Cultivating a Culture of Learning

Kathryn Byrnes, Ph.D. is the Baldwin Program Director in the Center for Learning and Teaching at Bowdoin College, and faculty at the Teachings in Mindful Education (TiME) Institute in Maine. She served as Board President of the Mindfulness in Education Network (MiEN), and taught in-person and online courses on Mindful Education at Lesley University and Bowdoin College. Her scholarship and professional development work focuses on the integration of contemplative pedagogy in educational contexts. Jane E. Dalton, Ph.D is an assistant professor of art education at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, teaching art education and studio art. Her scholarship focuses on contemplative pedagogy and social-emotional learning in classrooms using the arts. A textile artist, Jane’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States. She is the co-author of The Compassionate Classroom: Lessons that Nurture Empathy and Wisdom.Elizabeth Hope Dorman, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Fort Lewis College, a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate students in secondary, K-12, and elementary education programs. Her scholarship focuses on the integration and effects of mindfulness and contemplative pedagogies on teacher development of social-emotional competence, particularly in diverse contexts and courses that address multicultural perspectives and equity issues.

Byrnes, Dalton, & Dorman have managed to achieve throughout their 3-volume, edited collection, ideas both practical and inspiring. They offer the reader great scope and depth in describing contemplative practices from a variety of settings and perspectives. Teacher educators will understand more deeply what contemplative education is, ways to incorporate its practices, and why it is so valuable in supporting teacher education students and practicing teachers. Throughout the chapters, they provide the tools for self-transformation through experiences that move the soul, awaken the heart, and strengthen pedagogical thinking.

• ForewordAcknowledgementsIntroduction- Kathryn Byrnes, Jane E. Dalton, and Elizabeth Hope DormanChapter 1- Internal Ways of Knowing: A Case for Contemplative Practices in Pre-Service Teacher Education- Maureen Hall, Libby Falk Jones, and Aminda O’HareChapter 2- Rock, Rock! Who’s There? Mary-Ann Mitchell-PellettChapter 3- Reframing How We Think about Learning: A Four-Source Model- Kristin Rainville and Katie CunninghamChapter 4- Using Contemplative Pedagogies to Explore Diversity Within and Beyond One’s Experience in Pre-Service Teacher Education- Jeremy Forest PriceChapter 5- Deep Listening, Authentic Dialogue: An (Inter)Connected Approach to Teacher Education- Tami AugustineChapter 6- Toward Persistence: Contemplative Practices in Community College Teacher Education Programs- Heather BandeenChapter 7- Mindfulness and Student Teaching: Practice Makes Perfect (Just As You Are!)- Elizabeth G. Holtzman and Carolyn Obel-OmiaChapter 8- Across Time and Space: Designing Online Contemplative Learning- Kathryn Byrnes