Pre-assessment, "How People Learn"

Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives...most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the results of creativity...[and] when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life. (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention)This quote came from a Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist who coined the term "flow," which he described as the optimal learning state: “… flow – the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” (Csikzentmihalyi, 1991) When and where in your life have you experienced learning experiences or activities like this, where you were so absorbed in what you were doing, you needed no extrinsic motivation to continue? When do you feel the most alive and interested in what you are doing?

This quote brings back memories from the age of four. I loved building play houses out of blankets (kind of like tents but better). Since I was so small and didn't have all my motor skills in place, so my brother would do most of the labor and I would tell him where and how I wanted my bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, etc.. As I got older I created 2-dimensional houses/layouts using my Jenga blocks, and then my miniature Muppet Babies would move in. In elementary school, I used to get excited when we had projects that had to do with building models. I remember having to build a model of the Gold Rush, so my mom and I collected a lot of dirt, rocks, etc.. and it came out amazing. Another project I remember was creating my ideal room using a shoebox. It had a bean bag, a bed, and a jacuzzi tub. Around this time my brother was learning about the California Missions and built a clay replica of one of them. When he brought it home I couldn't stop admiring it's beauty. The architecture was spectacular and I loved seeing the details of the plants, dirt, walkways, etc.. Of course I couldn't touch it or he'd kill me, but he would let me stare as long as I wanted. It was part of my daily routine, waking up in the morning and running to his room to see the Mission. It stayed with us through many moves, but it eventually fell apart and I had to part ways with it...boo!

In college, I took a speech communications class, and this too was exciting for me. Every Monday and Wednesday, I would count down the minutes till it was time for class. I was always the first one there, and I ALWAYS sat in the front. We learned many things like verbal , non-verbal , one-way, and two-way communication. I definitely attended this class for fun even though it was a requirement. Staying with the subject of communication, I also got into learning sign language. I took many classes in college, and again I couldn't wait for class to start. Every homework assignment was not work, it was FUN!!!