A Contemplative Approach to Graduate Writing Development: Reflections from Thai Writing Classrooms

Abstract

This article addresses an under-researched area of writing studies: the use of contemplative pedagogies in the development of graduate writing. Drawing on reflective analysis from writing instructors, this article seeks to both contextualize the teaching and learning of writing in the Thai context, and to introduce experiments in contemplative writing pedagogy. In particular, the article reports on graduate-level writing courses that are embedded within the curricula of two education-field Masters programmes in Thailand. Four instructors involved in these courses reflect on their combined experience of integrating contemplative pedagogies, describing the steps they undertook to bring these into the classroom. The contribution of this study is its reporting on research in the under-considered area of contemplative practices, as well as opening up the consideration for graduate writing development in non-Anglophone contexts, such as Thailand. It is hoped that the documentation of the tools and strategies used by Thai instructors will assist others to bring contemplative approaches into play in their own classrooms.