The Paradox Of Flow In Schools

This article explores the apparent paradox of flow in the realm of education and schooling. Although there is much potential for flow experiences in schools, there tends to be a relatively small amount of flow experiences in educational settings, especially in academic classes. The author of this article attempts to find the reason for the lack of flow in the classroom, thereby enabling educators to address this problem and increase the number of flow experiences in their classes. Numerous conditions and precursors to flow are available in academic settings, and these conditions can be manipulated by the teacher. For example, teachers can adjust the balance between the challenges of the class and the skills of the students, and they can offer choice in learning activities to promote intrinsic motivation and autonomy. Furthermore, goal setting and feedback are typical in most classrooms, and teachers can attempt to minimize distractions in order
Students experience the most flow, inside or outside of school, in their nonacademic classes, such as music and art class. Additionally, flow is more common in academic classes during hands-on and collaborative work, and students are more likely to experience flow when their teachers provide scaffolded instruction. Consequently, there tends to be higher amounts of flow in nontraditional schools, such as a Montessori school, than in a traditional public school. Other studies suggest that giving students more autonomy and control in their learning environments results in a higher frequency of flow. All in all, teachers can attempt to create more flow experiences in their classrooms by giving their students more choice, more autonomy, clearer short-term goals, more hands-on activities, more collaborative group work, less distractions, and they can also examine environments where flow thrives, such as nontraditional schools and nonacademic