7. The Architecture of Flow

Nowadays many people argue that learning must be fun, but what does that mean and how can it be achieved? The fun involved in learning can surely not be like the kind of shortterm 'kick ' one gets from going down a roller coaster. Although this gives instant pleasure (at least to some people), true learning requires a more sustained, long-term motivational force that stimulates the learner to keep seeking new challenges and gets her through periods where the going is tough. There are people who have a strong inner motivation to engage in challenging activities and consequently they are the ones that tend to excel. These people spend long hours in a highly focused state and seem to enjoy tremendously what they are doing. They are highly effective learners and seek out learning opportunities themselves. Typically these learners are very creative and make major breakthrough-contributions to their fields. But such focused activity is also naturally observed in children. When they are truly engaged, they strongly resist having to interrupt their play, and they generally don't like to be put in a rigid framework that constrains their activities. We need to understand better the nature of such behaviour and how it can come about, s