Flow, Learning, and Education

Originally written in 2019; improved in 2025

Have you ever gotten lost in doing something, only to realize later that hours had gone by? As many readers drawn here probably know, that state is called flow (as coined by Csikszentmihalyi, 1997).

Flow often happens when we don’t intend it, and it is usually an enjoyable experience. More often than not, individuals in a state of flow experience a significant amount of learning on the task they are focused on at that time. During flow, failure or “sub-optimal results” don’t cause the usual fear, doubt, or trepidation; instead, these negative results spur greater interest and drive individuals harder to pursue their goal. More often than not, the task is somewhat simple, task mastery is the goal, and the feedback loop is quite short.

With those parameters in mind, more and more educators, including myself, believe that the concept of flow can be harnessed and used in formal education. However, the problem lies in executing this in a real learning environment. Flow often happens when we don’t intend it. So, how can we make that happen for students in a classroom? Here are the nine flow triggers!

Excerpt from an unpublished paper of mine (Keuler, 2017):

“Xiaowei (2013) covered the nine factors of a flow experience as laid out by Csikszentmihalyi, who coined the term “flow.” The nine factors are:

1) Tasks have clear goals

2) Subjects receive immediate feedback

3) Activities are balanced between challenge and skills

4) ... Merging action and awareness

5) A concentration or focus on the present

6) Subjects have a sense of control over the activity

7) Subjects lose the sense of reflexive self-awareness

8) The subjective experience that time has moved faster or slower

9) Experiencing intrinsic reward in the activity

All of these factors have to be kept in mind when planning a class, and the content of the lessons must be molded to fit them.”

Xiaowei used these principles and attained better outcomes in English as a Foreign Language classes. Have you experienced flow in the classroom? If so, what were you learning about? And how would you describe the experience?

What conditions should schools and teachers introduce in their classes to allow flow to take place?

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Happiness and creativity: going with the flow. The Futurist, (5). SR8.

Keuler, M. (2017). Module 2: Conceptualizing a potential new theory. Unpublished manuscript.

Xiaowei, G. (2013). A study on flow theory and translation teaching in China’s EFL class. Journal Of Language Teaching & Research, 4(4), 785-790. doi:10.4304/jltr.4.4.785-790