Questions are an essential driver for cognitive development in children, and they remain an important tool for learning throughout our lives.” So, we’re inviting you to be as curious as that child who asks questions constantly!
Despite living in the present, our minds wander and we spend a lot of time fixated about the past or the future. Oftentimes we may be caught in regrets about past failures, worries about possible future failures, or even alternative presents when we think about things that we would rather be doing. However, what we do in the present is how we shape our lives. In order to be a good self-regulated learner, you need to be aware of your present thoughts, feelings, and behavioural tendencies towards your learning. This will help you loosen the control that your unregulated thoughts and feelings have over your behaviour and get out of those automatic ways of responding that lead you away from your learning goals.
Mindfulness is a practice that allows you to develop present-time awareness of your thoughts, and feelings. Moreover, it helps you accept your thoughts and feelings as natural products of your mind that you can observe and let pass without becoming entangled and/or distracted by them. In this section, you will work on activities that will help you to develop your mindfulness skills.
Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life
– Buddha
How present are you?
Distraction is an inherent part of student life. Apart from thoughts and worries about student life (e.g., test or assignment due dates, paying the rent etc.), being constantly plugged in, social media, and multi-tasking interfere with our ability to alert ourselves to important information and direct and maintain our attention on that information.
Where does your mind take you?
Mindful qualities extend beyond being aware of present-time experience to how you are experiencing your thoughts, feelings and actions. In the next activity, we ask you to consider scenarios relating to social and learning situations and how you would respond in your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Learning activity: Where does your mind take you?
Consider the following two scenarios. After reading the situation, indicate what thoughts and feelings the situation would prompt in you. Then consider how you would react to the situation.
What would you do? Write your responses in your Workbook.
Scenario 1
You are sitting in class waiting for it to start. You see your friend, who is also a classmate come into the room. They are walking toward you. You try to get their attention, but with a stern look on their face, they pass by without saying a word and sit two rows behind you. In this scenario, what are you thinking; what are you feeling; what are you doing?
Scenario 2
Wanting to do well, you studied hard for the midterm in this course. You wrote the test confidently. When you received your mark back, it was quite a bit lower than you expected. You talk to your friend who says they did well. In this scenario, what are you thinking; what are you feeling; what are you doing?
It’s quite normal for us to react in ways that are emotion-filled and cause us to behave in ways that don’t really work for us. In the social situation (i.e., Scenario 1), perhaps you responded by thinking “What did I do to make them upset?”. Perhaps you felt anxious, or maybe angry that a friend would walk right by without acknowledging you. Perhaps you responded by returning the snub or anxiously texting to see what’s wrong.
In the performance situation (i.e., Scenario 2), perhaps you responded by feeling sad and disappointed with yourself; by thinking “I am such a phony. Why should I bother?” As a consequence, you may have avoided future work as it made you anxious that you would fail.
As a mindful learner, we want to learn ways that we can skillfully respond to these situations rather than react automatically in ways that might not work very well for us.
Qualities of the mindful learner
The mindful learner has three qualities essential to self-regulated learning. The mindful learner is able to:
Maintain awareness in the present moment.
Know their thoughts and feelings relating to learning.
Not be overpowered by emotions or thoughts in directing their actions.
Having mindful skills allows you to “unhook” from unpleasant thoughts (e.g., “I can’t do this”) and feelings (e.g., fear, anxiety, boredom) that would otherwise cause to avoid and/or distract yourself from certain activities, (e.g., writing a paper). While mindfulness activities are not designed to reduce stress, students participating in such programs have reported reductions in distress during exam periods.
Mindful qualities are skills built through practice. You will start by doing simple activities to develop mindful awareness and practice these skills in different situations. Research shows that these activities can improve attention and energy, even after being practiced for a short time (e.g., 5 days).
The following activities are taken from the Frantic World website. Frantic World has information and resources to help build mindful awareness that can be found here.
Learning activity: Mindfulness of the body and breath
The first mindfulness practice will get you to practice drawing your attention to your own breath and holding your attention while you allow thoughts and feelings to enter and leave your mind.
Mindfulness of body and breath
This exercise is a great place to start with mindfulness and takes about 8 minutes to complete.
Practice this exercise for the next 5 days. Consider setting a reminder, alarm, or scheduling the activity in your calendar. Also, take time to notice how present you are in your daily activities (see Mindfulness in Everyday Life below). After some practice with this exercise, you may wish to explore more mindfulness exercises. Links to progressions on this exercise from Frantic World are provided below.
The body scan
This is often the foundation of meditation. Here, we develop the essential skill of opening up to our experience as it is unfolding, right now.
Practice this exercise, especially when you don’t need it (i.e., when you aren’t stressed) to develop your present time awareness. Consider setting a reminder, alarm, or scheduling the activity in your calendar.
The three minute breathing space
This is a short exercise that you can use at any time during the day.
Practice this exercise to develop awareness around how you receive internal thoughts and external sounds. Consider setting a reminder, alarm, or scheduling the activity in your calendar.
Sounds and thoughts
This is a short exercise that you can use at any time during the day.
Being mindful is not just about sitting on a cushion and breathing. You can incorporate mindfulness into many of your daily life activities. Over the week try the following, once per day. Consider setting a reminder, alarm, or scheduling the activity in your calendar.
Instruction: Click on the accordion to explore everyday mindful activities.
Mindful eating
Mindful eating
When eating your next meal, take the time to notice the feel of the utensil, your movements while eating and of course the taste and texture of the food you are eating. Single out every bite and chew, paying attention to each of the activities involved in eating.
Mindfully brushing your teeth
Mindfully brushing your teeth
Take the time to notice grasping your toothbrush and toothpaste. Notice squeezing the toothpaste onto the brush, turning the tap to run the water, the movements of brushing and sensation of the toothbrush in your mouth.
Mindfully showering
Mindfully showering
To mindfully experience showering, notice turning and adjusting the taps, stepping into the shower, the feel of the wet shower floor, the sensation of the water striking your skin, the feeling of soap lather and shampoo and the feel of the towel drying your skin after, remarking on the fresh feeling you get.
Mindful relating
Mindful relating
The next time you are chatting with your friends or family members, take the time to really notice what they are saying, while noticing your tendency to think of your reply or to interrupt.
Other activities can also be done mindfully. For example, putting on and tying your shoes, waiting in line at the grocery store or simply waking up and taking a mindful breath before preparing yourself for the day can help build your awareness.
Want to read more? Here are a few suggested readings:
Now that you have an idea of what mindfulness can bring to your learning experience, let’s move on to talk about another quality of the mind – the growth mindset.
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Learning activity: Where does your mind take you?
