Students engaged in mindfulness exercises in class can improve their writing self-efficacy  

Students with strong writing self-efficacy have high confidence in their writing abilities. Strong writing skills are important for students to achieve success in post-secondary studies and the workplace. Research demonstrates that techniques that calm the mind and body, like mindfulness and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), can improve self-efficacy. Mindfulness has also been found to reduce postsecondary students' apprehension towards writing. In this study, researchers explored how mindfulness and progressive muscle relaxation might improve writing self-efficacy.

The researchers collected data from two sections of first year applied health science students enrolled in a writing-intensive course at a Canadian university. Both sections listened to an 8-minute audio recorded exercise at the beginning of class for 8 weeks, with the lights dimmed and silence encouraged. One section received a mindfulness exercise focused on breathwork. The other section received a PMR exercise focused on tensing and relaxing different muscles. Researchers administered questionnaires at the onset and after the completion of the 8 weeks to assess writing self-efficacy. At the end of the 8 weeks, students also indicated their engagement with their exercises.

Researchers found that students in both sections (i.e., the mindfulness group and the PMR group) experienced a significant improvement in their writing self-efficacy after the 8 weeks of exercises. Students who practiced mindfulness were 24% more engaged than those in the PMR group. Researchers also found a positive relationship between engagement in mindfulness exercises and final self-efficacy scores. This relationship was not found for those in the PMR group.