The Plan To Being Mindful

Today in most of the classrooms, the training is delivered in the form of an elaborate skit, which closely follows a pre-decided structure, moving from one topic or activity to another. Any deviation is seen as a derailer, not as another potential learning opportunity

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The classroom is here to stay. The preference for an in-classroom session doesn’t seem to be waning despite the proliferation of choices that a modern learner has. In this age of virtual and self-paced training the classroom experience has refused to bow out and for a good reason. This is evident from the fact that most organizations are opting nowadays for a blended design where all these learning elements are leveraged for their strengths. So, I wanted to explore the science behind the preference for the classroom further and decided to talk to a few facilitators, peers and learners. One thing that emerged from the discussion is the difference brought by “being in the presence of peers and facilitators” – this enhanced the learning experience and the learner walks out enriched.

Since it is a physical presence that makes a difference, we can take this a step further and position classrooms to drive impact. The question here is: “Are we deliberately leveraging classrooms to bring in a difference that it is capable of ?”. This is a question to both the learners and the trainers, to make them ponder the significance of being mindful during a classroom experience.

Why mindfulness is important

According to the American Psychological Association (APA.org, 2012), mindfulness is: “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait. While it might be promoted by certain practices or activities, such as meditation, it is not equivalent to or synonymous with them.”