'Thinking Things Together': What Contemplative Practice Can Offer Academic Writing Instruction

Abstract

"'Thinking Things Together': What Contemplative Practice Can Offer Academic Writing Instruction," calls for the inclusion of contemplative practices (e.g., mindfulness meditation, visualization, deep listening, reflective journaling, etc.) in the instruction of writing, due to their potential to foster more self-efficacy in the writing process. Because recent research has linked contemplative practices to improved cognition, they are especially well-suited to facilitate writing, which is-at least in part-a cognitive act. In other words, the common denominator of composition studies and contemplative practice is cognition. However, composition studies has failed to make this connection because the field has been largely dismissive of cognitivist writing research, and has neglected to stay abreast of recent research on cognition and writing. By presenting recent research on the cognitive processes involved in the production of text, as well as recent research on the effects of meditation on the brain (pioneered in the emerging field of contemplative neuroscience), this transdisciplinary project highlights the points at which these two bodies of research converge. Two systematic literature reviews (SLRs) of these-seemingly disparate-areas of research reveal that they share interests in the cognitive processes of executive function, working memory, attention, motivation, and self-regulation. Furthermore, a meta-synthesis of the research conducted on these cognitive processes illustrates how contemplative neuroscience can inform-and improve-the theory and practice of teaching writing. Specifically, I provide readers with classroom activities and assignments that implement contemplative practices in the writing classroom in empirically-informed and effective ways.