Making Learning Flow (A Quick Guide to Integrating Flow Theory in Classroom Management to Drive Student Engagement)

Part of the Solutions for Creating the Learning Spaces Students Deserve series.

When students are fully engaged, present, focused, and alert, they experience the flow state. By rethinking student engagement and bringing flow to the center of instruction, teachers inspire students to love learning and reach new levels of achievement. Using the key components of flow theory, this short book explains how to generate a state of flow in the classroom every day to spark optimal student performance. Quickly learn what steps teachers can take to personalize instruction, empowering students to own their learning.

Help your students reach flow state for full engagement:

• Learn the fundamentals of flow theory in a concise format.
• Reimagine student engagement to create a classroom environment that fosters a state of flow regularly.
• Motivate students to become naturally curious, creative critical thinkers and match students' perceived skills with an equal level of challenge.
• Make learning inherently fun, encouraging students to love learning and help them monitor their own learning progress.
• Gain effective strategies for improving instruction, feedback, pacing, and time management in the classroom.

Contents:
Introduction: What Is Flow?
1. Motivation: Shifting From Extrinsic to Intrinsic Rewards
2. Instruction: Shifting From Differentiation to Personalization
3. Pacing: Shifting From Action to Suspense
4. Feedback: Shifting From Top-Down to Horizontal Assessment
Conclusion
References and Resources

Books in the Solutions for Creating the Learning Spaces Students Deserve series:

• Embracing a Culture of Joy
• Creating a Culture of Feedback
• Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration
• Making Learning Flow
• Different Schools for a Different World
• Personalizing Learning Through Voice and Choice

John Spencer is an assistant professor of educational technology at George Fox University just outside of Portland, Oregon. Before that, he spent twelve years as a middle school teacher at the Cartwright Elementary School District in Phoenix, Arizona, where he used design thinking and creative processes for student coding projects, documentaries, and blogging. From 2008 to 2015, he served as project director for the district, providing district- and site-level leaders with guidance on planning, development, implementation, and evaluation.

John is a frequent keynote and conference speaker, specializing in talks on technology, digital literacy, creative assessment, and project-based learning. In 2014, he shared his vision of the future of learning at the White House Future Ready Summit in Washington, DC. In 2015, he delivered the TEDx Talk The Creative Power of Limitations.

He is an active author, publishing both fiction and nonfiction. His research experience includes writing the chapter "Technology Criticism in the Classroom" in The Nature of Technology. He also won Northern Arizona University's Education Technology Graduate Award for his work around transforming professional development.

John holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education with an emphasis on history from Arizona State University and a master's degree in educational technology from Northern Arizona University.

To learn more about John, visit spencerauthor.com or follow @spencerideas on Twitter.

To book John Spencer for professional development, contact pd@SolutionTree.com.