Conversing Without Cues: Diamond Inquiry as a Contemplative Pathway to Transformative Learning

Amid renewed interest in contemplative pedagogy, this article examines how students perceive Diamond Inquiry as a contemplative pathway to transformative learning in higher education. Drawing on interviews with students at a Dutch university, the study explores how they experienced the practice’s learning potential and what challenges they encountered. The findings indicate that Diamond Inquiry shaped learning in multiple, interconnected ways. Across diverse individual experiences, five overarching themes emerged: improved understanding, enhanced listening skills, greater openness to diverse perspectives, deeper integration of emotions into learning, and a strengthened sense of relational connection among peers. These shifts point to changes in students’ meaning-making processes that resonate with transformative learning. Nonetheless, students faced challenges in adjusting to non-reactive listening, sustaining extended monologues, managing vulnerability, and engaging in a second language. Overall, the study indicates that Diamond Inquiry offers a meaningful contemplative approach for nurturing personal and relational transformation in higher education.