A Brief Mindfulness Interven1on to Increase Undergraduate Learning Catherine A. Spann, Anna Park, and Nilakshi Veerabathina University of Texas at Arlington Introduc1on •  It is nearly impossible for students to sustain aRenAon for 50 to 90 minutes in the classroom1 •  ARenAon to, and retenAon of, lecture material declines as a funcAon of Ame1 •
Mindfulness exercises have been shown to enhance aRenAon2 and execuAve control3 as well as improve self-­‐regulaAon4 •  Mindfulness means paying aRenAon to the present moment without judgment5 •  There are a lack of studies examining the beneficial effects of mindfulness exercises implemented in the college classroom 40 35 30 25 Quiz 20 Average 15 10 5 0 Control 60 Control Exam 1 Exam 2 Exam Figure 2. There was no effect of mindfulness condiAon on changes in student exam scores, F(1, 193) = .002, p = .97, ηp2 < .001. Ques1on: How much would you like to con1nue this exercise this semester? Compared to students in the mindfulness condiAon, students who experienced a break reported a significantly stronger desire to conAnue with the exercise, t(137) = -­‐3.25, p = .001, d = .56. However, students in the mindfulness condiAon sAll reported a desire to conAnue that was significantly greater than the midpoint of the scale, t(138) = 7.98, p < .001, d = .68. •  One secAon listened to a 3-­‐minute mindfulness breathing recording (n = 118), while the other secAon was given a 3-­‐minute break (n = 83) •  IntervenAon took place over the course of 5 class sessions (3 weeks) between the 1st and 2nd exam “Take a few deep breaths. While you are breathing deeply, relax your shoulders, your stomach muscles, the muscles in your face, your hands, and your legs. Focus on the feeling of your breath and allow thoughts and feelings to come and go in the background.” 80 65 Figure 1. Students in the mindfulness condiAon had significantly higher quiz averages than students in the control group, t(99) = 3.26, p = .002, d = .65. Mindfulness Exam Score 70 Experimental Condi1on •  Two secAons of Introductory Astronomy parAcipated 85 75 Mindfulness Method Excerpt from Recording Results Conclusions •  Learning was assessed via quizzes at the end of each class •  Learning also assessed via 1st and 2nd exam scores •  To assess desire to conAnue with the exercises, a self-­‐report quesAonnaire was given at the end of the study to both secAons •  A brief and simple-­‐to-­‐administer mindfulness exercise increases undergraduate quiz grades •  Students may not be aware of the posiAve benefits of mindfulness exercises •  Brief mindfulness exercises given over a short period of Ame may work to regulate aRenAon, rather than promoAng self-­‐regulaAon in the long term •  A longer intervenAon should be implemented in order to assess whether greater benefits are seen over Ame References 1  Farley, J., Risko, E.F., & Kingstone, A. (2013). Everyday aRenAon and lecture retenAon: The effects of Ame, fidgeAng, and mind wandering. Fron%ers in Psychology, 4. 2  Chambers, R., Lo, B.Y., & Allen, N.B. (2008). The impact of intensive mindfulness training on aRenAonal control, cogniAve style, and affect. Cogni%ve Therapy and Research, 32(3), 202-­‐322. 3  Jha, A. P., Krompinger, J., & Baime, M. J. (2007). Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of aRenAon. Cogni%ve, Affec%ve & Behavioral Neuroscience, 7(2), 109-­‐119. 4  Tang, Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., & ... Posner, M.I. (2007). Short-­‐term meditaAon training improves aRenAon and self-­‐regulaAon. PNAS Proceedings of the Na%onal Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(43), 17152-­‐17156. 5  Kabat-­‐Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness medita%on in everyday life. New York: Hyperion. Acknowledgements •  This material is based on work supported by the NaAonal Science FoundaAon under Grant No. DUE-­‐1231286