Teaching Beyond the Curriculum

Abstract

‘Shared flow’ is a concept often studied in psychology and with significant results on productivity of an individual and as part of a team. To understand what happens in the flow experiences a deeper understanding of consciousness and the self is required (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). It is the subjective challenges and subjective skills that influence the quality of a person’s experience (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 2014). The study looks into these aspects of flow and studies the ‘Happiness Course’ by Yashica Jalhotra that augment the necessary ‘flow’, ‘happiness’, ‘freedom’. The study is based on a group of students enrolled in the course. The phenomenology of flow reflects attentional process (ibid). Intense concentration, perhaps the defining quality of flow is just another way of saying that attention is wholly invested in the present exchange (ibid). The effects of this ‘flow’ can be felt at multiple levels- self-esteem, concentration, focus, built-in social environments, personal and group exchanges, conduct and behavior among others. The research is a study of a group of such students who engage in these activities for three months, six months, a year or several years and exchange activities and participate in various techniques of self-growth and self-development. The study will answer: how has the Happiness Course augmented flow, what are the diverse techniques to generate happiness, how are the students exchanging and interacting to promote greater ‘freedom’, ‘happiness’?