LEARNING TO LEARN
Facilitating flow in the teaching of philosophy
Jonathan Beale , Teacher of Philosophy , ITL Research Fellow
Flow and education
Flow is the psychological state of optimal experience and performance , where we ’ re completely absorbed in and concentrated on challenging activities such that we must stretch our skills to their limits . The concept was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1970s ( Csikszentmihalyi 1990 ). Csikszentmihalyi focused on flow in individuals , but Keith Sawyer has since identified group flow – the shared flow experience ( Sawyer 2007 ), such as among a group collectively problem-solving .
Flow can lead to 500 % more productivity and creativity , and enables us to learn 200-500 % faster ( Holton 2021 ). Flow significantly increases happiness ( Layard 2005 , p . 253 ). It ’ s one of the five domains constitutive of flourishing in positive psychology : the scientific study of the conditions and processes leading to human flourishing ( Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi 2000 ).
Facilitating flow more in education could yield significant benefits for students . This hypothesis motivated the pilot action research project briefly described here .
Flow triggers
Research has identified 12 individual and 10 group ‘ flow triggers ’: factors that significantly facilitate flow ( Kotler 2021 , 249-256 ; Sawyer 2007 , 50-65 ). The individual triggers :
1 Complete concentration 2 Autonomy 3 Risk 4 Clear goals 5 Curiosity , passion and purpose 6 Novelty 7 Complexity 8 Unpredictability 9 Deep embodiment 10 Immediate feedback 11 Creativity and pattern recognition 12 The challenge / skills ratio .
The first two group triggers are shared with the individual ones . Two are group versions of the individual triggers ( 3a & 4a ). The rest are additional :
1a Complete concentration 2a Autonomy / a sense of control 3a Shared risk 4a Shared , clear goals 5a “ Yes , and …” 6a Close listening 7a Blending egos 8a Familiarity 9a Equal participation 10a Open communication
I aimed to facilitate flow in my lower sixth IB philosophy lessons during 2021-22 by designing teaching and learning activities incorporating flow triggers . I focused on group triggers because the lifeblood of philosophy is discussion . Activities focused on 1 / 1a , 3 & 3a , 4 & 4a , 5 , 6a , 7a , 9a and 12 .
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