Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s idea of flow -- a state of focus where a challenge is equally matched to your abilities -- intrigued me. I had heard of "flow state" before, but I'd never watched this video and I think I had some misconceptions. Namely, I didn't account for difficulty, and only thought of it as a task you're fully absorbed in. Analyzing the graphic and thinking of my typical math experience, I think I'd normally fall under arousal or anxiety, for assignments and tests respectively. However, I have achieved a few instances of flow in relation to math. In particular, early in my Math degree, my first course on mathematical proof was a well-matched challenge for me. While I may have previously said that my entire high school math career was a flow state, I think it was not sufficiently challenging for me to conclude this now.
Recently, I taught myself to crochet by watching YouTube videos. Since this skill is still relatively new to me, it remains a good challenge and I often lose track of time when I'm doing it. In class, Jasmine said it was not a flow state for her because it had become mindless for her, so I can imagine a time in the future when it becomes a control or relaxation state for me. For now, I still need to look at what I'm doing, although I can listen to something at the same time.
Difficulty and feedback are important considerations for creating a flow state in the math classroom. The former is tricky -- how can we ensure that all students (or as many as possible) are sufficiently engaged with the problems. If a question is too hard it feels impossible. If it's too easy it feels boring. Therefore, it is essential to have different access points for varying abilities. Namely, differentiation is key to ensuring that most students feel equally challenged and motivated to continue. The latter, feedback, is primarily a process of unlearning. So often, students will finish a question and immediately ask the teacher if they're correct. To achieve a flow state, the feedback needs to be built in. Therefore, students need to unlearn the reliance on teacher validation and instead learn to verify their own work.
Great ideas and writing here, Madison! You've sorted out some of the interesting discrepancies between 'flow' and other positive, enjoyable states that are not challenging enough to be counted as flow -- for example, relaxation, control and arousal. I like your crocheting example. It's also important to think about the unlearning process students need to do to get away from asking the teacher for validation at every turn, and to consider the feedback that's part of the task!
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