Abstract
This article examines the relation of contemplative exercises with enhancement of students' experience during neuroscience studies. Short contemplative exercises inspired by the Buddhist tradition of self-inquiry were introduced in an undergraduate neuroscience course for psychology students. At the start of the class, all students were asked to participate in short “personal brain investigations” relevant to the topic presented. These investigations were aimed at bringing stable awareness to a specific perceptual, emotional, attentional, or cognitive process and observing it in a non-judgmental, non-personal way. In addition, students could choose to participate, for bonus credit, in a longer exercise designed to expand upon the weekly class activity. In the exercise, students continued their “personal brain investigations” for 10 min a day, 4 days a week. They wrote “lab reports” on their daily observations, obtained feedback from the teacher, and at the end of the year reviewed their reports and reflected upon their experiences during the semester. Out of 265 students, 102 students completed the bonus track and their final reflections were analyzed using qualitative methodology. In addition, 91 of the students answered a survey at the end of the course, 43 students participated in a quiz 1 year after course graduation, and the final grades of all students were collected and analyzed. Overall, students reported satisfaction from the exercises and felt they contributed to their learning experience. In the 1-year follow-up, the bonus-track students were significantly more likely than their peers to remember class material. The qualitative analysis of bonus-track students' reports revealed that the bonus-track process elicited positive feelings, helped students connect with class material and provided them with personal insights. In addition, students acquired contemplative skills, such as increased awareness and attention, non-judgmental attitudes, and better stress-management abilities. We provide examples of “personal brain investigations” and discuss limitations of introducing a contemplative approach.
Highlights
The wealth of discoveries that neuroscientists have been making over the last three decades is driving the imagination of students from a wide range of academic fields, including the humanities and social sciences (Wiertelak and Ramirez, 2008)
Descriptive statistics of students When analyzing the grades obtained by students in the basic neuroscience course that was taught in the previous year by the same teacher, we found that students that participated in the bonus track program obtained a significantly higher grade in the course (M = 88.01, SD = 5.79) as compared to students that did not participate in the program (M = 85.85, SD = 7.57)
Contemplative pedagogy is becoming increasingly popular and has recently been introduced to a variety of subjects ranging from poetry to medicine to law (Zajonc, 2013)
Summary
The wealth of discoveries that neuroscientists have been making over the last three decades is driving the imagination of students from a wide range of academic fields, including the humanities and social sciences (Wiertelak and Ramirez, 2008). This paper contains a detailed description of how the mindfulness-awareness skill set was introduced in a semester-long advanced neuroscience class, which was taught to undergraduate students majoring in psychology in one of the universities in Israel During the course, this skill set was developed and used to create an “experimental contemplative lab” in which students used first-person investigation tools (termed here “personal brain investigations”) to enrich their understanding of the topics learned theoretically in neuroscience courses. This skill set was developed and used to create an “experimental contemplative lab” in which students used first-person investigation tools (termed here “personal brain investigations”) to enrich their understanding of the topics learned theoretically in neuroscience courses This “experimental contemplative lab” provided the teacher the ability to engage students in material that was presented in class (e.g., attention systems or emotion processes in the brain) in an experiential way. We discuss the benefits of using contemplative techniques in a neuroscience course and consider the conditions for this approach to be fruitful
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
