2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The Impact of Short Mindfulness Practices on Student Attention and Focus in Upper-Level Civil Engineering Design Class

Presented at Committee on Educational Policy Presents: Pillars of Student Development

This work-in-progress research study investigates the impact of short mindfulness practices on student attention, focus, and problem-solving skills in an upper-level civil engineering design course. Even though numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between mindfulness activities and student focus and attention, intervention studies focused on specific student groups in engineering still need to be included.
Twenty-two students in the upper-level structural steel design class were selected for this study. They were first introduced to mindfulness activities by the same instructor in their junior-level structural analysis course.
Students were offered 5-7 minute mindfulness practices at the beginning of each fifty-minute class period, two to three times per week throughout the semester. These practices include mindful breathing, awareness, observation, listening, and meditations like lovingkindness and gratitude. Once a week, students were exposed to other contemplative learning activities aimed at developing a deeper awareness of self and others. These activities, labeled as 'Nuggets of Wisdom,' include reflective writing, deep listening, insight mediations, and mindful conversations.
Qualitative and quantitative data is gathered through several means, such as weekly surveys, student focus group interviews, direct observations by the instructor, and participants' scores in follow-up assignments and their overall semester performance. In addition to a demographic survey, weekly surveys and reflections focusing on their class performance after the mindfulness activity are utilized. The latter includes a Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, one of the best-established and widely used questionnaires for self-assessment of mindfulness.
By analyzing the data, we hope to find connections between mindfulness and student performance in solving design problems and their overall focus and attention inside and outside class. Furthermore, we plan to extend the study to a few upper-level design courses in Civil Engineering.

Authors

Dr. Priyantha Wijesinghe University of Vermont [biography]

Priyantha Wijesinghe is a Senior Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of Curricular Enrichment for the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) at the University of Vermont (UVM). Priyantha is a structural engineer and architect by education and is an engineering education and assessment expert. As the Director of curricular enrichment, she has organized and facilitated numerous teaching and assessment workshops to enhance the teaching and learning experience for CEMS faculty and students across five engineering programs, mathematics and statistics, and computer science. She also served as the ABET coordinator for five engineering programs in 2021 reaccreditation visit. She has been teaching sophomore to graduate level engineering mechanics and civil and structural engineering courses since 2011 at UVM. Priyantha is also an active member of the Contemplative Practices Learning Community of the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning. She practices mindfulness meditations rooted in Theravada Buddhist tradition and has been incorporating mindfulness practices in her classes since 2019.
Dr. Holly Ann Buckland Parker University of Vermont [biography]

Holly Buckland Parker is an educational developer at the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Vermont (UVM). Holly coordinates the Graduate Teaching Program and conducts workshops on pedagogy and educational technologies. Dr. Buckland Parker continues to work on her research interests regarding the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and inclusive teaching practices in Higher Education. Holly is also a part-time faculty member in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont. She teaches graduate courses on the implementation of anti-racist teaching practices, inclusive teaching pedagogy, and UDL in the higher education context. Holly is an active member of the Contemplative Practices Learning Community at the UVM Center for Teaching and Learning. She has her own mindfulness practice and strives to incorporate mindfulness practices into classrooms and meetings on the UVM campus.

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