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Courses

ALTERNATIVE TEACHER LICENSURE PROGRAM (EDU)
EDU 560
Jumpstart: Classroom Management Intensive (2)
The Jumpstart is an intensive one-week introduction to holistic and contemplative classroom management methods. The week starts with a half-day orientation to familiarize the participants with Naropa's Alternative Teacher Licensure Program and state requirements. Mentor teachers are required to attend the orientation and are invited to attend the entire week. This workshop introduces unique ways in which to build community in the classroom, which is one of the key elements in classroom management. Other areas covered include the fundamentals of behavior, conflict and conflict resolution, nonviolent communication, ways to create an emotionally safe classroom, leadership skills, relationship building skills, presence in the classroom, and practices for personal and professional growth. Open to ATLP students and others in the teaching profession.

EDU 570
Teacher Training and Community Building 1 (2)
This course is primarily the one-on-one coaching for ATLP students that will entail thirty hours of direct teacher supervision, observation, meetings and other learning situations revolving around the student's grade placement and mentor teacher. This course also includes an online community building component that all ATLP students, ATLP director and faculty participate in to cultivate and support the continued training in community building skills. Open to ATLP students only.

EDU 580
Teacher Training and Community Building 2 (3)
A continuation of EDU 570. Two Reflection Day Workshops are held in January and May during which the ATLP student cohort meet face-to-face to further develop the classroom management skills laid out in the Jumpstart program. Open to ATLP students only.

EDU 600
Presence in Teaching (2)
An exploration of the building blocks of form and space as the basis of the art of teaching. Since teachers are improvisational artists, we examine the ingredients for performance: actor and audience. The study includes the topics of presence, projection, intention, ego territories, gesture, emotion, language, story and other forms of communication. We explore contemplative teaching within the laboratory of body, speech and mind. The goal is to learn how we as teachers can use space awareness and acting training to refine our presence in the classroom and to improvise more freely with our world. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 605
The Contemplative Teacher (4)
At the heart of contemplative education is the wakefulness of the teacher. This course explores contemplative concepts, skills and practices in preparation for the journey of mindful teaching. The basic approach comes from Tibetan meditative traditions, but other Buddhist and contemplative teachers are studied. Observations and perceptual exercises complement readings and discussions. Mindfulness-awareness development is experienced both personally and as a component of community learning. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 615e
Perspectives in Sacred Learning (3)
Students study theories and approaches from a variety of traditions in holistic education, as well as current trends.The course focuses on “sacred learning” and how various traditions, educators and theorists have attempted to educate in sacred ways. Students learn about the historical roots and evolution of the holistic education movement, which is connected to sacred learning. The purpose of this course is to help students distinguish the main tenets of these different stances and to identify how they converge on the sacred. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 625
Community Practice Seminar I (1)
This seminar integrates community life learning and meditation into the students’ summer retreat experience. The course includes small and whole group discussions on emergent and enduring community issues and their implications for classroom teaching. The other course component is mindfulness/awareness meditation, the foundation practice of contemplative education. The approach is drawn primarily from Shambhala Buddhism, supplemented by readings from other traditions. Students do sitting and walking group meditation two hours each day, meet with meditation instructors and participate in lectures and group discussions. Loving-kindness meditation is also introduced and practiced. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 635e
Contemplative Teaching (3)
This course presents an approach for integrating mindfulness/awareness meditation into nonsectarian classroom teaching at any level of instruction. Topics include mindfulness/awareness in teaching, liberating sense perceptions, observing natural rhythms, presence in teaching, working with emotions and transitions. The approach is tailored to each student’s teaching situation. Readings and discussion support the shift to experiencing teaching as nonsectarian spiritual journey. We read from leaders in the field of contemplative education and from relevant Buddhist and other spiritual teachers. The course requires meditation and online meditation instruction. Open to teachers with an established mindfulness meditation practice.Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 665e
Compassionate Teaching (3)
A continuation of EDU 635e, this course explores and applies compassionate teaching in the classroom. This nonsectarian approach sees education as a personal spiritual journey that brings the teacher’s inner life to the art of teaching. We investigate the qualities of generosity, patience, discipline, exertion and knowledge; the dynamics of contemplative learning communities; and compassionate teaching relationships. Readings come from leaders in the field, as well as from relevant Buddhist and other spiritual teachers. The course includes mindfulness/awareness meditation, loving-kindness practice and meditation instruction. Prerequisite: a teaching practice and an established mindfulness-awareness meditation practice.Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 700
Contemplative Curriculum (2)
This course studies principles and examples of curriculum derived from mindfulness/awareness– based educational traditions. This study prepares the student for the sacred transformation of learning environments within secular contexts. The study of the Ten Aspects of Knowledge, the curriculum of the ancient Indian Nalanda University, is featured along with other sacred systems. Prerequisite: Completion of Summer Session I. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 705
Maitri in Education (4)
Adapted from the tradition of Tibetan yoga, maitri is a space awareness method for understanding emotions and developing appreciation of discrete styles of statement. The practice begins with a personal, experiential and traditional knowledge of the five energies of this approach. Attention is placed on the individual unfolding and understanding that leads to developing skills for authentic teaching relationships with students, parents, administrators and co-teachers. Arts and contemplative acting exercises are integrated into this course. Prerequisite: Completion of Summer Session I. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 715
Community Practice Seminar II (1)
As in EDU 625, this seminar integrates community issues and meditation into the students’ comprehensive learning experience. Having experienced online learning community for two semesters, students re-establish their summer community with greater depth. Having explored the effects of meditation themselves as teachers for a year, students study and practice mindfulness/awareness with greater relationship and service dimensions. The more advanced nature of the practice is addressed in discussion groups and in one-to-one encounters with meditation instructors. Loving-kindness meditation continues to be practiced. Prerequisite: Completion of Summer Session I. Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 720e
Spiritual Roots of Development (3)
This course investigates theories of the spiritual roots of human development with a focus on the validity and implications of stage theories. It examines contemporary theories of development in light of current and historical theories of spiritual development, with particular attention to Wilbur, Washburn, Steiner, Aurobindo and Khan. Implications of these theories for educational theory and practice are drawn. Students have an opportunity to investigate a theorist of their choice.Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register.

EDU 735e
Buddhist Educational Heritage: The Five Qualities and the Ten Vidyas (3)
A study and application of traditional Buddhist approaches to curriculum and learning styles. We study the Ten Vidyas, also known as the Ten Aspects of Knowledge, from Nalanda, the renowned Buddhist medieval Indian university. The intention is to understand and apply their basic principles to contemporary curriculum, teaching and learning. The other subject is the Five Qualities, a Tibetan mandalic perspective on energy styles that has been applied to education at Naropa University. The course focuses on personal exploration and educational application and includes mindfulness/awareness meditation, loving-kindness practice and meditation discussion. Prerequisite: Classroom teaching experience and mindfulness/awareness meditation practice.Students who are not matriculated in the MA program must receive permission of the instructor to register. 

EDU 780e
Educational Leadership (2)
Contemplative educational leadership begins by cultivating clarity within and extends through awareness, compassion and effective action. Leadership in this course is understood
in a broad context beyond the individual classroom. It can span the spectrum from short-term collaborations to complex ongoing activities of school administrators. This survey of contemplative educational leadership includes topics in styles of leadership, leading from within, mandala
and natural hierarchy, working with conflict and chaos, building compassionate educational communities, leadership in diverse communities and exploring contemplative leadership on the national level. Prerequisite: An established mindfulness/awareness meditation practice and permission of the instructor. MA only.

EDU 800W
Thesis Presentation (noncredit)
For graduating students the conference marks the end of the two-year program, a final graduation celebration and the presentation of theses to conference participants, program students and faculty. Prerequisite: Completion of EDU 880e.

EDU 850e
Thesis Seminar I (1)
Thesis I is the prerequisite for Thesis II, which is taken in the last semester (spring) of the master’s program for students in Contemplative Education. The purpose of this course is to provide guidance to students regarding the thesis format, and to provide adequate preparation time for students to investigate ideas and formulate a plan for the implementation of the thesis. This course covers the following areas of study: Professional Identity; Human Growth and Development; Career Development; and Research and Program Evaluation. Prerequisite: Completion of all course work in the Contemplative Education program, except for Spiritual Roots of Development (which may be taken simultaneously). In some cases, department chair approval may be required.

EDU 880e
Thesis Seminar II (3)
This course provides individualized support for students’ MA thesis work. Theses develop from three sources: 1. A selected aspect of the students’ practical application of contemplative education in their own classroom; 2. Relevant areas of study within the broad field of spirituality in education; 3. The influence of the students’ personal spiritual journey in teaching. Thesis topics might include “Enhancing our Science Curriculum,” “Mindful Speech with Children,” “Empathy in Parent Conferences” or “Working with Aggression in the Classroom.” Thesis work is completed this semester for presentation in EDU 800W. Prerequisite: Completion of all prior MA ED course work.