The proposal submission period has ended.
As of August 14, 2014, all who submitted proposals have been notified of the selection committee’s decisions.
Faculty, staff, and administrators throughout higher education are employing contemplative practices for many reasons. These include sharpening attention; creating environments that enhance the well-being of all; addressing inclusion and access for all in support of the vibrant diversity of our institutions; deepening engagement and learning of subject matter; reflecting on and supporting meaning-making; considering the wider impacts of our actions; and ultimately supporting the development of a more just and compassionate society. Given the breadth and depth of these many intentions, the types of practices used are extremely diverse, and their assessment needs to be approached with great sensitivity. Assessment of practices designed to develop attention, for example, will be different from assessment of those practices designed to increase conceptual understanding or develop compassion and creativity.
This conference seeks to investigate the relationship between the intentions of contemplative methods and their effectiveness. How might the development and evaluation of these methods be guided by what has been discovered about the many ways we learn, the creation of meaning, and the development of meaningful assessment? How might contemplative practices inform new ways of evaluating effectiveness? We invite presentation proposals on all subjects of contemplative inquiry in higher education and will give preference to those investigating intention, method, and evaluation.
We encourage presentations on relevant teaching, evaluation, and assessment methods used in other educational approaches that share contemplative pedagogy’s emphasis on awareness, experience, inquiry, and transformation (e.g., holistic education, transformative education, engaged pedagogy, Socratic questioning, feminist pedagogy, critical race theory).
We also encourage presentations on the results of evidence-based studies throughout higher education that can challenge and deepen the use of contemplative practices inside and outside the classroom.
The June 30th deadline has passed and proposals are not currently being accepted.
Guidelines
- Professionals from all areas of higher education, including faculty, graduate students, staff, and administrators, are invited to submit proposals for consideration.
- Proposals must indicate a session type: thematic, practice, interactive, panel, or poster. Please refer to the session descriptions for more information.
- The submission deadline is Monday, June 30th, 2014 at midnight PDT (07:00 UTC).
- The conference committee will begin reviewing proposals after July 1st. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by mid-August.
- If you would like to apply for financial assistance, please do so soon. Our next review of financial aid applications will take place in mid-August.
- Proposals will be reviewed and selected by the conference committee.
- All presenters must be members of the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education and become paid registrants of the conference. If you are accepted as a presenter, but are not yet an ACMHE member, you may join before the conference.
Session Descriptions
- 30-Minute Thematic Paper Sessions are led by one or more presenters. Presenters should plan to speak for approximately 20 minutes, allowing time for questions and group discussion after the presentation. Two presentations will be offered in hour-long sessions; the conference organizers will create pairings based on thematic connections between the presentations. Audio-visual equipment, including digital projector and screen, may be requested.
- 60-Minute Practice Sessions invite participants to experience a contemplative practice designed or adapted for educational settings and allow time for discussion.
- 60-Minute Interactive Sessions feature one or more lead presenters incorporating a variety of interactive methods (dialog, guided discussion, etc.) to engage participants, with minimal time spent in lecture-style presenting. Interactive sessions may also take the form of a roundtable discussion in which the organizer proposes a concept, approach, or issue, and participants are invited to share in an open inquiry. Audio-visual equipment, including digital projector and screen, may be requested.
- 75-Minute Panel Sessions, moderated by a lead presenter, invite multiple panelists to present brief perspectives on a topic and allow time for discussion. Audio-visual equipment, including digital projector and screen, may be requested.
- The 60-Minute Poster Session is scheduled for Saturday, October 11. The poster session provides an opportunity to speak informally with a large number of colleagues and display some aspects of your work visually on a poster. Each poster presenter will be supplied with an easel, a 3′x4′ poster board, and half of a 6′ table for materials. No audio-visual equipment is available, but presenters may use personal laptops (outlets are limited—you may wish to bring an additional battery), tablets, etc.
Presenters and participants are invited to submit related papers to The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry (ISSN: 2333-7281), which will dedicate a future issue to the topics of intention, evidence, and evaluation.