Integrating Mindfulness and Active Participation in Teaching with Letícia Vedolin Sebastião

The Lunch & Learn series at EDQ continues to highlight new approaches to teaching, and in this session, we shifted our attention inward—toward reflection, presence, and human motivation. Letícia Vedolin Sebastião, Postdoctoral Researcher from the Department of Marketing, shared how she redesigned her course Applied Mindfulness and Compassion using the active participation exam format.

Letícia’s elective course, part of the MSc in Business and Psychology program, focuses on formal and informal mindfulness practices and their relevance in organizational settings. Using the new active participation format, there were no written exams or final assignments in the traditional sense. Instead, students engaged in weekly practices, group interventions, and personal reflections on their learning journey, building knowledge from lived experience.

In the session, Letícia reflected on:

• What student feedback revealed about pressure, performance, and joy in learning
• Why mindfulness can’t be assessed with a traditional grade—and why that’s the point
• How self-determination theory helped shape her thinking about motivation
• Why she designed personal essays to gently discourage AI use in favor of honest, reflective writing

“We had a lot of participation and connection.” Letícia shared. “They would share their experience—and very personal things sometimes. It was a safe space in the classroom.”

Watch Leticia’s full presentation in the video below:

If you are interested in the new “Active Participation Format” or are planning to implement it, we invite you to our upcoming workshop on “Teaching with Active Participation Format” on Monday, 26th of May from 09.00am to 12.00pm.