Mind full vs. Mindful: Meditation in the College Classroom

Ballesteros Soria, N.

The goal of my presentation is to share the mindfulness practices I implemented in my Fall 2018 Elementary Spanish course. Through frequent interactions with my students, I learned about their priorities and struggles – i.e. heavy workloads and high anxiety levels. As an instructor, I was concerned about the detrimental effect that stress could have on student learning and that motivated me to integrate mindfulness into my teaching. I used the Headspace app because it is easily accessible, and it offers a variety of guided practices which can be implemented during class time. I will guide the audience through the app and share a sample practice. I will also encourage attendees to reflect on how to incorporate mindfulness in their own disciplines. To conclude, I will give some logistical tips and share my students’ impressions. Overall, mindfulness proved to be effective to create a stress-free environment and foster student learning. 

Nuria Ballesteros Soria, Modern Languages