An overview of flow

Flow, the state of being fully absorbed in a task, where time seems to slip away and learning feels effortless, is more than just a psychological concept. This article explores what flow is, why it matters, and how it can be cultivated in schools to support flourishing for all.

Author/ source: PESA

Last updated: 13/05/2026

View Lesson Plan

Format: Classroom lesson plan | Duration: 60 minutes | Target audience: Secondary students (Years 7–10)

Objective

This document is a ready-to-use lesson plan designed to help secondary teachers (Years 7–10) introduce students to the VIA Character Strengths framework in the classroom. Its core purpose is to give young people the language, self-awareness and practical experience to:

Recognise their own character strengths and understand what makes them unique
Apply those strengths intentionally in everyday situations, goal-setting and challenges
Value strengths in others, building empathy, collaboration and stronger team dynamics

Connect strengths to wellbeing, reinforcing the idea that knowing and using your strengths supports confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose

By mapping the activities to the Australian Curriculum (Health and Physical Education, Version 9), the document also serves a secondary purpose: making it easy for educators to embed evidence-informed positive psychology practices into existing classroom programmes without additional planning.

This is a curriculum-aligned tool for building student wellbeing and self-awareness through a strengths-based approach.

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Traditional, long-form updates no longer meet the expectations of today’s busy families. Females aged 30-34 are 2x more likely (77%) to be working today than they were in 1971 (38%). Just as workplaces have shifted from annual reviews to frequent informal feedback, parents now expect ongoing, two-way, personalised communication about their child.	Traditional, long-form updates no longer meet the expectations of today’s busy families. Females aged 30-34 are 2x more likely (77%) to be working today than they were in 1971 (38%). Just as workplaces have shifted from annual reviews to frequent informal feedback, parents now expect ongoing, two-way, personalised communication about their child.	Traditional, long-form updates no longer meet the expectations of today’s busy families. Females aged 30-34 are 2x more likely (77%) to be working today than they were in 1971 (38%). Just as workplaces have shifted from annual reviews to frequent informal feedback, parents now expect ongoing, two-way, personalised communication about their child.	Traditional, long-form updates no longer meet the expectations of today’s busy families. Females aged 30-34 are 2x more likely (77%) to be working today than they were in 1971 (38%). Just as workplaces have shifted from annual reviews to frequent informal feedback, parents now expect ongoing, two-way, personalised communication about their child.

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