“Blinking Out” and “Having the Touch”

Abstract

This interpretive study of two fifth-grade students' intrinsic motivation for writing examines the ways in which children who self-sponsor writing express “flow” experiences associated with writing. Considering a sense of flow seems to address why some children persevere when faced with challenging tasks and why they spend so much time and effort engaged in activities they find interesting. In addition to the challenge of writing, the social context of the classroom influenced opportunities for student-controlled writing. Flow experiences described by the boys occurred when each controlled important aspects of writing, such as ownership, genre, style, and length—although the social context of the two classrooms varied widely. The boys featured in this report demonstrated that elementary students identified as avid writers can differentiate between flow experiences and nonflow experiences associated with writing, and they describe flow experiences in terms similar to those reported in studies on adolescents and adults.

Learning as a Shared Peak Experience: Interactive Flow in Higher Education

“…Flow is, however, critically dependent on a match-up of high demands and high skill (Csikszentmihalyi 1997;Csikszentmihalyi et al 1993). In educational contexts, learner characteristics such as interest (Abbott 2000;Guo and Ro 2008) and curiosity (Egbert 2003;Guo and Ro 2008;Schiefele and Csikszentmihalyi 1994;Webster et al 1993) also play an important role as antecedents of flow.…”

The Synergy Zone: Connecting the Mind, Brain, and Heart for the Ideal Classroom Learning Environment

“…This is unfortunate because newer research indicates that a state of flow is associated with academic success [ 56 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ]. Furthermore, a state of flow enhances students’ perceptions of learning, skill development, and satisfaction [ 50 ] and helps them persevere [ 66 ] The most important aspect of flow that affects learning outcomes is the intrinsic reward inherent in flow—the activity itself is rewarding [ 50 ]. Helping students identify their strengths and ways to use them can increase intrinsic motivation [ 67 ].…”

“…Autonomy within the context of rules and responsibilities enhances flow [ 54 , 66 , 71 , 72 ]. Educational research shows a positive association between achievement and autonomy [ 73 ].…”

Understanding the lifelong journey of writing development

“…Some ethnographic research has looked at students responding to specific tasks in schools, primarily to demonstrate the individuality, intelligence, and creative struggle of writers of various ages in making sense of expectations and situations (for example, Abbott, 2000), but this work has not yet added up into a developmental picture, though it does suggest processes of learning through sense-making and participation. Also some research has demonstrated the importance of experiences outside schooling or among peers within school but outside organized curricula (for example, Finders, 1996); however, this work has not yet been integrated with the learning in school, nor has it gotten much beyond demonstration of the existence of non-curricular writing development to be factored into an integrated model.…”

“…Algunas investigaciones etnográficas han estudiado la respuesta de estudiantes a tareas específicas en las escuelas, principalmente para demostrar la individualidad, inteligencia y esfuerzo creativo de escritores de diversas edades en la búsqueda de dar sentido a sus expectativas y a distintas situaciones (por ejemplo, Abbott, 2000), pero este trabajo aún no ha logrado proporcionar un panorama evolutivo, aunque sugiere procesos de aprendizaje a través de la búsqueda de sentido y la participación. Además, algunas investigaciones han demostrado la importancia de las experiencias fuera de la escuela o entre iguales, dentro de la escuela, pero fuera de los currículos organizados (por ejemplo, Finders, 1996); no obstante, este trabajo aún no se ha integrado con el aprendizaje en la escuela, ni ha llegado mucho más allá de la demostración de la existencia de una evolución no curricular de la escritura, que se pueda incluir en un modelo integrado.…”