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L'escargot en classe - 9 octobre 2018 - Journée pédagogique

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Carle, Stéphanie. (2016)  Ralentir l’enseignement : des pauses cognitives pour favoriser l’apprentissage

http://aqpc.qc.ca/sites/default/files/revue/uneidee-vol.31-1.pdf traduit et adapté de Jennings, P. A. Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom, New York, WW Norton, 2015.

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Nelly Pons (2017). Paris :  Actes Sud /KAIZEN
"Ralentir, c'est savoir courir quand c'est nécessaire, être rapide dans l'urgence, dynamique et audacieux en tout temps ET maîtriser l'art de la subtilité, celui de cultiver son esprit critique. C'est sortir de la posture du bélier, qui une fois lancé, ne sait plus s'arrêter, et apprendre à doser sa cadence. Ralentir est un choix de vie fort, puissant, qui passe par un heureux mariage entre vitesse et lenteur, que l'on saura adapter à chaque situation." - Nelly Pons, Choisir de ralentir : je passe à l'acte (2017). Paris : Actes Sud/ Kaizen.

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The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy 

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The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy 

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Maggie Berg, Queen’s University Barbara K. Seeber, Brock University
"We argue that approaching our professional practice from a perspective influenced by the Slow movement has the potential to disrupt the corporate ethos of speed. (...) We envisage Slow Professors acting purposefully, thereby cultivating emotional and
intellectual resilience, enabling them to challenge the corporate university and maintain the values of liberal education. This takes time. Thomas Skovholdt and Michelle Trotter Mathison
observe in The Resilient Practitioner that “experience does not seem to increase expertise” (2001, p. 131). They have found that professional development— which in our case is evolving a unique teaching style— requires three conditions:
practice, a supportive and open environment, and reflection. “If we are busy doing there is no chance to be,” they say, “Yet it is being that produces the chance to learn” (2001, p. 28). This is as true for our students as it is for us. Time for reflection is not, then, a luxury, but crucial to effective teaching and learning. The Slow movement has prompted us to be more deliberate in all aspects of our professional practice and not to be swept along by the ever accelerating pace." (p.5)

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Hasebe-Ludt, E., Chambers, C., & Leggo, C. D. (2009). Life writing and literary métissage as an ethos for our times (Vol. 27). Peter Lang.

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Les enseignements du Cèdre : une leçon d'humilité. 

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Les enseignements du Cèdre : une leçon d'humilité. 

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par Roberta Oshkabewisens,

RAPPORT ENTRE LA NATURE ET LE COMPORTEMENT HUMAIN.
(Extrait de http://kopiwadan.ca/humilite/nature/)
"Le cèdre se développe à partir d’une graine provenant d'un cèdre mature. Il est grand, droit et très large avec ses branches tout autour du tronc. Vous remarquerez que les branches du bas sont larges et longues alors qu’au fur et à mesure que vous montez dans l'arbre, elles deviennent de plus en plus petites et courtes. Le cèdre se distingue de tous les autres arbres de la forêt, comme le fait son compagnon le pin. Lorsque vous regardez le cèdre, il touche tous les autres arbres qui l'entourent, comme s'il tenait la main de ses voisins, sans préjugés ni discrimination."

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Les Anishinabeg, aussi dit "peuple des origines", entretiennent une relation privilégiée avec leur environnement dans lequel ils trouvent eau, nourriture, médecine, matériaux pour construire leurs habits et leurs maisons et bien plus. Ils l'appellent la Terre-mère. La nature est un lieu sacré qu'il faut respecter et chérir à tout prix. Ils se considèrent gardiens de cette terre et entretiennent avec elle un lien basé sur l'humilité puisque celle-ci abrite les ossements de milliers de générations d'Anishinabeg qui ont, avant eux, foulé ces sols. De plus, la santé des Anishinabeg est intimement liée à la santé de la forêt. Ainsi, lorsque celle-ci souffre, les plantes leur servant de médecine et les herbes nourrissant les animaux qu'ils mangent se font plus timides. Terre-mère est guérisseuse. Elle prendra soin de celui ou de celle qui se couchera sur le sol pour calmer ses blessures.

Non seulement les Anishinabeg entretiennent-ils une relation d'interdépendance avec leur environnement mais ils l'entretiennent aussi avec les animaux. Puisque leur Terre-mère engendre tout ce qui se trouve dans la nature, ils les perçoivent comme des frères. Lorsqu'ils doivent sacrifier la vie d'un animal, ils le remercient et le célèbrent avec respect. Ainsi, l'exploitation d'une ressource n'est pas un concept qui existe dans la spiritualité anishinabeg. De cette façon de faire découle l'un des principes de base chez l'homme et la femme du "Peule des origines" : ne prendre à la nature que ce dont on a besoin.

" La nature est notre Terre Mère et elle nous donne tout ce dont nous avons besoin. Mais l'Homme, dans sa cupidité et son ignorance, prend à la nature plus que ce dont il a besoin. Plutôt que de protéger Celle qui le fait vivre, il abuse de tous ses dons. La nature, jusqu'à présent, est restée patiente."

William Commanda, Grand-père des grands-pères de la nation anishinabeg

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Les Anishinabeg, aussi dit "peuple des origines", entretiennent une relation privilégiée avec leur environnement dans lequel ils trouvent eau, nourriture, médecine, matériaux pour construire leurs habits et leurs maisons et bien plus. Ils l'appellent la Terre-mère. La nature est un lieu sacré qu'il faut respecter et chérir à tout prix.

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Roberge, J., Ménard, L., & Croteau, S. (2017). 101 moyens de motiver: Présentation de certaines pratiques pédagogiques favorisant la réussite du premier cours de français. Pédagogie collégiale vol. 29, no 1 automne 2015 http://aqpc.qc.ca/sites/default/files/revue/robergemenardcroteau-vol_29-1.pdf

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Excerpt from : Tanaka, Michele, T.D.,(2014) Transformative Inquiry. Transformative Inquiry Research Group -  iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/transformative-inquiry/id854038743?l=fr&mt=11

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Ferland, G., L’enseignement par les jeux d’esprit… Vivement la philosophie ! Pédagogie collégiale, Vol. 15. no 2. mars 2002.

http://aqpc.qc.ca/sites/default/files/revue/Ferland_15_3.pdf

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Quels sont les obstacles personnels, institutionnels ou sociaux au ralentissement ? Comment ces obstacles se présentent-ils dans les collaborations ?

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https://www.mindfulschools.org/resources/explore-mindful-resources/#starter-lesson

University of Arizona Professional/Faculty Learning Communities: 1) Contemplative Pedagogy

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La présence attentive tire ses origines des traditions bouddhistes et est pratiquée depuis 2 600 ans. Avec cette forme de méditation, le pratiquant cherche à « diriger délibérément [son] attention vers ce [qu’il] vit dans le moment présent […], en d’autres termes, réguler son attention de façon à être alerte et vigilant à ce qui se déroule en [lui] et autour de [lui] instant après instant. D’autre part, être présent de manière attentive consiste à accueillir ce qui est perçu avec bienveillance et curiosité », expliquent Alexandra Nedelcu et Simon Grégoire dans le livre La présence attentive (mindfulness) récemment paru aux Presses de l’Université du Québec.

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Éloge de la lenteur (Carl Honoré TED, 2005)

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Éloge de la lenteur (Carl Honoré TED, 2005)

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Le journaliste Car Honore croit que l'obsession de la vitesse en Occident mine la santé, la productivité et la qualité de vie. Mais un contrecoup se prépare, car de plus en plus de gens ordinaires mettent un frein à leurs vies excessivement modernes. (En anglais avec sous-titres en français)

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Le journaliste Car Honore croit que l'obsession de la vitesse en Occident mine la santé, la productivité et la qualité de vie. Mais un contrecoup se prépare, car de plus en plus de gens ordinaires mettent un frein à leurs vies excessivement modernes.

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Mindfulness Practice for Intercultural Learning

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Mindfulness Practice for Intercultural Learning

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Have a look at Tara Harvey's blog on mindfulness practice for intercultural learning. She provides several examples for techniques one can use in one's classroom.

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True North Intercultural | Advancing Intercultural Education

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This is the second in a two-part series on the relationship between mindfulness and intercultural learning. Last month, I discussed what mindfulness is and why it's an important component of intercultural learning ( click here to read Part I if you missed it). In this post, I address the need to move from mindfulness as concept to mindfulness as practice, and provide specific ideas about how educators can incorporate mindfulness into their intercultural work.
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Mindfulness in the Intercultural Field

Mindfulness has been recognized as an important concept in intercultural communication for some time. In her 1999 book, intercultural communication expert Stella Ting-Toomey explains that stereotyping is inevitable, and we must learn to distinguish between mindless stereotyping and mindful stereotyping. Ting-Toomey (1999) states:

"While mindful stereotyping evokes an open-minded attitude in dealing with others, mindless stereotyping reflects a closed-ended mindset. Mindless stereotyping refers to our tightly held beliefs concerning a group of individuals. Mindful stereotyping, on the other hand, refers to our consciously held beliefs about a group of individuals, with a willingness to change our loosely held images based on diversified, firsthand contact experiences." (p. 164)

The challenge is that the focus on mindfulness within the intercultural field has remained primarily in the cognitive realm-it's a helpful concept or idea. But one of the ways in which the intercultural field has evolved is by recognizing that knowing about or even understanding is not enough, we need to practice intercultural competence.

Similarly, in the intercultural field, we need to focus on mindfulness as a practice, not just a concept. (Telling people to be mindful is a little like telling a small child to behave; you're much more likely to succeed if you help learners practice the desired behavior, as well as model it for them.)

When we talk about "practicing" mindfulness, it's not practice in the sense that it's a rehearsal. Practicing mindfulness is really doing mindfulness.

Schaetti, Ramsey, and Watanabe (2008) are the first interculturalists that I know of to address mindfulness as a practice. Personal Leadership-a methodology they developed to help people practice intercultural competence-includes mindfulness as one of its two core principles (the other is creativity). Personal Leadership involves six practices: attending to judgment, attending to emotion, attending to physical sensation, cultivating stillness, engaging ambiguity, and aligning with vision. Practicing mindfulness is not only a means for cultivating stillness, but also improves one's ability to attend to judgment, emotion, and physical sensation, as well as to engage ambiguity and align with one's vision.
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Ideas for Incorporating Mindfulness into Intercultural Learning

Mindfulness often involves meditation, although there are other means of practicing as well. Last month, I talked about how my favorite practice is to take a daily mindful walk. Yoga is a popular means for practicing mindfulness, and doing any sport in which you are focused on experiencing "flow" is also a mindfulness exercise.

You could incorporate more "mindful moments" or "purposeful pauses" in your day, in which you simply slow down and focus on the present moment. Try using a specific prompt-such as opening a door or booting up your computer-to intentionally remind yourself to take a deep breath and focus on the present moment. Or you might choose an activity you do every day-like taking a shower or eating lunch-and do it mindfully, focusing on the present-moment experience (bringing awareness to what you are experiencing through your five senses).

The following are some concrete ideas about how you might incorporate mindfulness practices into your work to help support and promote intercultural learning.

Traditional Mindfulness Exercises. Teach your learners basic mindfulness meditations, such as breathing exercises or body scans. Provide a space to practice these; perhaps you start off your class or meetings together with one or two minutes of breathing. In addition, you can provide some background (or help your learners come to the realization themselves) about why mindfulness is important in your particular context, and when they might find it helpful to practice. For example, if you're working with students who will be going abroad, or facilitating an orientation with new international students, you might introduce these practices (by doing them, not just talking about them!) and suggest they could be helpful when learners catch themselves having a negative reaction to something they've experienced.

Practice "Doing Nothing." In a graduate course I taught on intercultural leadership, many of my students reported that one of the most powerful exercises we did was when I assigned them the task "do nothing." That is, I told them to go find a place outside to sit, then to just "be" for a half hour. "Do nothing," I instructed them-you can't read, write, look at your phone, listen to music, etc. They didn't have to meditate, but simply to focus on being in the present moment. After thirty minutes of doing nothing, they were to spend twenty minutes reflecting on and writing about the experience.

Why was this so impactful? In today's world, most of us tend to be hyper-connected and achievement/doing-focused. We often don't realize just how addicted we are to our technology or to the need to feel busy until we force ourselves to stop. But don't take my word for it-try it for yourself. Stop everything you're doing, find a quiet place to sit, and spend thirty minutes doing nothing. You might find it's harder than you think. And there's certainly something to be learned in that.

In addition, cultures differ in the extent to which they tend to focus on and value doing vs. being. This exercise can lead to a great discussion about where participants tend to fall on that spectrum, why that might be, our tendency to have strong-often unconscious-feelings about this, and how challenging yet valuable it can be to adapt to different ways.

Mindful Tours. Several years ago, I was co-leading a faculty development seminar in Madrid, Spain. One sunny afternoon, we were going to visit a local immigrant neighborhood. My co-leader walked in front of the group and I was in the rear. As we approached the neighborhood, I was mindful of our newly-formed group's strong inclination to socialize. So when we arrived at the entrance of where we were going, I brought this to their attention and invited them to walk through the neighborhood we were visiting in silence. We proceeded to explore the neighborhood that way, then reconvened at the end to debrief.

Participants reported they were grateful for the invitation to be silent, which offered them an opportunity to experience the world around them and the present moment more fully because they did not feel the need to socialize. They reported noticing things that they didn't think they would have otherwise.

Language Learning through Mindfulness. My colleague and friend, Catherine Menyhart, used to teach French at a public high school. Her first-block freshman students typically arrived late, excited, distracted, or all of the above. One day, because she was teaching verb commands as well as new vocabulary for body and health, Catherine decided to put the two together and begin class by walking students through a mindfulness meditation-specifically a body scan, in which you slowly move your awareness from your toes to your head, one body part at a time-in French. "Slowly close your eyes," she began...

Catherine says her students loved the exercise, so she began starting in this way every day. Tardiness declined, as students would race to get to class before the door closed for the mindfulness practice. In addition, students were calmer, more centered, and better able to focus on learning throughout the rest of the class period. (And I'm guessing most of them probably still know all their body parts in French and can conjugate a mean French command!)

Pre-Meeting Mindfulness Practice. Ever been in a meeting where it seemed like everyone was somewhere else-checking email, thinking about where they need to be next, or carrying with them burdens from a previous meeting? Why not take a minute or two (literally) at the beginning of the meeting to ask everyone to put away any unnecessary technology, leave other responsibilities outside the room, take a few deep breaths, and bring their awareness to the present?

How do exercises such as these help us and our learners act in interculturally competent ways? As Viktor Frankl once said, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Practicing mindfulness in intercultural situations helps us create that space where personal growth, shared learning, and ultimately greater peace can flourish.
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Your Thoughts?

These are just some examples of ways I have seen mindfulness incorporated into intercultural learning. What are your ideas? In the comments section below, please share what ideas resonate with you, what you'd like to try, or what you are currently doing to incorporate mindfulness into your own life or your work as an educator.
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References & Relevant Resources

Mindful Schools: http://www.mindfulschools.org/
Mindfulness Apps: There are many apps now offering free guided meditations (the irony of this is not lost on me); for a list of some of the best and what they offer, visit https://www.mindful.org/free-mindfulness-apps-worthy-of-your-attention/
Gelles, D. (2015). Mindful work: How meditation is changing business from the inside out. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Marturano, J. (2014). Finding the space to lead: A practical guide to mindful leadership. New York: Bloomsbury Press.

Rechtschaffen, D. (2014). The way of mindful education: Cultivating well-being in teachers and students. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Schaetti, B.F., Ramsey, S.J., & Watanabe, G.C. (2008). Personal Leadership: Making a world of difference: A methodology of two principles and six practices. Seattle, WA: FlyingKite Publications.

Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. New York: The Guilford Press.

More about Personal Leadership: www.plseminars.com

Mindful Teachers: http://www.mindfulteachers.org/

A great resource for educators; includes many exercises for teaching mindfulness, especially to K-12 students

Mindfulness training for educators; includes a very good Resources page

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Mindfulness for Intercultural Learning, Part II

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This is the second in a two-part series on the relationship between mindfulness and intercultural learning. Last month, I discussed what mindfulness is and why it's an important component of intercultural learning ( click here to read Part I if you missed it).