Contemplative Practices, The New Approach To Effective Learning

By Marie Turner


Contemplating on something gives you a better idea through focus on details. In order to generate greater impact during learning, contemplative practices are advocated. They make students more aware of content under dissemination which makes learning to generate a greater impact. The students identify better with the role that such content can have in their lives and the community where they come from.

Contemplation is aimed at making a person more focused and able to pay greater attention to details. The participants can redirect their focus without losing the idea. The exercises will ensure that you focus on a particular idea or concept without being arbitrary. This enhances intellectual analysis which is important for problem solving. Students can consider a range of perspectives through the skills learnt.

Contemplation exercises make understanding of content easier. This happens when learners are critical about content and can transfer the context of application. Underlying issues are easy to bring forth saving such students from reciting or recycling of ideas. They use such information to generate knowledge. Retention of such information is made easier with learners becoming more creative.

Students do not just absorb the information given. The learners can relate what they get in class with their life experiences. It is a way of imparting values that are especially important when building a value system for a career or process of learning. This will improve their professional stature because they can think around the information that has been give. Such students become more valuable to the society.

The learning environment is enhanced when contemplative exercises are incorporated. The approach is subtle and personal for each session or content. This means that such exercises are only used in complimenting the curriculum. The student is alive to the environment and can relate content on offer to the methods and ethics of his or her profession. This is the genesis of greater creativity in a profession.

The basic principles under these exercises are to build communion, connection and awareness. This is in regard to content under study. Because the exercises are diverse, a tutor must identify the most effective practice or a set of them for each session. You need to customize the practice to fit both your pupils and the content being offered.

Among the exercises used is stillness. When applied in a session, the content is first delivered after which silence is applied. It involves quieting the mind while you think about particular content, meditation, centering and actual silence. Students pay more attention to application of knowledge acquired to their real lives. This way, they devise creative ways of using this knowledge to transform their lives and those of their communities.

Creativity is another practice where students engage in such activities are keeping a journal. They record ideas relating to their learning subject and how it can be applied to real life. Such content may also be turned to music or pieces of expressive arts like drawing or dances. Other options include activism, movement and relational activities. The tutor has the mandate to identify the most effective approach for his case and use it to deliver content.




About the Author: