Flow
Flow is the affective state of optimal experience that creates pleasure by balancing the challenge of the task at hand to the skills of the person. Originally discovered and popularized [1] by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ("chick-sent-me-high-ee"), flow has been studied across diverse tasks ranging from athletics to learning by students to games. More recently, flow has been used as an affective state of students using ITS systems.
Foundations of Flow
Flow, as originally formulated by Csikszentmihalyi and described in his book [1], has 8 components that are highly associated with being in the state of flow:
1. A challenging activity that requires skill
2.
Flow in ITS Systems
Flow over time in ITS Systems
Measuring Flow
References
1. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow - the psychology of optimal experience. New York, Harper. 2. Craig, S.D. (2004). Affect and learning: an exploratory look into the role of affect in learning with AutoTutor. 3. D'Mello, S., Picard, R., and Graesser, A. (2007). Towards an affect-sensitive AutoTutor. IEEE Intelligent Systems. 4. Baker, R.S.J.d., Rodrigo, M.M.T., and Xolocotzin, U.E. (2007). The dynamics of affective transitions in simulation problem-solving environments. Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction. 666-677. 5. D'Mello, S., Taylor, R.S., and Graesser, A. (2006). Monitoring affective trajectories during complex learning. 6. Shernoff, D. J., Vandell, D. L, & Bolt, D. M. (2008). Experiences and emotions as mediators in the relationship between after-school program participation and developmental outcomes. Long-term impact and outcomes of out- of-school time programs, Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY. 7. Pearce, J. M., Ainley, M., & Howard, S. (2005). The ebb and flow of online learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 21, 745–771. 8. Konradt, U., Filip, R., and Hoffmann, S. (2003). Flow experience and positive affect during hypermedia learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 34(3), 309-327.
