Mindful Learning

Learning Occurs through Recognizing and Encouraging Strengths

Davidson explains that when learners see their strengths in the classroom it gives their work meaning and empowers them:

“It is easy to point out what they are doing wrong, but how many times do we remember to acknowledge their strengths and their successes? We can take the time to get to know the students in our lives well enough to recognize and encourage their strengths. We can provide them with opportunities to share their strengths with others, so that their strengths are developed further” (Davidson, 2018, p. 72).

Providing multiple types of engagement opportunities can support learning as we are empowering multiple forms of gifts learners bring to the classroom. Learning through recognizing strengths supports learners by offering varied ways to contribute and engage, which highlights their unique interests in the classroom. By rotating between activities, like group discussions, creative projects, analytical exercises, written work, and presentations, learners have the chance to identify and practice skills in different contexts while also developing critical thinking and expanding or opening their mind to new perspectives. This approach encourages each student to explore areas of strength or passion (in-line with wholistic approaches), helping them build confidence and deeper understanding while contributing in ways that resonate with their individual talents.

Learning Occurs through Contribution

Davidson explains that learning through contribution has two different aspects: the purpose of contributing and learning to contribute to community. Learners expand their ability to work with and use knowledge through contributions and participation: “Transactional teaching can only take students so far. How are students put into positions of teaching others, teaching you – the teacher?” (Nichols, n.d.). Practicing various tasks or subjects promotes active contribution through problem-solving, critical thinking, and adaptability. Switching between tasks helps learners understand the different components of a whole. Further by interweaving the pedagogy of contribution with “Learning occurring through recognizing and encouraging strengths” we create empowered spaces for learners to feel encouraged to contribute meaningfully. This rotation among contributions enhances skills and understanding, allowing learners to see how each part interconnects and expands their minds. By doing so, they develop a more flexible approach to problem-solving and contribute meaningfully in diverse ways to then contribute to community effectively.

Learners often do not understand which learning strategies work best until they are challenged to become aware of the gaps in their knowledge (Brown, et al. 2014, p.121-124). One validated method which can help challenge learners, termed interleaving, focuses on bringing diverse types of examples into your teaching and works well in collaboration with spaced practice. Arraying the types of example problems, instead of blocking related questions allows the brain to build greater connections to the content, resulting in greater test performance and retrieval in new contexts. An example of practice was examined by Kornell and Bjork (2008). They challenged learners to identify artists based on their painted works. When learners practiced with paintings from different artists, compared to multiple examples from the same artist, they performed better (Rohrer, D. 2012). Interleaving is beneficial as the contrasting examples prompt learners to pay more attention, either from a less wandering mind or focusing on key differences in the types of questions, leading to better retrieval on assessments (Firth, et al. 2021). This can be used in collaboration with spaced practice as spacing out time between the same topic naturally leaves space to interleave a different one. Note: learning multiple concepts simultaneously is harder, and so learners often feel their learning is less productive, as they cannot simply memorize the solution. Research has shown this not to be the case and this is summarized well in the book Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, “when learning is harder, it’s stronger and lasts longer” (Brown, et al. 2014, p. 9).

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Creating safer spaces that encourage contribution and highlight strengths includes everyone, including both student and teacher, with positive relations at the center. Kirkness explains that the traditional roles within higher education, where faculty members are seen as the sole creators and providers of knowledge with learners as passive recipients, can hinder the development of personalized, human relationships. To build these relationships, faculty members must be willing to show our vulnerabilities. If the institution tries to be invulnerable, it becomes unresponsive and disconnected from the needs of people (Kirkness, p. 12, 2001).
Kirkness further mentions that:

“While improved job opportunities alone may provide sufficient motivation to keep some students interested, others need relations and connections. Jobs are often linked to aspiration and broader collectives such as community development, health, wellness, or self-government: “We need to recognize that there can be many reasons for pursuing a university education, reasons which often transcend the interest and well-being of the individual student.”” (Kirkness, 2001, p. 6).

Building relationships in a learning environment emphasizes intellectual development through meaningful connections, critical thinking, and collaboration. This perspective fosters clarity, respect, and an appreciation of interconnectedness, enriching both personal and collective learning experiences. When learners engage deeply in relationships—with peers, mentors, and the land—they develop not only knowledge but also respect and humility. These interpersonal dynamics enhance the ability to think critically about their place in the interconnected web of relationships, fostering mental resilience and open-mindedness. Assignments that require group work or interaction with the land and community encourage learners to engage their intellect by analyzing diverse perspectives, solving problems collectively, and integrating various strengths to achieve shared goals. Finally, relational learning emphasizes interconnectedness by showing how intellectual endeavors are not isolated but deeply tied to the well-being of others, the land, and the community. This recognition enhances learners’ ability to approach problems wholistically, considering the broader implications of their actions, taking us back to “learning through contribution”.

At the second level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, learners move from remember to understand. Here learners must demonstrate an understanding of facts and ideas by organizing and summarizing information (Bloom et al., 1956 & Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001). Learners use the information they gained at the previous level and begin to express that understanding through learning activities such as summarizing information, reframing it in a new context, or explaining in their own words. They must begin to contribute meaningfully to their learning and begin to build relationships between remembering and understanding.