The purpose of this study is to understand the significance of contemplative practice in fostering teachers’ personal practical knowledge. Teachers’ practical knowledge has been valued to make teaching relevant to students’ real life contexts. However, practical knowledge has been considered difficult to teach because of the diversity and dynamism of reality. Based on the conceptualization that teachers’ contemplative practice could support their practical knowledge development, this qualitative study was carried out through a review of the literature and exploration of direct experiences of four teachers who have linked their contemplative practices to their teaching. The literature review informs us that in order to develop teachers’ practical knowledge, attention, a sense of the whole, and a sense of context are critical. In addition, those qualities can be fostered by non-dual knowing or intuitive knowing which can be developed by contemplation, that is, the act of looking at something by paying attention without thinking of anything else and without premises or judgments. The exploration of the participants’ direct experiences shows that their contemplative practices performed a significant role in fostering personal practical knowledge of self, students, environment, subject matter, curriculum, and instruction and in making their teaching relevant to the students’ real lives from a holistic perspective.

Project report (D. Min.)--George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-157).

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-187).

Thesis (M.S. in psychology)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 10, 2009). "Department of Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-33).

Thesis (M.A.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-67).

Project report (D. Min.)--George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-157).

Thesis (M.A.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2007. / Vita. Description based on Microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-67).

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-187).

Having historical, cultural, and religious roots, humans have been walking the path of the labyrinth for centuries. From seashores to cathedral floors, the labyrinth is seen as a symbolic search for one's center. The labyrinth has experienced a revival in modern life, showing up everywhere from rehabilitation centers and hospitals, to prisons and backyard landscapes across this country. The labyrinth has emerged as a form that can help humans find their internal center and place of emotional stability. Having walked the labyrinth and believing in its healing properties, I became interested in the symbol itself. I was intrigued by the way the symbol was actually an architectural element that told the narrative of the culture that built it. While the labyrinth was on church floors in medieval times, its revival in modern times seems to be located in the outdoor environment. Since Landscape Architecture is a field based on the creation of safe and pleasing outdoor environments for humans, I chose the labyrinth as a way of looking at "experience" and "contemplation" in the landscape, and how the design(the creation of form) of this object contributes to the analysis. Wanting to complete this analysis by actually building a labyrinth, I was approached by the Sanctuaries Unique Garden Center in Richmond, Virginia, and asked to design and build a labyrinth. Providing Sanctuaries with conceptual designs of one way paths, a final design was settled on and the project was built. The thesis will highlight the theory, design, and construction surrounding the object called a "labyrinth." c44fb6c5-1ea6-4f7d-89f1-2e62511b85f8,"Health outcomes following a traumatic event are an important aspect of recovery from any type of trauma. Further, distress and psychopathology, specifically Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), have been shown to have a significant impact on physical health recovery post-trauma. The current study utilized a sample of 56 (48 women, 8 men) residential fire survivors to examine the potential mediating effect of PTSD and PTSD symptom subclusters. Participants were interviewed four months after a residential fire and were assessed on levels of exposure to the fire (Fire Questionnaire & Resource Loss Scale), PTSD symptomology (Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule), and somatic health complaints (Brief Symptom Inventory). Consistent with previous findings, PTSD was found to mediate the relationship between exposure to a traumatic event and reporting of health symptoms. Further, the increased arousal subcluster was found to mediate the aforementioned relationship; the avoidance symptom subcluster was found to partially mediate the same relationship. Implications of results of the current project are discussed with regard to the impact of trauma on survivors' health, along with recommendations for further research. / Master of Landscape Architecture

This dissertation argues for integrating contemplation into pedagogical decisions regarding digital technologies in US higher education. Digital technology permeates contemporary US higher education. Despite the ever-increasing presence of digital technology, various higher education stakeholders give inadequate attention to matters of pedagogy. The uncritical adoption or dismissal of digital technology at any scale can substantially influence higher education teaching-learning environments. Contemplative approaches to digital technology and pedagogy provide the potential to positively shape the trajectory of higher education technopedagogy. Scant research exists regarding the influence of contemplation on technopedagogy. Therefore, this dissertation combines a critical empirical analysis of the use of digital technology in contemporary US higher education with practical interventions to demonstrate the value of contemplative technopedagogy. A science and technology studies (STS) toolkit is used to investigate four research sites at three interconnected levels of analysis – national, institutional, experimental teaching-learning environments. National level analysis focuses on discourse (1993-2016) within The Chronicle of Higher Education to understand the development of conceptions regarding digital technology and pedagogy in contemporary US higher education and uses inductive methods to create new knowledge, discourse, and practices by proposing the Contemplative Technopedagogy Framework. Institutional level analysis involves ethnographic case study research to examine the sociocultural dynamics significant to the development and dissemination of a particular technopedagogical ideology at Virginia Tech's Faculty Development Institute that championed the educational promise of digital technology without sufficient consideration of pedagogy. Experimental teaching-learning environments level analysis presents two practice-oriented case studies of academic librarian as technopedagogical innovator. Each involves collaboration with actors across campus(es) and a novel application of the Contemplative Technopedagogy Framework to exemplify the roles that librarians can play to stimulate contemplative approaches to technopedagogy amidst a changing landscape in US higher education. Taken together, the manuscripts in this dissertation explore how technopedagogical ideologies are created, contested, and disseminated within and beyond communities in US higher education. Findings from this multi-site analysis of technopedagogy demonstrate how a contemplative approach to digital technology can more effectively and holistically augment teaching and learning in US higher education. / Ph. D.