Innovations in Education and Teaching International

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Mindfulness exercises for written communication:

Key issues in large classrooms

Nicole Westlund Stewart, A. Wade Wilson & David W. Drewery

To cite this article: Nicole Westlund Stewart, A. Wade Wilson & David W. Drewery (2019):
Mindfulness exercises for written communication: Key issues in large classrooms, Innovations in
Education and Teaching International, DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2019.1567369

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1567369

Published online: 17 Jan 2019.

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INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL
https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1567369

Mindfulness exercises for written communication: Key issues

in large classrooms
Nicole Westlund Stewarta, A. Wade Wilsonb and David W. Drewery c

a
Writing and Communication Centre, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada; bDepartment of
Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada; cDepartment of Recreation and Leisure Studies,
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Written communication is essential to student success. Mindfulness mindfulness;
exercises may improve thoughts and feelings that support written communication;
communication. These exercises are typically delivered to students in large-classrooms; writing
small groups such as tutorials. However, first year courses that
develop written communication skills are often delivered in large
classroom settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the
feasibility of delivering mindfulness exercises to improve written
communication in large introductory university classrooms. Using
observations throughout an eight-week period, the authors identify
key issues associated with mindfulness in this setting. These issues
include a lack of engagement which stem from distractions and
disinterest with mindfulness scripts. Strategies for instructors who
aim to introduce mindfulness exercises into their large classrooms are
offered.

Introduction
Communication skills, including writing communication, are increasingly important in post-
secondary education (PSE) settings (see Russell & Foster, 2017). The ability to communicate
effectively is important for academic success and is highly desired by employers (Adams,
2014). And yet, students who are transitioning into PSE struggle with communication, and in
particular have difficulty with written communication (Lee & Krashen, 2002). Communication
researchers suggest that students’ thoughts and feelings about writing are essential to written
communication. Confidence in one’s abilities to write effectively (called writing self-efficacy) is
positively associated with effective written communication, while apprehension (negative
perceptions about performing writing tasks; Tighe, 1987) and anxiety (physical feelings and
sensations experienced when confronted with a writing task; American Psychological
Association, n.d.) about writing hinder the quality of students’ writing (e.g. Karakaya &
Ülper, 2011; Sanders-Reio, Alexander, Reio, & Newman, 2014). Strategies which target these
thoughts and feelings therefore improve communication which leads to several other ben-
efits (Autman & Kelly, 2017). One strategy that may address the thoughts and feelings which
enhance students’ written communication is the practice of mindfulness. This study focuses

CONTACT A. Wade Wilson aw3wilson@uwaterloo.ca Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, 200

University Ave. W., Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 N. W. STEWART ET AL.

on the role of mindfulness practices in improving written communication. In particular, our

interest is in how to deliver such activities in large introductory classrooms.

Mindfulness practices
Mindfulness is a meditative practice that seeks to ease emotional suffering stemming from
dysfunctional thinking (Mellinger, 2010). The premise of mindfulness is to bring attention to
the current moment in time, deliberately and without judgement (Collard, 2014).
Mindfulness practices can include mindful meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduc-
tion (e.g. yoga, walking meditation). These activities are used to treat a multitude of issues
(e.g. anxiety, stress, burnout; Collard, 2014).
In general, studies suggest that mindfulness practices contribute to an array of
cognitive and emotional outcomes that might benefit written communication. These
outcomes include increased attention while learning (Napoli, Krech, & Holley, 2005; Xu,
Purdon, Seli, & Smilek, 2017), increased reading comprehension (Mrazek, Franklin,
Phillips, Baird, & Schooler, 2013), and increased self-awareness (Beddoe & Murphy,
2004). There is also evidence that practicing mindfulness might have a positive influence
on students’ thoughts and feelings about writing in general. One study (Britt, Pribesh,
Hinton-Johnson, & Gupta, 2018) showed that exposure to brief mindfulness-based audio
scripts in small group settings over an eight-week period improved writing apprehen-
sion compared to a control group. Students who practiced mindfulness felt more
comfortable in their ability to perform well on writing tasks and so were less apprehen-
sive about completing assignments such as term papers. These studies indicate that
mindfulness requires few resources and little previous training, yet offers an effective
way of improving communication outcomes.

The challenge of large classrooms

The study by Britt et al. (2018) suggests that offering mindfulness-based exercises to
students may have a positive effect on writing-related thoughts and feelings which
might also improve students’ written communication. However, that study was
conducted in the context of small college classrooms. These classrooms, which
contained fewer than 30 students, seem well-suited for the delivery of mindfulness-
based scripts.
Unfortunately, it is the case that a great deal of PSE is not delivered in small
classrooms. Rather, a significant proportion of PSE content is delivered to large class-
rooms. To us, a large classroom is one with 150 or more students. Characteristics of
large classrooms also typically include auditorium-type seating, large projection
screens, and audio-visual equipment. Large classrooms are increasingly common in
PSE settings as institutions find themselves under pressure to deliver content with
fewer resources (Mitten & Ross, 2018). Introductory courses, which incidentally tend to
emphasize the development of communication skills, are likely to be delivered in large
classrooms. Nevertheless, the challenge to instructors of these classrooms is to
develop strategies for facilitating positive thoughts and feelings about writing and
written communication.
 INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL 3

Purpose of this research

In this study, we examined the challenges with delivering mindfulness-based content to
students in PSE settings. In particular, our purpose was to assess the feasibility of using
mindfulness exercises in large lecture-style PSE settings that include a focus on written
communication. Our goal was to better understand the dynamics of large classrooms
that help or hinder the effectiveness of such exercises, which research suggests is
important to the development of communication skills (Britt et al., 2018).

Method
Context and participants
The study was conducted in fall 2017 at a large Canadian university. A first year commu-
nication course in the faculty of applied health sciences served as the context for the study.
Students in this course partake in several units designed to enhance communication in
general and written communication specifically. The course also featured two sections of
roughly 350 students (N = 684 total enrolled, with N = 434 surveyed), which represent large
lecture-style classrooms. As such, the course was a useful setting to explore the delivery of
mindfulness exercises in large communication-intensive classrooms. Students in the course
were undergraduates roughly 18 years of age (M = 18.4, SD = 3.07). The majority (76%)
identified as female.

Mindfulness exercises and questionnaires

As part of the course, students were invited to take part in a series of mindfulness exercises
which were delivered over an eight-week period. Each exercise involved quietly listening to
an audio recording of a researcher reading a mindfulness script. Both scripts were approxi-
mately eight-minutes long. In one section of the course, students had the option to follow
along with a script that focused on breathing (Stone, 2011). This exercise directed students
to bring attention to their breathing. It purported to strengthen attentiveness by focusing
on the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 1994) and reduce reactivity to negative thoughts
(Feldman, Greeson, & Senville, 2010).
Students in the second section of the course had the option to participate along with
a script based on progressive muscle relaxation (PMR; Williams, 2010). PMR is a relaxation
and stress reduction technique and attends to physiological stress responses, for example
tight muscles (Jacobson, 1930). Both exercises were administered at the beginning of each
class. In both sections, the researchers played the scripts using the classroom audio equip-
ment to ensure proper volume, dimmed the lights in the classroom, and instructed students
to put away all electronic devices. We asked students who chose not to follow the script to
work quietly on something else and to respect their peers who did choose to participate.
Students were not penalized in any way for choosing not to participate in the activities.
As part of a larger study, students in each section also were asked to complete
questionnaires about mindfulness at the beginning of the term, before the exercises
were offered, and at the end of the term, after the exercises. Both questionnaires were
identical except that the questionnaire at the end of the term included questions about
students’ engagement in the exercises. The items about engagement asked students to
4 N. W. STEWART ET AL.

report how useful, engaging, absorbing, and relaxing the exercises were. Our goal in the
present study is not to examine how participants’ reports changed throughout the term
or to compare scores between students in the two mindfulness exercise groups. Rather,
our focus is on how these exercises were (successfully or unsuccessfully) administered in
a large classroom setting.

Ethical considerations
Ethical clearance was granted by the PSE institution at which the study took place.
Consistent with this clearance, none of the individuals associated with the course were
present during the mindfulness exercises, nor were they present during the question-
naire periods. This procedure ensured that students could freely choose to participate to
the extent that they wanted to participate. For their time, students were offered
a chance to win one of 40 $25 gift cards that could be used at a campus store.
It is important to note that the lead researchers of the study were adequately
qualified to administer mindfulness exercises and that care was taken to protect stu-
dents in the course. The first and second authors have PhD’s in sport psychology and are
practicing mental performance consultants. Mindfulness in general, including breathing
techniques and PMR, are commonly used in their practices. The audio scripts were
recorded and administered by a third researcher who, again, was not connected to
the course in any way. This ensured that there was no chance for power imbalance
between instructor and student throughout the study.

Data collection
For the purpose of this study, data collection involved a number of observational
techniques. We used field notes collected by the third researcher who was present
during each mindfulness exercise as a primary source of information. We paid attention
to the general proportion of students who were participating in the activities through-
out the term, and in particular to what students were doing while they did or did not
participate. Our interpretation of the feasibility of the exercises in this setting was also
informed by analyses of relevant questionnaire data and by unprompted correspon-
dence between students and the researchers.

Findings
Level of engagement in mindfulness exercises
It was clearly evident from the field notes that students’ involvement in the exercises was
low and that it decreased over the course of the term. Interest was higher at the beginning
of the term, perhaps because students were curious about the mindfulness exercises. At the
beginning of the term, over half (53.6%) of students completed the mindfulness question-
naire. During the first few weeks of exercises, almost all of the students were clearly
participating. However, by the end of the term, only one third (36.7%) of the students
who completed the first questionnaire also completed the second questionnaire. That is
equivalent to a response rate on the second questionnaire of 19.6% of the total student
enrollment in the course. Despite that attendance was high throughout the term, students
became less interested in the mindfulness exercises.
 INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL 5

The low engagement levels were corroborated by students’ self-reports of participa-

tion and engagement in the study. On average students participated in less than half of
the mindfulness activities (M = 3.67), and this number was virtually identical between
the two sections of the course. Although most students were present during class, many
chose not to participate. Further, reports of engagement (e.g. the usefulness of the
exercises) was lower than we anticipated. The mean score on the scale which ranged
from one to five was 3.10 (SD = 0.81). Overall, it was evident that students became
disengaged with the exercises over time.
Importantly, there was a small group of students who demonstrated considerable
engagement in the activity. Some students emailed the primary investigator at the end
of the term to ask for a copy of the audio script so that they could continue with
mindfulness practice on their own time. Other students provided unprompted written
feedback on their questionnaires expressing gratitude and appreciation to us for imple-
menting the mindfulness practices in the classroom.

Distractions during participation

One reason that students may have lost interest in the exercises was that the classroom
environment was distracting to those who wanted to participate. While some students
were engaged, listening to the audio scripts, others were doing unrelated activities.
These activities included texting on a phone, typing on a computer, and having
conversations with fellow classmates. In otherwise dark and quiet classrooms, these
actions were distracting to students. For instance, the PMR exercise asks students to
close their eyes. Several students who were participating would open their eyes part
way through the exercise to look at students who were making distracting noises or, in
some instances, who came to class late. The sound of an opening double-door echoed
through the large lecture hall and likely brought students out of a mindful state into
a distracted one.

Problems with the scripts

Students also seemed to lose interest in the mindfulness script perhaps because the
script did not vary from the beginning to the end of the study period. Students who
were once engaged and participated along with the script lost interest as they became
accustomed to the script. Further, given that the scripts each lasted around eight-
minutes long, some students participated for part of the exercise and eventually lost
focus. They turned to their devices, such as phones, instead.

Discussion
Identifying ways of improving students’ written communication is increasingly impor-
tant in PSE settings. Although some initial research suggests that mindfulness exercises
can be useful in improving thoughts and feelings about writing (Britt et al., 2018), they
take for granted the structure of organized research. They fail to acknowledge the
practical challenges in applying these exercises. In this study, we explored dynamics
inherent in the challenge of implementing mindfulness exercises in large PSE
6 N. W. STEWART ET AL.

classrooms, which are common and often used in courses that focus on communication.
As such, our observations complement a growing body of research around how mind-
fulness practices can be used to enhance student experiences and specifically written
communication in large first-year communication-intensive courses.

Recommendations for implementing mindfulness exercises in large university

classrooms
It became clear in our observations that the challenge to course instructors who seek to
integrate mindfulness practices in large classrooms is to combat student disengage-
ment. Unlike in controlled studies in which students participate in an intervention,
students in large classrooms might choose to refrain from participating in mindfulness
exercises offered to them. Consequently, these students are unlikely to enjoy the
benefits of mindfulness practice. Several considerations for increasing participation
and engagement are offered below.

Creating buy-in
We speculate that one reason for disengagement in the exercise was a lack of buy-in from
students. The exercises were posed as part of a study and not as an integral part of the
course curriculum. Students were made aware of their options for participating, for obvious
ethical reasons. There was little discussion of the merits of mindfulness exercises at the
beginning of the term, only that these exercises would be introduced throughout the term.
Further, positioning the exercises within a research project may have diminished students’
intrinsic motivation for participating in the activity because it ultimately relied on extrinsic
motivation for the majority of students. A lack of intrinsic motivation might explain a lack of
interest in the activity (Deci & Ryan, 2002). Providing the scripts outside of a research project
and framing the benefits of the exercises to students may address this issue. As well, again
because of ethics concerning power dynamics, the course instructor was not a part of
introducing the exercises. Instead, the third author, who was not known to students and
thus may have lacked authority, was charged with running the exercises.
It is possible that this combination of conditions led to a lack of buy-in for the exercises.
Course instructors who have rapport with students may be better suited to introducing the
exercises. What is more, a detailed description of mindfulness and why or how it would
benefit students could be an important part of integrating such exercises in large classroom
settings. For example, a five-minute module shared in lecture prior to the introduction of the
exercises might be enough to position the exercises as a value-added component of the
course and to increase intrinsic motivation. Once the initial buy-in is established, it could be
important to maintain students’ buy-in in the activity. Instructors could tie participation in
the mindfulness activities to student assessments. Nominal participation marks could be
allocated for participation. Participation could be self-reported.

Classroom management
Our observations suggest that a challenge for instructors is to manage dynamics of their
classrooms as they administer mindfulness exercises. We believe that this challenge
involves managing both the setting in which the exercise is administered and the
dynamics between participants and non-participants in that setting. Some aspects of
 INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL 7

our setting were conducive to the exercises. Dimming the lights seemed to create
a more relaxing atmosphere, but only to the extent that natural light did not enter
the room. The audio equipment in such large classrooms is also often cumbersome (e.g.
creates feedback) and may not be conducive to creating calm amongst participants.
As with any in-class exercise, there will always be students who do not want to
participate. Non-participants in this study were distracting. Thus, dealing with these
students can become a major issue. The challenge for course instructors is to minimize
these distractions. Instructors could require students to put away all electronic devices
during the mindfulness exercise and ask students to sit quietly for the duration of the
exercise if they choose not to participate. Further, these students should be invited to
engage in some other meaningful or productive activity that does not distract from the
group experience.
To increase student buy-in and engagement during the exercise, instructors could
ensure that they clearly explain the benefits of the exercise and embed it into required
course materials. In this study, the researchers who designed the activities had
a background in mindfulness exercises. Instead, it is recommended that instructors
invite a ‘mindfulness practitioner’ into the class. This person might serve as a guest
lecturer and might be better positioned to convey the benefits of mindfulness activities
for students. If a mindfulness practitioner was invited into the classroom, then the
course instructor could also take part in the activities.

Designing engaging scripts

In our study, students listened to the same mindfulness exercise or PMR exercise every week
of the intervention. The fact that students listened to the same script every week may have
contributed to disengagement. In addition, the students may have perceived the length of
the scripts as being too long. The audio scripts were roughly eight minutes long, and this
was longer than scripts used in previous research (e.g. Britt et al., 2018). Thus, instructors
could increase engagement by varying the scripts each week, as well as decreasing or at
least varying the length of the scripts. For instance, different types of mindfulness exercises
(e.g. guided imagery) could be woven into a term-long mindfulness program.
One specific recommendation in this regard could be to crowd-source which mind-
fulness activities are presented. Asking students to nominate their own favourite or
preferred mindfulness activities could create deeper connection to the activities. As
mentioned, it is important that students feel a sense of ownership over what they do
in order to feel intrinsically motivated to perform activities. Thus, involving students in
the administration of the activity could help build engagement. Further, student volun-
teers could be used to administer the activities. Volunteers could be responsible for
asking students to put away their electronic devices, quieting the class, dimming lights,
and playing the audio scripts. This is a form of student leadership that could be
rewarded with class participation grades.

Alternative venues
In general, the results of our study call into question the feasibility of administering
mindfulness-based exercises to large classroom settings. When possible, conducting
mindfulness practices with smaller groups of students (e.g. during tutorials, if given
the option) might be more conducive to student engagement because students might
8 N. W. STEWART ET AL.

be more comfortable engaging in mindfulness exercises in the presence of less people.

We know that mindfulness exercises in these smaller classroom settings have a positive
impact on students’ writing-related attitudes (Britt et al., 2018).
For large classes that do not have the option of smaller tutorials, instructors could
provide the mindfulness practices to students through virtual classrooms (i.e. online
learning platforms) and make participation a mandatory part of the course content.
Overall, instructors should consider how favourable the classroom setting is to the
delivery of mindfulness practices and if necessary, make any adjustments within their
control to optimize their effectiveness.

Opportunities for future research

This study builds on earlier work regarding the benefits of mindfulness in the learning
process (Xu et al., 2017) and for writing communication specifically (Britt et al., 2018). It
suggests that there are several key issues to consider when implementing mindfulness
exercises in large introductory classroom settings. Future research is needed to gain
a deeper understanding of these issues and how they can be navigated. For instance,
interviews or focus groups with students who were part of the exercises could provide
nuanced understanding of distractions during participation. What do they think should
be done to create a better space for mindfulness in a large classroom setting? Interviews
with students who did not participate might also identify reasons for non-participation
and could reveal strategies that create more buy-in to mindfulness practices.

Conclusion
Improving students’ communication skills and the thoughts and feelings that surround
those skills is increasingly important, especially to first-year students. First year courses,
where a focus on communication is central, are often delivered in lecture formats in
large classrooms to many students. Although mindfulness exercises have been shown to
benefit students’ communication-related thoughts and feelings (Britt et al., 2018), little
consideration had been made for the context in which those exercises are administered.
We conclude that large classroom settings pose several challenges to instructors who
wish to incorporate mindfulness into curricula as a means of improving communication
and other outcomes. We identify these challenges as a lack of engagement, which
seems to be produced by repeated exposure to the same exercise and a high number
of distractions amongst other students.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
This work was supported by the Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo [Learning
Innovation and Teaching Enhancement Seed].
 INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL 9

Notes on contributors
Nicole Westlund Stewart is a Writing and Multimodal Communication Specialist (Writing and
Communication Centre) at the University of Waterloo. She has a PhD in Kinesiology (sport
psychology) and her current research interests include investigating how mental skills can
enhance writing and communication skills in the university context.
A. Wade Wilson is a Lecturer (Department of Kinesiology) at the University of Waterloo and
a Mental Performance Consultant. He holds a PhD in Recreation & Leisure Studies and his current
research interests involve student wellbeing and integrating mental performance skills into the
university classroom.
David W. Drewery is a PhD Candidate (Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies) at the
University of Waterloo. His research interests include service management, consumer behaviour,
and work-integrated learning.

ORCID
David W. Drewery http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9211-4520

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