Teaching with Contemplative Practices: Valuing Presence, Connection, and Mutual Flourishing [two-part session]

This workshop is part of the Contemplative Practices Summit series.

In this two-part session participants will learn about the use of contemplative practices in the classroom and their positive impacts on student learning and flourishing. In session 1, Dr. Costa will briefly summarize research on contemplative pedagogy and its student learning outcomes, and introduce her personal and pedagogical practice of making earth altars. Participants will be invited to practice creating their own earth altars in the intervening time between sessions 1 and 2, with the option to post images of their earth altars to a shared digital site. Session 2 will provide time for shared reflection and discussion with a focus on the grounding, embodied, and relational aspects of contemplative practices, and their ability to foster deepened attention, presence, and connection (among other things) in the learning environment.

Session 1: September 18, 10:00-10:45

Session 2: September 19, 10:00-10:30

Facilitator’s bio 

LeeRay Costa, PhD is a lifelong contemplative practitioner and has been actively integrating contemplative practices into her teaching since 2012. Trained as a feminist cultural anthropologist, she currently serves as Executive Director of the Batten Leadership Institute, and Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies / Anthropology at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She is co-editor of the book Contemplative Practices and Acts of Resistance in Higher Education: Narratives Toward Wholeness (Routledge, 2024). Her current interests include engaging spirituality, contemplative practices, and creative expression in the service of leadership, human flourishing, and transformative social change.