The positive psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi popularized the term ‘flow’ for the experience when your challenges meet your current abilities and you are absorbed in a timeless experience of joy in the pursuit. It has been described by many as the optimal state of mind.
In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Czikszentmihalyi shares his findings that people are happiest when in a state of active focus on a meaningful task, rather than when being passively entertained, as we might be inclined to think.
In an interview with Wired Magazine he described the flow state this way:
Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.
Other than being a positive experience in and of itself, the concept of flow has important implications for education, first of all because flow is associated with the sort of deliberate or deep practice that optimizes learning and skill-development. The best learning happens while in flow.
Moreover, Czikszentmihalyi’s book itself explored how the classical tradition ideally cultivates “The Flow of Thought” in a chapter of that name. Jason has explored this idea in depth in his book The Joy of Learning. But how do we practically help our students enter the flow state in the classroom?
Free eBook: “5 Tips for Fostering Flow in the Classical Classroom”
If you’re wondering how the idea of flow can make a difference in your classroom, Jason has written a short eBook boiling it down to 5 actionable priorities that you can start tomorrow. While exploring the what and how of fostering flow in our classrooms, he also shows how this advice aligns well with the insights of the classical tradition.
This down-to-earth tip sheet gives the classical teacher a set of practical tips to keep the idea of flow from being a pie-in-the-sky dream. Like so many of our classical ideals, the joy and mastery of flow need to be embodied in the liturgies and processes of our school day, or else they will fail to bear fruit.
Watch the video for a preview:
New Book: The Joy of Learning: Finding Flow Through Classical Education
Book Description on Amazon:
The Joy of Learning: Finding Flow Through Classical Education is a stunning synthesis of modern research on the flow state, the classical liberal arts tradition, and the thought of the British Christian educator Charlotte Mason.
Flow is the term popularized by the modern positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi for the optimal state of mind. Flow occurs when your challenges meet your current skills and you are lost in a timeless experience of euphoria in the pursuit of a meaningful goal.
The Joy of Learning takes its cue from a chapter of Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow that discusses routes into flow through what we know as the classical liberal arts. From training the memory, to the language arts of the trivium, the mathematical arts of the quadrivium—the ancient equivalent of STEM—to the joys of history, philosophy and amateur science, this book is packed with the practical insights of an experienced teacher.
Weaving artfully between practical tips for the classroom, insights from modern research, and explorations of the tradition, The Joy of Learning has something for everyone. If you’re wondering how to cultivate joyful students as a classroom teacher, a home educator or a school leader, Jason Barney’s playful and articulate style will charm and enlighten in equal measure.
Buy the book on Amazon here and write a review to help get the message out!
Praise for The Joy of Learning: Finding Flow Through Classical Education
“Whether you are new to classical education or a veteran in the movement, The Joy of Learning offers its readers a unique opportunity to observe how the modern concept of ‘flow’ supports, and even enhances, the important work of classical educators today. Through his careful research and lucid writing style, Jason has opened the door for a fresh set of connections to be made between modern research and ancient wisdom.”
Kolby Atchison, Principal at Clapham School
“Deep thinking is our goal as educators, whether for our students or for ourselves. What if we could unlock our innate ability to dive deeply into our most important work and to do so with happiness? The Joy of Learning provides an accessible review of recent research applied to classical understandings of education. Renew your love for learning and discover how profound the work of learning can be.”
Dr. Patrick Egan, Dean of the Upper School at Clapham School, Adjunct Professor at TEDS, Research Tutor in NT at King’s Evangelical Divinity School
The Flow of Thought Series
The Joy of Learning started its life as a series of articles here on Educational Renaissance. Begun in 2019 and completed in early 2020, The Flow of Thought series was then revised and expanded into the paperback described above. The way that the series highlights every major aspect of the classical tradition of education makes it ideally suited to use in teacher training or personal study. While focusing on the curricular categories of the liberal arts tradition: memory or musical education, narration or the love of story, the seven liberal arts, humanities, history, science and philosophy, so many pedagogical insights are woven in with reflections applying modern research on flow.
If you’re wondering whether the book is right for you or school, you can still access the articles to get a taste of where the book will go.
The Flow of Thought articles:
Part 1: Training the Attention for Happiness’ Sake; Part 2: The Joy of Memory; Part 3: Narration as Flow; Part 4: The Seven Liberal Arts as Mental Games; Part 5: The Play of Words; Part 6: Becoming Amateur Historians; Part 7: Rediscovering Science as the Love of Wisdom; Part 8: Restoring the School of Philosophers; Part 9: The Lifelong Love of Learning.
For the book footnotes were added, revisions were made and sections were added. If you enjoyed the series, consider buying the book on Amazon to support our Educational Renaissance authors. Then you can keep the content in a durable format, or share the book with a friend or colleague!
Articles on Flow and Education
Here at Educational Renaissance Dr. Patrick Egan has explored the connections between flow, grit and the growth mindset:
Other educators have engaged with the concept of flow and explored how it relates to education, even if not from a classical and Christian perspective. Some helpful ones include:
- Jill Suttie, Psy.D., wrote an article entitled “Can Schools Help Students Find Flow?”
- She also wrote “8 Tips for Fostering Flow in the Classroom.”