The Connectedness Cycle: A Mindfulness and Leadership Service Learning Project
The Connectedness Cycle: A Mindfulness and Leadership Service Learning Project
with Dr. Kim Vigil
with Dr. Kim Vigil
Embedded Files
Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to learn more about using mindful pedagogy while creating connections with students, providing them with support, and engaging them in meaningful feedback! On this page, I present the connectedness cycle and mindful pedagogy as means to promote engagement and learning. The connectedness cycle, then, may be considered a preemptive classroom management strategy. If students are engaged, there is no time for misbehaviors! On this project page, first, the connectedness cycle is explained. Second, an overview of examples are provided that showcase the connectedness cycle components in action. Third, a call to action is included. Please reach out if you have any questions; I may be reached at kvigil@murraystate.edu.
Introductory Video
Introductory Video
Dr. Vigil shares a brief introduction to the connectedness cycle and mindful pedagogy.
https://screenpal.com/v/c3jlIUVZSk4
The Connectedness Cycle
The Connectedness Cycle
The connectedness cycle
The connectedness cycle
The connectedness cycle is an emerging framework for practice that advances the understanding and implementation of relationship-rich educational practices. These relationship-rich educational practices allow for more meaningful student engagement, and they serve to enhance academic outcomes. When embodied and implemented by faculty, the connectedness cycle has the ability to transform education.
Creating connections with, giving support to, and providing meaningful feedback for students are essential practices for well-being and productivity. The figure illustrating the connectedness cycle notes the cyclical nature of these constructs. These constructs maintain a dynamic and interactive relationship with one another. For example, after a student receives meaningful feedback, they may then apply that feedback to their work, thus creating greater feelings of support (Vigil, 2021).
Implementing the Connectedness Cycle
Implementing the Connectedness Cycle
Connections
Connections
A collaborative Jamboard can be used to create connections with students.
In the example pictured above, students added celebrations (all semester long) that highlighted Blacks, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and women about whom students felt passionate. It could have been someone they knew, someone from history, or someone from current events. The purpose was to draw attention to BIPOC and women, and showcase how these people held a place in students' hearts. Showcasing people meaningful to students allowed for greater connections within the classroom.
Support
Support
A student-led project can be used to support students in their learning.
In the example pictured above, students engaged in Project Based Learning as they completed Service Learning Projects. Pictured is the first page of a comprehensive mindfulness proposal, created by high school students for high school teachers, that contained lessons, discussion prompts, dialogue suggestions, examples, etc. Students self-selected project formats (websites, lesson plans, proposals, etc.) and then curated content how they best saw fit. The purpose was to allow students creativity in showcasing their understanding of mindfulness, its benefits, and how to practice mindfulness, all while preparing to present their projects to their respective circles of influence, particularly if their projects included calls to action.
Meaningful Feedback
Meaningful Feedback
An ungraded approach can be used to engage students in their learning, where meaningful feedback is given during the entirety of the project. This transfers the focus of the project towards the learning journey, rather than on the letter grade outcome.
Ungraded activities can include a number of different application projects that encompass ongoing revisions and updates. These revisions and updates create that beneficial loop of instruction, application, and feedback for students, further driving their feelings of support, and, in turn, fostering greater connections as a direct result of that support.
Call to Action
Call to Action
How can YOU make a difference? A reflective practice that I ask students to undertake is a personal action plan. I ask students to really, meaningfully engage with the following thoughts:
1. Why are classroom management practices so essential to the success of students? How do they impact teachers? (KNOWLEDGE)
2. What is your attitude towards classroom management? About what are you passionate? (ATTITUDE)
3. Thinking about your passion, what will you DO? Specifically, how will you do it? (BEHAVIORS)
I challenge YOU to identify pedagogical practices and strategies to try, and place them onto your own vision board as a means to motivate yourself to create positive change!
Dr. Kim Vigil is an assistant professor at Murray State University, a mindfulness trained educator, and an education consultant. She is also a Kentucky certified teacher in interdisciplinary early childhood education, elementary education (K-5), and physical education (K-12). Her research centers around screen time, executive function, mindfulness, mindful pedagogy, and mindset. Dr. Vigil has presented at numerous conferences, and she has provided professional development and workshops centered around mindfulness in education, and other education related topics. She has been in and out of various classrooms for the better part of 18 years, empowering both children and adults through supportive education, creating a more mindful community. Dr. Vigil is a military wife with five children. Visit www.rayeeducationalservices.com to learn more.
References
Vigil, K. (2021). Using a connectedness cycle to create a paradigm shift in work and education. In S. Ramlall, T. Cross, & M. Love (Eds.), Handbook of research on future of work and education: Implications for curriculum delivery and work design (pp. 342-356). IGI Global. https://doi: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8275-6
Vigil, K. (2022). Mindfulness in PK-12 classrooms as a means to promote emotion regulation. In D. Harper (Ed.), Advancing Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Social Regulation (pp. 31-53). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-2478-0.ch002
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