This is a post to help me consolidate my thoughts.
I feel like I am on to something.
A connection I just made was about Amy Alznauer's obsession with following people with obsessions. Individuals who have an obsession and perpetually engage in an activity that would take all their time away (probably without realization) and that they would find extremely rewarding are individuals who have experienced flow.
Csikszentmihalyi (1988) writes about the development of the human consciousness leading to the identify and perpetuity of self. The sense of self cannot be solely focused on fulfilling the goals written into our biology (eat, reproduce, etc). Our consciousness acts as a buffer between what our biology dictates and our social emotional environments in which we must navigate to reach our 'goals' (social goals, cultural goals, biological goals) that we consciously or subconsciously determine for ourselves. Csikszentmihalyi talks about psychic entropy in our information-processing system that is experienced as fear, anxiety, confusion; but there is a balance called psychic negentropy that is the optimal state of flow that provides feelings of exhilaration, and fulfillment leading to higher levels of complexity.
We choose to seek out and engage in activities that draw us into a state of flow because it allows our consciousness to experience new emergent structures in our sense of self regardless of a final goal in mind. It becomes pleasure in doing. To obtain this state that differs for everyone it depends on a number of factors:
1) personality of the individual - namely the ability to recognize challenge commensurate to their skill level.
2) the activity must be balanced in challenge and skill of the individual, as the skill of the individual rises, so must the challenge.
3) the activity must have clear goals.
4) the activity must provide quick and unambiguous feedback so the individual can know if they are rising to the challenge.
Understanding Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as an educator, I would need to engineer an activity at the boundary of capability that an individual can do alone, but JUST... and it must constantly be able to move away as the student understands more.
If the skills exceed the challenge... the student experiences bordeom.
If the challenge exceeds the students' skills... the students experience anxiety.
This balance is extraordinarily hard to achieve as everyone is different and providing quick and unambiguous feedback to 30 students is impossible!... UNLESS the student understands just enough for other systems of understanding to provide the feedback. This is where the introduction of art in mathematics class makes sense.
When writing mathematical poetry - a linguistic meaning making system can act as an immediate feedback provider for the underlying mathematical concepts. For example, the syllables don't rhythmically fit.
When drawing/painting mathematical pieces - the visual meaning making system can act as an immediate feedback provider. For example, the pattern breaks or there's an inconsistent spot that draws attention.
When sculpting/constructing mathematical pieces - the physical (and visual) meaning making system can act as an immediate feedback provider. For example, the pieces don't fit.
When dancing/playing music - the auditory and kinesthetic meaning making systems can act as an immediate feedback provider. For example, there's too many beats and too few movements, or the rhythm doesn't add up.
In each of these cases, no instructor is needed to assess and provide prompt feedback. The creation of the art itself is under continuous assessment by the student creator ensuring its development matches or exceeds the visualization towards the goal of completion. It produces a "merging of activity and awareness" so total that "one simply does not have enough attention left to think about anything else" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988, p.32).
When mathematics is taught abstractly and without context, art may be the bridge back to meaning making and identity that is needed for students. When mathematics is taught practically and contextually, art may enhance student understanding and identity by bringing them into a state of flow developing their sense of self. The self-imposed challenge of adding complexity to artwork keeps a students' actions, concentration, awareness and memory at the expanding boundary of ZPD always within their capability for as long as they maintain a drive toward their goal.
The experience of flow is autotelic. It is done to experience itself; an intrinsic reward. The best most enjoyable experiences become preserved and transmitted throughout generations as cultural experiences. Huizinga ([1939]1970 as cited in Csikszentmihalyi, 1988) realized that all institutions that constitute society all started as games where participants could experience the joy of goal-directed action.
So, now that I have my blueprints and mindset, I guess it's time to find the fun/flow.
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