Enriching Education: Support Children as Self-Learners by Letting Them Experience Their Flow State

By Carmen Viktoria Gamper

 

For a child, playing and learning are the same. During play, children effortlessly drop in and out of the deep, energized focus called “flow,” which in education is increasingly used to describe the optimal state for learning.

 

Many athletes are aware of the term “flow,” using it to refer to the state of peak performance. To them, it describes the extreme focus and skill level needed to reach pinnacle goals. But when applied to children and their intellectual and emotional development, flow is connected with a feeling of being in command of their own experience, with full focus and a lack of self-consciousness, where imagination can run free.

 

Children are masters of flow. For them, that state of deep focus and absorption that occurs naturally during self-chosen play, where each step flows seamlessly into the next, comes naturally. Time is forgotten, and small and big decisions are continuously made in a willingness to take risks, to be creative and to experiment. 

 

But sadly, in sharp contrast to their innate explorative tendencies, most children are in educational settings that aren’t conducive to flow. The one-size-fits-all classrooms, the strictly guided lessons, the frequent subject changes, the underlying atmosphere of obedience and the pressure to succeed on someone else’s terms severely obstruct and prevent flow. All these elements of traditional education combine to suffocate a child’s natural love for learning. Children begin to believe that they need another person in order to interpret and interact with the environment, and this approach can be disempowering.

 

Such repression of self-learning is especially detrimental given that whatever children learn in a flow state remains in their long-term memory. It becomes a reference point in their internal world that helps with abstract thinking and theoretical contemplations, as well as allowing for the development of increasingly complex hands-on skills and coordination. Lasting learning happens as a result of intense interest in self-chosen investigations.

Adults need to support children in their flow state as they pursue learning. Whether a parent, an educator, a childcare provider, a grandparent or another special person in a child’s life, we can be nurturers of flow. This often means pulling back from our own tendencies to manage and direct, and instead to follow the child’s lead.

 

Keep these guiding principles in mind to facilitate flow in the children in your life:

 

1. Let children pursue activities of their own choosing. We can and should offer children many different invitations for learning, but even though it may be tempting or it may seem like the responsible thing to do, we should never push an activity. A child’s self-chosen challenge is leads to true self-discipline that doesn’t need external pressure to be sustained. Children have natural superpowers that include crystal clear focus, open-minded presence, boundless self-motivation and deeply devoted, genuine interest in their own activity. When they set out on a project or exploration, allow them to run with it. 

 

2. Withhold the urge to intervene. Children want their caring adult to be close enough to help with potential challenges or conflicts, but they also want us to not intervene in their activities. Key to being present with a child in a flow state is to not overtake the child’s creative process by regulating how it should proceed, or by superimposing the “ideal” method before the child is interested in learning it. Children aren’t interested in the result of their activities as much as they take delight in experimenting and learning from each activity.

3. Let children come to you for advice. Allow children to come to you if they want feedback or more information. This will be much more powerful than offering it unsolicited as young learners will more likely remember answers to their own questions. Not every situation needs to be transformed into a teaching moment, and there’s no need to volunteer information or explanations if a child isn’t ready to listen. 

4. Become a quiet, friendly observer. When the child looks at you, return a friendly smile to signal you’re not going to interrupt and that what he or she is doing is fine. Learn when to respect the healthy boundaries set by a child, and how to recognize a genuine invitation into the sacred space of learning in flow. Once invited, instead of commenting on the child’s creative process, ask the child to tell you about it.

Allowing children to do something just because they enjoy it, without competition, comparison or reward, can deeply and positively influence children in the long run. The skills involved in exploring their environment and changing it to whatever they desire will empower children throughout their lives to change situations to their liking, rather than succumbing as a victim of circumstances.

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Carmen Viktoria Gamper has worked internationally as an educator, advisor, coach and speaker for child-centered education. As founder of the New Learning Culture program, she supports parents, homeschooling families and schools in safely offering child-directed, flow-rich learning environments. Her new book is: Flow to Learn: A Parent’s Guide to Recognizing and Supporting Your Child’s Flow State - the Optimal Condition for Learning (New Learning Culture Publishing, March 27, 2020). Learn more at flowtolearn.com.