Students’ Experiences of Flow in Inquiry-Based Learning Versus Traditional Settings: An Exploration of Motivation Through the Eyes of Vygotsky and Csikszentmihalyi

• In Event: Trends in Constructivist Pedagogy

Abstract

This study applied Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory to student motivation in inquiry-based learning (IBL). Previous studies of social-constructivist settings have partly integrated the cognitive and affective elements of motivation. We strengthened this connection by exploring relations among pedagogical approach, Flow, goal orientation (mastery, performance), and source of motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic). Questionnaires assessed recollections of Flow after recent units and favorite subjects for 272 grades 5-to-9 students. Classroom settings associated with reported Flow were coded as traditional, varied, or frequent inquiry. Interviews with 18 students elaborated the quantitative data. IBL was linked to the most Flow. Extrinsic motivation was also associated with Flow, particularly in Traditional classrooms. Flow and social-constructivist inquiry theories converge in Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development.

Authors

• Lindsay A. Borovay, McGill University

• Olivia Hua

• Ethan Yang, McGill University

• Bruce M. Shore, McGill University