{"id":1287,"date":"2020-06-05T12:21:48","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T17:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/?page_id=1287"},"modified":"2025-09-18T05:57:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T10:57:18","slug":"flow","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/flow\/","title":{"rendered":"Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The positive psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi<\/a> popularized the term ‘flow’ for the experience when your challenges meet your current abilities and you are absorbed in a timeless experience of joy in the pursuit. It has been described by many as the optimal state of mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience<\/a><\/em> Czikszentmihalyi shares his findings that people are happiest when in a state of active focus on a meaningful task, rather than when being passively entertained, as we might be inclined to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Wired Magazine<\/a> he described the flow state this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Other than being a positive experience in and of itself, the concept of flow has important implications for education, first of all because flow is associated with the sort of deliberate or deep practice<\/a> that optimizes learning and skill-development. The best learning happens while in flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, Czikszentmihalyi’s book itself explored how the classical tradition ideally cultivates “The Flow of Thought” in a chapter of that name. Jason has explored this idea in depth in his book The Joy of Learning<\/a><\/em>. But how do we practically help our students enter the flow state in the classroom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free eBook: “5 Tips for Fostering Flow in the Classical Classroom”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’re wondering how the idea of flow can make a difference in your classroom, Jason has written a short eBook boiling it down to 5 actionable priorities that you can start tomorrow. While exploring the what and how of fostering flow in our classrooms, he also shows how this advice aligns well with the insights of the classical tradition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This down-to-earth tip sheet gives the classical teacher a set of practical tips to keep the idea of flow from being a pie-in-the-sky dream. Like so many of our classical ideals, the joy and mastery of flow need to be embodied in the liturgies and processes of our school day, or else they will fail to bear fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the video for a preview:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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