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Mindfulness, Place & the Culture of Dialogue in the Classroom: Janet Moore

Janet Moore has taught over 24 semesters of the Semester in Dialogue program at SFU. Her work as a fellow focuses on the question how might we find ways to learn about balancing our nervous system to create learning environments that are both supportive and mindful?

What we teach, what we don’t teach and how we teach are the questions of her life’s work and practice. Her work on the theme of mindfulness, place and the culture of dialogue in the classroom is a collaborative approach to answer this question. 

Janet’s current writing explores how we go about building a culture of dialogue in the classroom. The writing imagines a model that puts student learning at the centre of a process and describes a culture of learning that we are attempting to create. A whole person focused dialogic model could shift the world in a direction of understanding, knowing and justice. She hopes that her practice and writing will help guide others in experimenting with various mindfulness techniques as a way forward.

Her current interests are connected to the field of somatics and the important connections to pedagogy, the university classroom, and the planetary crisis. If we are in constant states of fight or flight at school and work it is unlikely that we will be capable of building the relationships and networks necessary for making the transitions required to tackle climate change and social inequities. We have become highly intelligent in our ways of speaking, writing and thinking and yet many argue that we have lost our ability to connect with our bodies, our nervous systems and ultimately care deeply for each other.

Her intention is to reimagine spaces of learning as a places for transformation, sustainability,  justice, dialogue, engagement and democratic action. 

Some of the activities Janet is working on are:

  • Engaging with practitioners in mindfulness and meditation to consider connections to classrooms and learning
  • Exploring the role of personal narrative in the classroom as it relates to themes of loss, healing, power, grief, hope etc.
  • Reflections on the shifting role of voice, authority and power in the classroom

Connect with Janet: