In recent years ‘flow’ has become a bit of a buzzword. Countless books and blogs exploring the concept have sent people across the world in search of it in their own lives. So what is this elusive idea? 

Flow theory was introduced in the 1970s by Mihely Csikszentmihalyi through his research examining people undertaking activities for pleasure, without the reward of money or fame. In his work, he studied a variety of individuals, from surgeons to artists, athletes to writers – even chess masters. What he found was quite surprising. Enjoyment wasn’t the product of relaxing activities or a life without stress. Instead, it was found in intense activities where individuals were fully immersed. Csikszentmihalyi coined this state ‘flow’.  It occurs when the task you’re undertaking is challenging enough that it pushes you to the edge of your skills, without completely exceeding them.

In fact, Csikszentmihalyi outlined three conditions required to achieve a state of flow:

1. The goals are clear
2. The goal is achievable and within the individual’s skill set and ability. The challenge level and skill level are both high
3. Clear and immediate feedback occurs so the course can be adjusted if needed

When we’re in flow, we’re experiencing the ultimate form of intrinsic motivation. We’re doing the task because we enjoy it and we’ll seek tasks similar to achieve the same state. 

It’s not surprising that education research has extensively explored the theory of flow. In education, flow is often linked to another buzzword ‘engagement’. Student engagement has come into the spotlight over recent decades for a range of reasons. Some educators suggest this is actually because of the challenges arising from disengagement. While others are more interested in how engagement can improve student outcomes. Regardless of the reason, when we’re in flow we’re both highly engaged, learning deeply and have high levels of intrinsic motivation. A triple threat of factors that many teachers would love to see in their classrooms.

What does the research say about flow?

Flow wasn’t the only psychological state Csikszentmihalyi found in his research. He reasoned that different combinations of high or low challenges and skills actually predict four distinct psychological states:

1. Apathy: low challenge and low skill
2. Relaxation: high skill but low challenge
3. Anxiety: high challenge but low skills
4. Flow: high challenge and high skill

In the classroom, we often see these psychological states at play. Some students will be disengaged because they find the work too challenging. Others might be so anxious their attendance begins to drop off. But research has shown that more often than not, students in the classroom don’t experience flow. 

One study of 208 high-achieving high school students examined whether schools provide flow experiences by asking at random intervals throughout the day what the students were doing and how engaged they were in it. The students reported high levels of concentration, but consistently low levels of interest – even in the subjects they were highly skilled at. So why is this the case?

Well, despite having enormous potential to provide flow experiences, schools often fail to combine all of the factors needed in the classroom. 

According to research undertaken in 2010,  in order for students to reach flow in the classroom teachers must balance structure with autonomy. Learning must be underpinned by clear expectations, explicit instructions and meaningful goals, with opportunities for self-directed learning. This means that having standards and structure for learning is just as important as tapping into their interests and need for autonomy. 

A study by Csikszentmihalyi also found that teachers who showed passion for their subject areas were able to spark interest and curiosity with their students which could lead to flow. He also found personalised learning that connected individual student interests to learning content and matched skill level to challenge level was highly effective. In fact, Csikszentmihalyi’s research suggests that it is this matching of skill to challenge that is the most important factor in promoting flow. An approach he likened to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), where students are being challenged enough to remain engaged but given plenty of opportunity to experience success.

How can you set up your classroom to support flow?

Associate professor of educational psychology, David J. Shernoff specialised in student engagement from the perspective of flow theory. His research has focused on the conditions that foster flow and learning in the classroom to create what he calls ‘optimal learning environments. These classrooms are characterised by a combination of environmental challenge and environmental support^.

Environmental challenge involves:

• Tasks that balance the learner’s skills with the challenge 
• Clear goals 
• Building a conceptual understanding and/or language skills in the classroom 
• Providing opportunities to demonstrate performance through assessment

Environmental support involves:

• Fostering positive relationships with teachers and peers
• Providing timely, constructive feedback
• Supporting motivational drives of students (i.e. the learners’ sense of autonomy)
• Providing opportunities to be active and interactive in learning 

Environmental support is actually engaged in and of itself, while environmental challenge requires environmental support in order to be effective in promoting flow. 

6 strategies for supporting flow:

1. Set clear goals
   Structure and direction are really important for flow. To really get into the zone, we’ve got to have an idea of where we’re headed. For teachers, this means working with individual students to define clear learning goals that they can take ownership of. Continual, timely feedback is also really important so students can course correct if they need to. 
   
2. Provide autonomy
   When students are given choice they’re more likely to engage with the task. Research has shown that students who have a sense of autonomy not only show higher levels of interest and enjoyment in their work, they also produce higher quality work. Give students the opportunity to select their own activities and work with autonomy to promote engagement and flow.
   
3. Support concentration
   When we’re in a state of flow we are totally engrossed in what we’re doing, which involves a deep level of concentration. Traditional classrooms are less likely to support deep concentration, primarily because class time isn’t always very long. Environments with more flexible schedules like Montessori schools do tend to have higher levels of deep concentration. Try to keep the launch of lessons shorter where possible to allow as much time as possible for students to work without interruptions.
   
4. Make connections to real-life
   According to research relevance results in engagement. If students understand the tasks they’re completely in the context of the real world they’re more likely to take interest. Provide real-life examples and explain the relevance of topics or tasks to students’ lives.
   
5. Foster positive relationships
   As previously mentioned, research by David Shernoff has shown that positive peer-to-peer and student-teacher relationships in the classroom result in more instances of flow. Relationships are often a top priority for teachers, so be encouraged that a positive classroom environment backed by great relationships is a solid foundation for flow.
   
6. Aim for Goldilocks content
   As previously mentioned a central condition for flow is providing a task that stretches students to the limits of their skills. If it’s not challenging enough, students will become bored. But if it’s too challenging, they will become anxious. When students are working within their ZPD they will become more engaged in their learning.

Education programs like Instructive, which are personalised and competency-based can support teachers in providing their students with Goldilocks content. Instructive was created for teachers, by teachers, so it’s aligned with every state’s curriculum and places the teacher at the front. So they can empower their students while providing lessons that students can actually master helping to build meaningful growth and motivation in class.

Learn more about Instructive, a one-of-a-kind teaching and learning model created for Australian teachers.