Flow in the Classroom

I really enjoyed reading these articles, and giving an official title to the goal of engagement in the classroom. Several comments really resonated with, and, since reading, I've spent the past few days at school thinking about how to incorporate flow into my day in a very structured, data-driven school.

The first quote from Can Schools Help Students Find Flow,  is that "when students are more engaged in class, their grades tend to improve." This was one of those, well, of course moments. My next thought was that engagement doesn't necessarily need to be internally generated. I still remember a specific 7th grade math teacher, who, through her delivery, classroom environment, and enthusiasm, made me enjoy math for the first time. Likewise, the strongest teacher I work with is able to engage 90% of his students daily, even when delivering, what in other classes are, "dry" lessons through his delivery. I was mentally arguing with the author, which I came upon this sentence: "In addition  teachers who modeled enthusiasm for the material and used humor were particularly engaging to students, even when learning." Well, at least my point was supported.

The second point that stuck with me is the idea that teachers can encourage more flow by providing opportunities for choice that are scaffolded to provide the appropriate level of rigor and challenge, giving all students the opportunity to be successful. As a special educator, this resonated particularly strongly with me, and partially led to the creation of a new way to assess the students in our current science unit on matter. Instead of a traditional paper and pencil test, the science team developed a menu, giving every student in the 5th grade the opportunity to chose their own project and the appropriate level of difficulty:

So far, the students have really enjoyed this project, and have been much more engaged than during traditional assessments. One of my students, who routinely struggles to complete work, has all the materials for his diorama in school, a full week before the due date!

The final quote, which I'm still grappling with, is the thought that, "students can't usually lose themselves in a class assignment, since the imperatives of the school schedule can easily interrupt their concentrated efforts." This is the concept I'm struggling with, and not sure I'm going to figure out a solution any time soon. So often in the school day, I find myself wishing I had more time to spend on a particular skill, assignment, or activity, that is cut short due to a rather inflexible schedule. Routines, procedures, and schedules can be very supportive and can be positive things for students, but there needs to be a balance between these structures  and allowing for the cognitive process to play out.