NCSM-Sun reprint - SPRING

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dramatic increases in homework completion and mastery of mathematics .... Robert Sun is the CEO of Suntex International
mathedleadership.org

NCSM Spring Newsletter 2014

FLOW: The Key to Sustained Practice By Robert Sun Few people would guess that Mario Umana Academy in east Boston is a proving ground for engaged, highachieving learning. Fiy percent of Umana’s students are English language learners, and roughly two- thirds belong to an ethnic minority. Yet despite the many challenges typically faced by an inner-city school, Umana teachers are currently witnessing dramatic increases in homework completion and mastery of mathematics concepts, as well as higher than average skill retention. By solving almost 10 million mathematics problems each year, Umana’s students have learned that hard work and persistence translate to success in mathematics. Last season Umana Academy placed seventh nationally (out of 6,000 schools) in the First In Math online mathematics competition. ey are working toward making it into the Top Five in 2014. Why is Mario Umana Academy succeeding in ways so many similar schools are not? Because it is embracing Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s discovery: the importance of flow as perhaps the single most important component for accelerated learning. Many people are acquainted with the groundbreaking work of Hungarian-born Csikszentmihalyi (chick-SENT- me-high), a respected psychologist and professor at the University of Chicago. His research began in a quest to identify what makes people happy. He uncovered a remarkable state wherein people lost all track of time—so absorbed in what they are doing, they forget all their daily worries. Csikszentmihalyi called this state as “being in flow.” ree things need to be present for optimum flow to be achieved in learning. First, one must have clarity about the goals—not only goals of a long-term nature, but moment- to-moment objectives as well. Second, the learner must receive immediate feedback as to whether or not he or she is achieving those goals. Finally, there

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must be a balance between the challenges presented and the learner’s skills. Meet these criteria, and you promote optimal flow. The key point about flow is that once you enter such a state, the activity itself becomes its own reward. No further reinforcement is required; the intrinsic pleasure Robert Sun of learning takes over and practice is self-sustaining. Mathematics is the ideal academic subject for flow-based learning—particularly in the practice phase. Mathematics concepts are typically broken into definable units; moreover, proficiency is incremental in nature, with each skill built upon those previously acquired. In fact, when the environment is properly structured, students can plug into mathematics instruction at whatever level their present skills indicate. is allows the learner to define his or her own comfort level for the concepts presented. In a classroom, teachers may not know a child’s skill level, particularly at the beginning of the year. When an instructional agenda is dictated in an inflexible way, it’s nearly inevitable that some students won’t, or can’t, engage. But when those children are allowed to maintain some sense of control and are empowered to make individual decisions as to where to “plug in,” they take ownership. Once a child makes an internal decision to excel, learning becomes purposeful. is is where flow can be transformative—when in-depth learning fuels the desire for mastery and understanding. Any setting that meets the three criteria for optimal flow will allow students to enter at their personal level of comfort, provided that there are hundreds (rather than merely dozens) of entry points. e most effective learning opportunities are able to match virtually any skill level, enabling students to discover for themselves the best place to begin. And soon, they achieve the state that results in accelerated learning. It’s important to note that if the balance described in Csikszentmihalyi’s third criterion isn’t present, one of two alternatives will in-

mathedleadership.org

NCSM Spring Newsletter 2014

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FLOW: The Key to Sustained Practice continued from previous page

evitably occur. If the skills present are very high and the challenges very low—and there have been complaints in some quarters that mathematics is being “dumbed down” so that more students can succeed— the learner will be in a state of boredom. About onethird of all U.S. students are simply bored with mathematics. If, on the other hand, challenges are heaped on while skills remain low, the student goes into a state of anxiety. e majority of the children in the U.S. are anxious and fearful about mathematics. As educators, it’s essential that we maintain the proper balance— that indispensable middle ground—between anxiety and boredom. e Common Core State Standards heap up challenges, and that’s good; high expectations can be very motivating. But if we don’t match those challenges by building in the comparable skills for students through a necessary practice component, all we do is

drive those students into a deeper state of anxiety. Optimal flow is more than a nice, abstract concept. If we help today’s students into that state through clearly defined, progressive and self-directed practice environments that offer multiple points of entry, they will be motivated to learn. ey will be constantly pushing, seeking that next-level challenge, mastering it, and then moving on. At that wonderful point, there is no telling how far they will go. _____________________________________________________

Robert Sun is the CEO of Suntex International and inventor of First In Math, an online program designed for deep practice in mathematics.