The Centre for Research on Mindful Engagement (CRME)
Welcome from the Director
The UBC's Okanagan campus, Faculty of Education, CRME supports inquiry into two key areas of high interest from pre-school to graduate school, across the disciplines and in less formal places. These are
1. teaching approaches that support mindfulness and
2. those addressing better engaging learners.
Researchers involved with the centre take a broad view of what mindfulness means but are guided by the notion of “habits of mind” or the “dispositions” of good thinkers (i.e. open-, fair- or full mindedness among many others). Those considering such areas as Historical, Scientific, Mathematical, Philosophic, Creative or Critical thinking identify these habits as important educational goals. Approaches that support the development of such habits are central to the focus of our inquiry.
Our interest in engagement relates to the need to move past perceptions that engagement is merely about student participation toward an understanding that desirable engagement involves students “being caught up in”, and “empowered by”, their learning. Like many others, researchers at the centre believe that such transformative student engagement is often related to the development of habits of mind. It is the linking of these two important areas of inquiry that informs the general focus for work within the centre.
We see the CRME initially focusing our research and development initiatives on this linkage. For example, we have established expertise on several fronts including the approaches to teaching critical thinking, scientific, mathematical and historical thinking as well as various understandings of literacy as related to mindful engagement. We are already involved with development projects such as e-learning initiatives and are now ready to proceed with substantive research on each of these fronts allowing us to better understand how to more mindfully engage students across the curriculum. The CRME will frame and support our initiatives allowing for a more focused and strategic approach to this important research.
Projects developed and coordinated through CRME will:
- involve local, national and international academic partnerships;
- include not for profit organizations where possible;
- involve students (undergraduate and graduate) and professional partners in the research;
- include innovative use of digital technologies;
- be collaborative, generative and substantive; and
- produce diverse representations of research outcomes.
Last reviewed 
3/16/2012 12:02:31 PM
