Image courtesy of FrameAngel at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
CHALLENGE & EMOTION
Share how it went.
WHAT DID YOU TRY?
© Nikolajs Strigins |
Challenge:
Findings
Students thought science class was not challenging
Many teachers perceived science as intimidating for students & made tasks
easier.
Moderate challenges are the most motivating and engaging and least anxiety
provoking.
Labs have great potential to promote challenge, but emphasis was on
mechanical procedures.
Students with a growth mindset view challenges as opportunities to learn and
increase their ability.
Males engage and girls disengage when challenged during science class.
Image courtesy of Vlado at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Discussion
You are doing something where your skills have become so secondnature that everything seems to come to you naturally. Your
concentration is so intense that you sometimes lose track of time.
Does this ever happen to you? What kinds of things give you this
feeling? Describe how you feel during these times, and whether or not
you have any control of making this happen?
Do you ever see this in your students?
Challenge is Motivating
FLOW: Optimal challenge
is thought to be deeply
engaging and essential for
both personal growth,
problem solving, and (for
more advanced students)
the development of interest
Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at freeDigitalPhotos.net
The flow Experience
Intense concentration on the task at hand
Merging of action & awareness
Sense of control over one’s actions to deal
with task at hand
Positive affect: Enjoyment or interest in
activity
Distorted sense of time
Conditions for flow
Perceived challenges are high and in balance
with perceived skills
Clear proximal goals regarded as important
Immediate feedback
Control is possible
Focused, rather than divided attention
Practical Suggestions
Challenge
Monitor students challenge
Provide “low cost” (in terms of grades) challenges.
Use role models who talk about challenge and “flow”
Provide challenges for many activities so students can
chose to take on challenge in area they feel most skilled.
Treat mistakes as challenges AND chance to learn
Differentiate (discuss barriers & opportunities)
Remember that challenge is motivating rather than
intimidating. Talk about challenge as exciting
EMOTION
in the Science Classroom
Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at freeDigitalPhotos.net
Emotion
Image courtesy of Idea go at freeDigitalPhotos.net
 Learning activities that were more enjoyable were
perceived as less relevant!
Emotions varied through subject area; physics has the
highest stress and enjoyment and chemistry the lowest.
 Male students reported having more pleasure and less
stress in science class than female students.
Test anxiety put students at a disadvantage. The ultimate
result of anxiety and related underperformance in science is
students avoiding science-related careers.
Anxiety can be reduce by promoting positive and enjoyable
experiences.
Image courtesy of ponsulak at freeDigitalPhotos.net
Anxiety
SCIENCE ANXIETY
TEST ANXIETY
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at freeDigitalPhotos.net