Mindful Learning in the Digital World

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Introduction[edit | edit source]

Mindfulness is "awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment". Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn[1]

Many definitions of mindfulness exist and they present a wide range of concepts.[2]One of the definitions describes it as a skill developed via practise (meditation is an example), [3] or a psychological process. Dr Ellen Langer's definition of mindfulness describes it as "the process of actively noticing new things. When you do that, it puts you in the present(.....)It’s the essence of engagement". [4]According to Dr Langer, a professor in the Psychology Department at Harvard University, this way of approaching learning promotes engagement and mind-openness, results in better performance and allows the learner to focus on the present when using experience from the past. [4][5]

Digital learning is "any type of learning that is accompanied by technology or by instructional practise that makes effective use of technology".[6] Digital learning demonstrates great educational potential. [7] It enables interactions that closely approximate the interactions that occur in the real world.[7]

Mindfulness and Mindlessness[edit | edit source]

The word mindfulness translates as "lucid awareness" and it originates from the Pali, the original teaching language of Buddha.[8]In a traditional Buddhist text, mindfulness means attending to the facts without commenting on them. In modern psychological studies, it is described as paying attention to current information without judging them. [9] Mindfulness is a state of mind. It is a state of conscious awareness and a state of openness.[10]Mindfull learning means focusing on the present moment in each learning situation and absorbing what is happening as it happens.[1]

The benefits of mindfulness include:

  • Makes it easy to paying attention and noticing subtle changes in reality[5]
  • Allows to remember more what has been done[4][1]
  • Promotes creativity[4]
  • Allows to taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves[4]
  • Generates more positive results[4]
  • Improves our attention[1]
  • Allows to focus on the things that matter the most[1]
  • Improves problem solving[1]
  • Helps to reduce anxiety[11]
  • Decreases stress[12]
  • Improves sleep
  • Can improve pain management outcomes among chronic pain populations[13]

[12]

Mindlessness is a state of mind opposite to mindfulness. It relies on the experience from the past; it is like a habit where individuals rely on automatic processing. [10]Mindlessness learning is the passive type of learning.[1] When one is exposed to new information, one tends to assume that this is a known fact and there is no point in learning it. [1] Because this type of learning is automatic, an individual will attempt, for example, to take an online course and absorb the information while checking emails, cooking at home, or finishing a progress note from today's workload. [1]

Brain regions change over time following task performance. Adapted from: Turnbull A, Karapanagiotidis T, Wang HT, Bernhard BC, Leech R, Margulies D, et al. Reductions in task positive neural systems occur with the passage of time and are associated with changes in ongoing thought. Sci Rep 2020;10:9912.

Brain Networks[edit | edit source]

The neuroscience has discovered two competing networks in our brain, that work to regulate person's focus and attention.[1] The first network is called the default mode network (DMN) and it generally exhibits higher activity at rest.[14] The second network is called the task-positive network, which is more active during tasks when the person is very engaged and very attentive. [1]

Default Mode Network (DMN)[edit | edit source]

DMNset of widely distributed brain regions in the parietal, temporal and frontal cortex. These regions often show reductions in activity during attention-demanding tasks but increase their activity across multiple forms of complex cognition, many of which are linked to memory or abstract thought. Within the cortex, the DMN has been shown to be located in regions furthest away from those contributing to sensory and motor systems. [15]

Today, the DMN has largely been a cortically defined set of network nodes. Consisting of distinct regions/nodes distributed across the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal, posteromedial and inferior parietal, as well as the lateral and medial temporal cortex, the DMN is considered a backbone of cortical integration[16]

The default mode network (DMN) is a large-scale functional brain network that generally exhibits higher activity at rest (passive states) than during task performance. However, this common notion has been challenged by accumulating evidence showing that the DMN is actively involved in goal-directed tasks when internally directed/self-related cognition is required[14]

is a network of interacting brain regions that is active when a person is not focused on the outside world

is thought to be activated when individuals are focused on their internal mental-state processes, such as self-referential processing, interoception, autobiographical memory retrieval, or imagining future[17]

the network that is active when our minds are wandering and it's active at rest. is responsible for daydreaming, thinking about the future, the past, and really ignores the present moment. This network is active, like I mentioned, for 47% of the time and it comes with a cognitive cost. And although it helps with our creativity when we're planning and thinking it really misses what's in front of us.[1]

Task-Positive Network (TPN)[edit | edit source]

task positive network (TPN), a brain network that is active during attention demanding tasks

Distractions and Mind-Wandering[edit | edit source]

External World Distraction[edit | edit source]

Auto-Pilot Mode of Living[edit | edit source]

Sub Heading 3[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

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References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Shrey Vasir. The Power of Mindful Learning in the Digital World. Physiopedia 2022.
  2. ↑ Van Dam NT, van Vugt MK, Vago DR, Schmalzl L, Saron CD, Olendzki A, Meissner T, Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Gorchov J, Fox KCR, Field BA, Britton WB, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Meyer DE. Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2018 Jan;13(1):36-61. doi: 10.1177/1745691617709589. Epub 2017 Oct 10. Erratum in: Perspect Psychol Sci. 2020 Sep;15(5):1289-1290.
  3. ↑ Davis DM, Hayes JA. What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2011 Jun;48(2):198-208.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity. Harvard Business Review, March 2014. Available at: https://hbr.org/2014/03/mindfulness-in-the-age-of-complexity (last accessed: 01.04.2022)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Davenport C, Pagnini F. Mindful Learning: A Case Study of Langerian Mindfulness in Schools. Front Psychol. 2016 Sep 12;7:1372.
  6. ↑ Digital Learning. Wikipedia Foundation, 08 January 2022. Available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_learning. [last accessed 01.04.2022].
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gisbert M, Bullen M.(2015). Teaching and Learning in Digital World. Strategies and Issues in Higher Education. Publicacions Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona (Spain).
  8. ↑ Bhikkhu B. What does mindfulness really mean? A canonical perspective. Contemporary Buddhism, 2011;12(1):19-39.
  9. ↑ Kabat-Zinn J. Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2003;10(2): 144–156.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Langer EJ. Matters of mind: Mindfulness/mindlessness in perspective. Consciousness and cognition. 1992 Sep 1;1(3):289-305.
  11. ↑ Hofmann SG, Sawyer AT, Witt AA, Oh D. The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2010 Apr;78(2):169-83.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 NourPoundation. How Does Mindfulness Reduce Stress? 2013 Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKOGuQJCxr8[last accessed 02/04/2022]
  13. ↑ Creswell JD, Lindsay EK, Villalba DK, Chin B.Mindfulness Training and Physical Health: Mechanisms and Outcomes. Psychosomatic Medicine 2019; 81(3): 224
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Zhang R, Volkow ND. Brain default-mode network dysfunction in addiction. Neuroimage. 2019 Oct 15;200:313-331.
  15. ↑ Smallwood J, Bernhardt BC, Leech R, Bzdok D, Jefferies E, Margulies DS. The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective. Nat Rev Neurosci 2021; 22: 503–513.
  16. ↑ Alves PN, Foulon C, Karolis V, Bzdok D, Margulies DS, Volle E, Thiebaut de Schotten M. An improved neuroanatomical model of the default-mode network reconciles previous neuroimaging and neuropathological findings. Commun Biol. 2019 Oct 10;2:370.
  17. ↑ Ekhtiari H, Nasseri P, Yavari F, Mokri A, Monterosso J. Neuroscience of drug craving for addiction medicine: From circuits to therapies,Chapter 7. Editor(s): Hamed Ekhtiari, Martin Paulus. Progress in Brain Research, Elsevier 2016; 223:115-141.
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