The Pit
The PIT is a framework for expert teaching that allows Challenge, Feedback and Deep Representation to flourish. Beginning life as a metaphor for learning, the PIT has been used to plan, present and review lessons with students of all ages and within many contexts. It has a number of influences, most notably the Socratic tradition, drawing on the work of John Edwards and Jim Butler. Today the PIT has a life of its own, being used to illustrate a method of challenge, dilemma, social construction, metacognition and preview. It is good to be stuck!
Flow
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has spent over 30 years studying in the field of optimal performance. He identifies The process of FLOW as an occurrence of being engaged in activities with the right amount of challenge. C
Consider these six element necessary for your students to engage in FLOW:
- Tasks are appropriately challenging
- Teacher input is minimal
- Class have the necessary learning skills
- Goals are clear and worthwhile
- Feedback is immediate
- Tasks are intrinsically motivating
For more information about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s lecture on Ted.com
Or read the book: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990)