 | Flow, the zone, engagement. It's what everyone wants in their work. We're asked for results, but we know they're not the end. There's always a next item. Flow is natural and easy when we are following a personal interest or long-held competency. Many students who have attention challenges around academic work can hold deep and calm focus when pursuing their own interests. I'm constantly investigating how flow around their natural interests can be copied and pasted across domains into their academic lives. It begins by witnessing enthusiasm for their hobbies and then talking with them about how it might relate to their academics. Sometimes, this takes the form of a redirect during a digression. Maybe it's more aikido than copy / paste. They're still in the emotional energy of their personal interest, but suddenly you're talking about the history paper, using tone and energy as bridges, which often leads to a new discovery about a direction to take with the academic work. Inspiration and engagement don't usually come from bearing down and fighting resistance, or being told to get it together. Linking interests opens doors. |
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