Looking Forward to the Contemplative Institute 2022: Faculty Engage in Contemplative Pedagogy

Contemplative pedagogy is an approach to teaching & learning with a long and rich history across discipline and traditions. It invites faculty and students to engage in values-exploration, build capacities for awareness and connection, and to recognize habits of mind that enhance or undermine educational experiences.

In June 2021, CSC piloted a Contemplative Institute for Teaching and Learning for UVA faculty and will launch the program in full, August 8-12, 2022 at the Serenity Ridge Retreat Center in Shipman, Virginia.

You may learn more and register here.

This week-long Institute, co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence, welcomes college instructors who have been practicing contemplative pedagogy for two or more years. It offers a reflective framework to center contemplative processes in support of critical thinking, creative expression, problem solving, ethical action, and systems transformation. 

Participants will explore how pedagogy can support student flourishing, enhance their own well-being, and engage with the most pressing issues of our time from environmental degradation to social inequities and increased social and political polarization. Together, participants will reflect upon their own contemplative journey to discern next steps for their practice of contemplative pedagogy to reduce harm, live in alignment, and use power with care. 

Impact from the 2021 Pilot Contemplative Institute for Teaching and Learning:

“Care, Community, and Social Change,” Genevieve Brackins, Maxine Platzer Women’s Center, UVA

"Contemplative and Open Pedagogies: Trusting Ourselves and One Another," Claire Lyu, Department of French, UVA

“Inclusive Contemplative Pedagogy,” Shizuka Modica, Darden School of Business, UVA

"Promoting Kindness, Community, and an Exploration of Imperfection to Enhance Learning," Ran Zhao, East Asian Languages, Literatures & Cultures, UVA

"Redesigning Academic Courses to Support Connection, Values, & Well-Being" — Six instructors speak about how the 2021 summer institute positively impacted their personal and professional lives.

Forthcoming Articles

“Reflection and Transformation,” Indu Ohri English UVA / College of General Studies - Humanities, Boston University

For more information and to register for the August 2022 Institute, see "Contemplative Institute for Teaching & Learning 2022: Exploring Our Edges."