The Mindful Research Paper: Getting Students to Slooooow Down and Actively Focus Joe Eshleman and Fernanda Tate-Owens Johnson & Wales University

What does it mean to be mindful?

attentive aware observant conscious reflective “in the moment”

Mindfulness is characterized by awareness and acceptance of present moment thoughts, emotions and physical sensations (Kabat-Zinn, 1982)

Why are you here now? Are you here now?

How does this apply to a student working on a research paper? Topic selection is difficult Topic selection is difficult and stressful, and can be a barrier to student success on research assignments.

This took me a while to understand where I could take my paper with this question but it hit me about 1:30 this morning while I was sitting at my desk stressing out. The research process is stressful. But it’s a certain kind of stress where you can’t do anything else to help hide it but actually finishing the research. But I hate doing research; it takes forever. Papers in general are so stressful, but research papers are really stressful in knowing what to write and the order things should be in. I just think that the research process is dumb, stressful, stupid, meaningless and just simply anything that defines the word awful! I do not like doing it; doing research papers stress me out.

Working Together Professor introduces assignments and librarian’s role to students Librarian visits class for an introduction and short review of assignment Librarian is ed assignment, grades (copies Professor) and gives feedback to students Librarian has library instruction session with students, gives quiz, is given feedback on session from students Professor meets with students individually to discuss research paper Librarian gives feedback on ed annotated bibliography (optional for students ) and provides an extra source for student’s topic

Making a Mindful Topic Choice Thinking about Writing the Research Paper: Picking a Topic Asking and answering the question, “What can I do to make my research paper experience better? Step back for a moment and reflect on the reasons that you write a research paper and how to improve your experience. In some of your other classes, for example, why you are learning a particular skill in the kitchen, a trend in a certain hospitality industry, or how to write a particular business letter may be obvious. Take some time to think seriously about the ideas explored here and answer the questions honestly. Write complete sentences in paragraph from, for each question. The Importance of the Topic When you are choosing a topic for a research paper, pick something that motivates you and creates passion about wanting to explore that idea. The topic is very important because what you choose motivates you to find information on it. What specific topics would you choose to create an assignment that would produce enthusiasm and motivation? Why would that choice of topic or topics get you interested in finding information about it? Finding Information about Your Topic Now that you have a topic that interests you and you are eager to find information about it, what do you want to find out about it? Where could you find this information

Time to slooooow down Search Learn Outline Write

Student Sample Problem and Solution Research Proposal Social Security: Will It Be in Place for the Current Generation? Interest and Motivation: The Social Security system is not a long-term plan. The way the system is currently working, benefits for those individuals who will be entering the workforce within the next decade will be very slim, maybe even nonexistent, by the time they are at a point where they can retire. I have chosen to write about the Social Security system because it is a problem that will have an effect on my life. I am aware that there will be a significant effect on my generation, and I want to take this opportunity to educate myself on the subject further. I want to use the information that I gather through writing this paper to make sound decisions on how to handle my retirement funds when I enter the workforce after college. Source Kurtzleben, Danielle. "5 Ways to Reform Social Security." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 15 Sept Web. 13 Apr Five potential means of reform for Social Security are proposed in this article with explanations of how each would be beneficial. The article also states how each proposed item of reform would not work if it were implemented or how it would create difficulties. Solution: One proposed reform to the Social Security system is to privatize the system. This motion would make the Social Security system for private contributors only, not for all tax payers. Kurtzleben says, “As current workers’ payments into the system go to current retirees, a shift to privatization could hurt those beneficiaries.” This means that current beneficiaries of the Social Security system would lose the support that they receive because they did not contribute to the private system. Another issue that could come from the privatization of the system is the rate of return that contributors would receive. If individuals are given the ability to contribute to their funds privately, it has the potential of increasing the rate of return significantly (Kurtzleben). This occurrence would allow certain individuals to benefit more from the system than others. Audience and Significance: The target audience for this research project would mainly be those individuals who will be entering the workforce within the next decade and those who have been in the workforce for approximately a decade. The individuals who fall within that group will benefit from reading this research because it will give them insight as to the potential effects that reform to the Social Security system could have on them in their lifetime. This paper will also help these individuals make decisions on whether they should invest their money for retirement in a 401k, or if they should rely on Social Security. Question: What potential reforms can be proposed for the troubled Social Security system? Claim: The Social Security system is beginning to pose problems for large amounts of people, but there are several means of reform that can improve the system. Outline (Solutions) I. One measure of reform that can be taken to decrease the gap would be to privatize the system. II. Increasing the age of retirement is another mean of reform that can benefit the Social Security system. III. Another measure of reform that can be implemented would be to increase the cap for payroll tax.

Some benefits of mindfulness Pacing through steps Becoming more aware of processes Understanding the “why” rather than just the “how” (New IL Framework – Threshold Concepts)

Results and Take A-Ways Being more in the moment to take note of processes (students, faculty, librarians) Understanding the role of the librarian How can you bring some mindful concepts into your work?

Thanks, and stay mindful ! References “An Introduction to Mindfulness”. Youtube Posting. 3 April Web. 4 June Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are, Hyperion. Project InfoLit. “PIL InfoLit Dialog, No. 2: Procrastination”. Youtube Posting. 9 April Web. 4 June 2014.