Abstract:
The rapid growth of students enrolling in online courses in higher education (HE) has been accompanied by issues concerning students’ motivation and engagement whilst learning in this mode. Research in courses, such as Initial Teacher Education have echoed these issues and has shown that active student participation and effectively designed learning environments improve engagement of students in online environments. It is clear, even more recently through the global pandemic, that there is an increased need for deeper understanding of how students engage in the online learning environment. What if students experienced the phenomenon of being so immersed in their learning online, that they felt immense enjoyment and wanted to do it again and again? The phenomenon of experiencing optimal enjoyment from a task, when the task is appropriately challenging to the skill level of an individual is called flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). What if HE students could experience flow when learning online? Flow experiences have shown to be a strong predictor of student satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and quality student learning.
This study used hermeneutic phenomenology to examine HE students’ lived experiences of flow when learning online. This complex methodology was an evolving process of interpretations occurring at all stages of the study using the hermeneutic circle, by which specific parts informed the whole experience and the whole experience informed specific parts. Initially challenged by the lack of clear process in hermeneutical phenomenology, the task of working with an unconventional approach to research brought with it the researcher's own experience of flow. The possibility that this research generated personal transformation provoked a powerful feeling and actualisation that the shared experience and understanding of flow is entwined in the interpretations central to the hermeneutic phenomenological process. Communicating these experiences is shared through a vocative text, used to bring the readers closer to the uniqueness of the particular experience. This vocative text can provide glimpses of meaning that often hide within human experience but also highlights alternative possibilities to working with qualitative data. In addition, this study can contribute to greater knowledge and a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of flow and its application to the HE online learning environment.
This study used hermeneutic phenomenology to examine HE students’ lived experiences of flow when learning online. This complex methodology was an evolving process of interpretations occurring at all stages of the study using the hermeneutic circle, by which specific parts informed the whole experience and the whole experience informed specific parts. Initially challenged by the lack of clear process in hermeneutical phenomenology, the task of working with an unconventional approach to research brought with it the researcher's own experience of flow. The possibility that this research generated personal transformation provoked a powerful feeling and actualisation that the shared experience and understanding of flow is entwined in the interpretations central to the hermeneutic phenomenological process. Communicating these experiences is shared through a vocative text, used to bring the readers closer to the uniqueness of the particular experience. This vocative text can provide glimpses of meaning that often hide within human experience but also highlights alternative possibilities to working with qualitative data. In addition, this study can contribute to greater knowledge and a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of flow and its application to the HE online learning environment.