Category: News
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Support for Stressed Students
The new semester started yesterday here at Vanderbilt. My students were bright-eyed and enthusiastic, though I know they were experiencing those first-day uncertainties about their new classes, professors, and classmates. Soon enough, these early jitters will turn to a more significant set of stresses as assignments come due, exams are scheduled, graduation approaches, and life…
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2013 Top 10
I just realized this will be my last entry for 2013.* As my social media feeds fill up with Top 10 Lists, I thought I’d pause at the end of the year and offer my own. Since my blog is still fairly new (this is just my 18th post), I don’t think I have enough…
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Difficult Discussions
Several recent campus conversations have focused on facilitating difficult discussions with students in and out of class. I’ve long taught multicultural American literature and women’s studies courses, so I appreciate how hard it is to effectively navigate these moments. As I prepare my syllabus for next semester, I’ve been thinking about the potential for mindfulness…
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Inspiration, Creativity, & New Ideas
In “The Science of Inspiration” (2013), Eric Ravenscraft highlights the neuroscientific view of inspiration, epiphanies, and “‘a-ha’ moments”: “When you make a new connection between two ideas, it’s not just a metaphor. Your brain is literally restructuring itself to accommodate new processes…. [T]he more ‘plastic’ your brain is, the more you’re able to form creative…
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Gratitude Journals
It’s the Thanksgiving break on campuses in the United States, and I’m recovering from another surgery, so this week’s post will be brief. I’ve been enjoying the daily “I’m thankful for…” posts by many of my Facebook Friends this month. They’ve ranged from humorous to heartfelt to tragic. While gratitude journals have been popular for…
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Labyrinths & Learning
I’ve been reading everything I find about mindfulness, but I’m eager for more evidence-based work on its effects on learning in the college classroom. As my previous posts indicate, recent years have seen a lot of scientific research (especially in neuroscience and psychology) pointing to the psychological and physiological effects of mindfulness. There’s also plenty…
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Reading Like Bruce Lee
I teach literature. My students read a lot, and I want them to read well—closely, carefully, attentively. I’ve always heard that the best readers were read to when they were young and then read voraciously when they were growing up. This makes great sense to me, but it also suggests that those who don’t fit…
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How It Works, IV
This is the fourth and final post about how mindfulness works, or the documented effects and how they occur. The first was about attention regulation, the second body awareness, the third emotional regulation, and now a different perspective of the self. There are few silver bullets in teaching and learning, but a handful of strategies…
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How It Works, III
This is the third of four posts about how mindfulness works, or the documented effects and how they occur. The first was about attention regulation, the second body awareness, and now we turn to emotional regulation. A man riding a horse approaches a man standing by the side of the road. The bystander asks where…
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How It Works, II
This is the second of four posts about how mindfulness works, or the documented effects and how they occur. Last week was devoted to attention regulation; this week explores the increased body awareness, the ability to notice small, subtle changes and sensations in the body. I was thrilled when I learned the term “proprioception,” or…
Nancy L. Chick 