{"id":5034,"date":"2025-07-11T19:48:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T01:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/?p=5034"},"modified":"2025-07-11T20:27:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T02:27:50","slug":"unenexpected-parallels-music-and-science-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/2025\/07\/11\/unenexpected-parallels-music-and-science-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Experiencing Flow: Reflections from a Piano Recital and Unexpected Connections to STEM Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a captivating and thought-provoking video \u2014 a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) recital by pianist and piano teacher Mrs. Evgeniya Rabinovich:
Watch the recital<\/a><\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What drew me in was not only the beauty of the performance (and it was an amazing performance indeed), but the way it explored a concept I\u2019ve been intrigued by for years: flow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In psychology \u2014 specifically, positive psychology<\/em> \u2014 flow<\/em> refers to a state of complete absorption in an activity. It\u2019s when time seems to vanish, distractions fade away, and we become deeply immersed and energized by what we are doing. The concept was introduced by Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi<\/strong><\/a>, who dedicated much of his career to understanding it.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Rabinovich\u2019s research focused on how professional pianists prepare for performances in ways that enable them to enter this elusive state. In other words, how do musicians cultivate flow in practice and performance?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

At first glance, this might seem far removed from the world of STEM education. Yet, as I watched the recital and reflected on her insights, I was struck by the many parallels. For instance, students who participate in the UBC Physics Olympics<\/strong> <\/a>often tell us how they became completely immersed in building their apparatus \u2014 working for hours without noticing time passing. That, too, is flow.<\/p>\n

So, what were my key takeaways from this recital, and how do they connect to teaching and learning in STEM?<\/p>\n

\n

1. Flow is not accidental \u2014 it must be earned<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Flow doesn\u2019t simply \u201chappen.\u201d It emerges through sustained effort, persistence, and often, failure. Struggle is not a barrier to flow \u2014 it is part of the path toward it. For both musicians and STEM learners, failure is not something to avoid, but something to work through.<\/p>\n

\n

2. Deliberate practice is essential<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Not all practice leads to flow. As Mrs. Rabinovich emphasized, what matters is deliberate<\/em> practice \u2014 targeted, thoughtful, and intentional effort. Many students mistakenly believe that solving dozens of similar problems will help them improve in science or math. But unless they are thinking deeply and challenging themselves, progress \u2014 and flow \u2014 remains elusive.<\/p>\n

\n

3. Flow requires reflection and self-awareness<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To achieve flow, learners must become reflective practitioners<\/strong>. They need to ask themselves: How am I learning? What is working? What isn\u2019t?<\/em> This kind of metacognition is key in both music and STEM. Passive learners, who follow instructions without critical thought, are unlikely to ever experience flow.<\/p>\n

\n

Why does this matter?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Because flow is deeply motivating<\/em>. It is joyful. It is rewarding. And it is the kind of experience that keeps us coming back to learn more \u2014 even when the journey is difficult.\u00a0Too often in education, we prioritize safety and minimize failure, unintentionally denying students the opportunity to experience the struggle that leads to true engagement. Instead, we should aim higher. We should cultivate environments where students are challenged, where expectations are high, and where failure is seen as part of the process \u2014 not the end of it.<\/p>\n

Whether in music, science, sports, or any other pursuit, flow reminds us that learning is not just about outcomes. It\u2019s about the experience<\/em> of learning \u2014 and helping our students discover the joy that can come with it.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Finding Flow: The Psychology Of Engagement With Everyday Life\u00a0<\/span>Paperback \u2013 Illustrated, April 6 1998<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a captivating and thought-provoking video \u2014 a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) recital by pianist and piano teacher Mrs. Evgeniya Rabinovich:Watch the recital What drew me in was not only the beauty of… Read moreExperiencing Flow: Reflections from a Piano Recital and Unexpected Connections to STEM Education<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1525,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[795,6989,31,236253,2708,6912],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-general-teaching","category-personal","category-science-in-everyday-life","category-teacher-education","category-technology-and-learning","content-layout-excerpt-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1525"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5034"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5044,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions\/5044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mmilner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}