Flow is "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost."
(Csíkszentmihályi, Wired Magazine, 1996)
About Me
I have been intrigued by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's flow theory as an educator as I have seen students become so absorbed in their work that when the bell rings, they are surprized time flew by so quickly. I feel it myself when I am deep in a project, absorbed in new ideas and the creative process. This has become a quest of mine—to create engaging experiences for participants such that learners becomes intrinsically engaged in the task at hand.
Design Thinking
Flow is naturally a part of the design process. For me, it is a perfect melding of the creative self and the academic self in that I am able to use what I have learned to create an environment where learning is enjoyable, even when that learning task has been assigned to employees for training purposes. Applying knowledge and skills learned in a module through interactive engagement, such as working through scenarios, has been proven to be an effective way to learn online. Please click the Projects tab above to see some of the work I have done in designing engaging learning.
Educational Expertise
I also come with a background in education. I recently graduated with a doctoral degree in adult learning and am well-versed in the theories and practices that facilitate effective learning for this age group. I also taught middle and high school English for 14 years, wrote curriculum for Baltimore County Public School System, and earned an MA in curriculum and instruction. More recently, I have been an instructor for the Centre for Sexuality, and I have taught the curriculum writing process and design-based thinking for educators to preservice teachers at the University of Calgary. This background in writing, education, and research has been the foundation upon which I work in instructional design.