Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Special Interest Group: Holistic Education), Toronto, April 5-9.
MorganAbrahamson.AERA_.2019.pdf
ABSTRACT: Mathematics education researchers are beginning to appreciate the potential of contemplative–somatic practices such as mindfulness to alleviate student stress and increase their focus. Yet we still do not know whether, and if so how, these practices may support student learning of specific content. As a first step toward conceptualizing and ideating the pedagogical design and facilitation of content-oriented contemplative exercises, we convened an experimental workshop. Here we report on findings from this pioneering event that brought together scholars and practitioners interested in the relations between contemplative–somatic practice and mathematical reasoning and learning. We elaborate on participants’ experiences and derived pedagogical insights to offer the field new horizons in the development of the theory and practice of contemplative mathematics.