CSMH team members present at PHE Canada Virtual Conference
Thursday, February 24, 2022
CSMH team members Dr. Claire Crooks and Masters student Sue Kim presented at the Physical Health Education Canada virtual conference on February 17th.
Speaking on the importance and benefits of mindfulness-based social-emotional learning programs, Centre director Dr. Claire Crooks discussed the lessons learned from the MindUP program over the past six years.
Dr. Crooks’ presentation focused on the benefits received by both students and teachers who were involved in MindUP. Significant changes included decreases in classroom behavioural issues, executive functioning deficits, and educator burnout.
Explaining the changes to the project since 2016, Dr. Crooks discussed the shifting environment of the project throughout its growth, as well as changing classroom dynamics throughout the pandemic. With these shifts in mind, the presentation provided recommendations for implementation strategies to ensure similar programs can remain sustainable in the future.
Speaking on the connection between physical activity and mental well-being, Masters student Sue Kim discussed the importance of both subjects being taught to students from an early age.
Sue’s presentation explained practical strategies that can be implemented in both primary and secondary school environments and drew from these strategies to lead audience members in interactive activities to show their effectiveness. These activities have been shown to work in studies performed by subjects during the MindUP project’s life and can be explored more thoroughly on the MindUP page.
