflection journals collected over 6 years from 228 students who participated in a course-based intergenerational service learning project and researcher field notes. Using a qualitative design and narrative methodology analysis took place over a 2-year period and consisted of a 3-stage process: deep reading, identifying stories, and re-storying to generate findings. Findings/Conclusions: Three mechanisms were found to foster transformation among students—writing as inquiry, embodied learning, and mindfulness. The two-pronged contemplative approach used in this course informs the way in which students experience the critical service learning project. Together, they provide a deep and transformative learning opportunity. Implications: Insights into course design and pedagogical approaches that support transformative learning.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
Anderson J. (2012). Reflective journals as a tool for auto-ethnographic learning: A case study of student experiences with individualized sustainability. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 36(4), 613–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2012.692157
Barbezat D., Bush M. (2014). Contemplative practices in higher education : Powerful methods to transform teaching and learning. Jossey-Bass.
Barner R., Barner C. (2011). Mindfulness, openness to experience, and transformational learning. In Hoare C. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of reciprocal adult development and learning (2nd ed., pp. 347–364). Oxford University Press.
Clandinin D., Connelly F. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. Jossey-Bass.
Coffield F., Moseley D., Hall E., Ecclestone K. (2004). Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: A systematic and critical review. Learning and Skills Research Centre. http://www.leerbeleving.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/learning-styles.pdf
Coleman M. (2017, April 5). Mindfulness: An innate, trainable quality of mind. Mindful: Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-innate-trainable-quality-mind/
Crandall K. J. (2014). Bingocize™: Successful integration of intergenerational service-learning into an exercise science practicum project. Journal of Community Engagement & Higher Education, 6(2), 12–18.
Dahl C., Davidson R. (2019). Mindfulness and the contemplative life: Pathways to connection, insight, and purpose. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 60–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.11.007
Daly J., Farahani L., Hollingsbee T., Ocampo R. (2016). Measuring human experiences of public spaces: A methodology in the making. Conscious Cities Journal, 1, 1–12.
Davidson R. (2019, February 14). A neuroscientist on love and learning [Audio podcast episode]. On Being With Krista Tippett. https://onbeing.org/programs/richard-davidson-a-neuroscientist-on-love-and-learning-feb2019/
Deeley S. (2014). Critical perspectives on service-learning in higher education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Didion J. (1976, December 5). Why I write. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/05/archives/why-i-write-why-i-write.html
Dirkx J. (2001). Images, transformative learning and the work of soul. Adult Learning, 12(3), 15–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/104515950101200306
Ergas O., Hadar L. (2019). Mindfulness in and as education: A map of a developing academic discourse from 2002 to 2017. Review of Education, 7(3), 757–797. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3169
Erickson M. (2019). Contemplative pedagogy as a framework for education about ageism. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2019.1689357
Findlay N., Dempsey S., Warren-Forward H. (2010). Developing a qualitative framework for analysis of student journals. Radiographer, 57(2), 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-3909.2010.tb00126.x
Forrest C. (2004). Kolb’s learning cycle. Train the trainer (12 Vols). Fenman Professional Training Resources.
Fusner S., Staib S. (2004). Students and senior citizens learning from each other. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 30(3), 40–45. https://doi.org/10.3928/0098-9134-20040301-12
Gardner P., Alegre R. (2019). “Just like us”: Increasing awareness, prompting action and combating ageism through a critical intergenerational service learning project. Educational Gerontology, 45(2), 146–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2019.1584976
Gardner P., Kerridge K. (2019). Everybody present: Exploring the use of an in-class meditation intervention to promote positive mental health among university students. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 37(4), 9–21. https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2018-022
Haave N. (2015). Developing students’ thinking by writing. National Teaching & Learning Forum, 25(1), 5–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/ntlf.30050
Jacelon C. S., Imperio K. (2005). Participant diaries as a source of data in research with older adults. Qualitative Health Research, 15(7), 991–997. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305278603
Janesick V. J. (1999). A journal about journal writing as a qualitative research technique: History, issues, and reflections. Qualitative Inquiry, 5(4), 505–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780049900500404
Jordi R. (2011). Reframing the concept of reflection: Consciousness, experiential learning, and reflective learning practices. Adult Education Quarterly, 61(2), 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713610380439
Kiely R. (2005). A transformative learning model for service-learning: A longitudinal case study. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 12(1), 5–22.
King J. T. (2004). Service-learning as a site for critical pedagogy: A case of collaboration, caring, and defamiliarization across borders. Journal of Experiential Education, 26(3), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590402600304
Kolb D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.
Mezirow J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow J., Taylor E. W. (2009). Transformative learning in practice: Insights from community, workplace, and higher education. Jossey-Bass.
Miettinen R. (2000). The concept of experiential learning and John Dewey’s theory of reflective thought and action. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 19, 54–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/026013700293458
Mitchell T. D. (2007). Critical service-learning as social justice education: A case study of the citizen scholars program. Equity & Excellence in Education, 40(2), 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680701228797
Mitchell T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 14(2), 50–65. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3239521.0014.205
Morris T. H. (2019). Experiential learning—A systematic review and revision of Kolb’s model. Interactive Learning Environments, 28, 1064–1077. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1570279
Oakes C. E., Sheehan N. W. (2014). Students’ perceptions of a community-based service-learning project related to aging in place. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 35(3), 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2014.907158
O’Connell T., Dyment J. (2011). The case of reflective journals: Is the jury still out? Reflective Practice, 12, 47–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2011.541093
Osgood-Campbell E. (2015). Investigating the educational implications of embodied cognition: A model interdisciplinary inquiry in mind, brain, and education curricula. Mind, Brain, and Education, 9(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12063
Panitsides E. (2014). Transformative learning: Advocating for a holistic approach. Review of European Studies, 6, 74–81. https://doi.org/10.5539/res.v6n4p74
Polkinghorne D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103
Richardson M. (1994). Writing poetry and doing ethnography: Aesthetics and observation on the page and in the field. Anthropology and Humanism, 19(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1525/ahu.1994.19.1.77
Rogers L., Maytan M. (2012). Mindfulness for the next generation. Oxford University Press.
Salam M., Awang Iskandar D. N., Ibrahim D. H. A., Farooq M. S. (2019). Service learning in higher education: A systematic literature review. Asia Pacific Education Review, 20, 573–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-019-09580-6
Schreuder E., van Erp J., Toet A., Kallen V. L. (2016). Emotional responses to multisensory environmental stimuli: A conceptual framework and literature review. SAGE Open, 6(1). Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016630591
Segrist K. (2005). Assessing impact of service-learning project on older, isolated adults in rural America. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 3(1), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1300/J194v03n01_11
Speedy J. (2015). Staring at the park: A poetic autoethnographic inquiry. Left Coast Press.
Tagoe M. A. (2014). Transforming teaching and learning at University of Ghana through community service-learning: Listening to the voices of students. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 2(4), 85–96. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v2i4.503
Tam M. (2014). Intergenerational service learning between the old and young: What, why and how. Educational Gerontology, 40(6), 401–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2013.822201
Yeganeh B., Kolb D. (2009). Mindfulness and experiential learning. O D Practitioner, 41(3), 13–18.
Zajonc A., Sanders L. (2013). Contemplative pedagogy: A quiet revolution in higher education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 134, 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20057
Zimmerman D. H., Wieder D. L. (1977). The diary: Diary-interview method. Urban Life, 5(4), 479–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124167700500406
Biographies
Paula Gardner is a critical qualitative health researcher, educator, advocate and meditator. She is an associate professor of public health and gerontology at Brock University. To learn more visit her website at: https://www.pgardner.info
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published online: August 24, 2020
Issue published: June 2021
Keywords
History
Published online: August 24, 2020
Issue published: June 2021
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Journals metrics
This article was published in Journal of Experiential Education.
VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICSArticle usage*
Total views and downloads: 611
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Articles citing this one
Web of Science: 0
Crossref: 0
There are no citing articles to show.
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
AEE members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
AEE members can access this journal content using society membership credentials.
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
