SCoPE Seminar: Informal Learning: May 15 - June 4, 2006

Hi Chris,

thanks for reminding me about Csikzsentmihalyi and his flow theory of optimal learning. This is very well known in Denmark with several researchers working to propagate the development of learning environments and teaching strategeies that would encourage the optimal flow (where challenges are big enough to make learning exciting and not too high that you lose your motivation because of stress).

I've had the pleasure to study at the Danish University of Education (yes, this country is so smal that it is the one and only!), with professor Hans-Henrik Knoop who is collaborating with both Csikzsentmihalyi and Howard Gardner. And with Frans Orsted-Andersen whose article is reporting a high degree of optimal flow found in some Danish folkeskole (primary and lover secondary) schools randomly chosen

Optimal_learning_environments_at_Danish_primary_schools.pdf

I've wanted to tell you about some of this, and share this easy accesible article  ever since we started this conversation about informal learning, but as usual with asycnhronous communication, much of the dialogue is going on between myself , my google search and the posting participants' inspiration and  intellectual and conceptual challenges, not always resulting in an instant feedback into the seminar forum. This is the beauty as well as the weakness of online interaction; only part of the knowledge development can be visibly documented and reported.

Although I'm not directly referring anything specific from this article, I would love to know if someone is reading and thinking, and I'm always very interested in a dialogue about differences in school paradigms and cultures.