Predicting Flow, Grit and Giving-up

While engagement theories suggests that students’ interest and skills play an important part in academic learning, these predictions have rarely been tested in science education, and even less studied in situations in which learning occurs. We conceptualize optimal learning moments based on interest, skills (high expectations) and challenge (Schneider et al, 2016). The present study examined to what extent students’ optimal learning moments components in terms of momentary interest, expectations and challenge in science are associated with their momentary experiences of flow, grit, and giving up. Finnish (N = 5891 beeps, 307 students) secondary school students participated in the study using Experience Sampling Method (ESM). When signaled during sciences classes, students responded to questions via smartphones concerning their momentary interest, expectations, challenge, flow, grit, and giving up in the current activity. Data were analyzed with multilevel path modeling. The results showed that during science lessons, high momentary interest was positively associated with momentary flow and grit; high momentary expectations were positively associated with high grit and low giving up; and high momentary challenge, in turn, showed as increases in feelings of giving up. These results support the value of optimal learning moments in science.