From Reflection to Action: Cultivating Self-awareness and Human-centered Teaching through Contemplative Pedagogy and Design Thinking

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Research in Education

Year: 2025

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From Reflection to Action: Cultivating Self-awareness and Human-centered Teaching through Contemplative Pedagogy and Design Thinking

Sunyata Smith, Jennifer Collett

ABSTRACT:

Despite the growing number of professional learning opportunities integrating tools for deep inner reflective work teachers struggle to translate this inner work into meaningful actions in the classroom. This study tackles this ‘problem of enactment,’ in which teachers think that they learn new ideas yet continue to practice the same old habits without realizing the contradiction. Based on transformative learning theory, this qualitative study looks at how internal reflection can move beyond awareness to inspire action. The study included a year-long professional learning community (PLC) consisting of K-12 teachers based upon the tenets of Contemplative Pedagogy and Liberatory Design. Contemplative Pedagogy is a way of thinking about teaching and learning which focuses on the cultivation of self-awareness, presence and compassion through the mindful attention to one’s own thoughts, feelings, sensations, and lived experience. Liberatory Design Thinking is an iterative process to effect change through empathizing, defining problems, imagining solutions, prototyping, and taking actions. Through the analysis of artifacts produced by teachers, community workshop videotapes and individual interviews the results show that transformation occurred on emotional, ethical and relational levels. The contemplative practices provided fostered self-awareness and internal clarity, while the design processes scaffolded external experimentation and change. The synergy of these two frameworks bridged the gap between reflection and action and enabled the teachers to cultivate empathy, humility and creative agency. The study demonstrates how integrating contemplative and design-based approaches can foster sustainable, human-centered professional development that leads to changes in practice.

Keywords: Teacher Professional Development; Contemplative Pedagogy; Liberatory Design; Transformative Learning; Problem of Enactment