C. Flow Theory
For the purpose of this study we observed and documented
students using games in classroom settings while maintaining
an experience of what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s calls Flow
[25], the feeling of complete and energized focus in an
activity, with a high level of enjoyment and fulfillment [24]
Flow theory has been combined with Goffman’s Frame
Theory to describe focus attention and engrossment. More
precisely what Goffman [22] describes as “euphoric ease” or
“spontaneous engrossment” equals what Csikszentmihalyi
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describes as flow, and SDT describes as a state of autonomous
motivation. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's [25]
well-documented research and wide-scale gathering of
personal observations, the phenomenology of Flow has eight
major components.
1. A challenge activity that requires skills
2. The merging of action and awareness
3. Clear goals
4. Direct feedback
5. Concentration on the task at hand
6. The sense of control
7. The loss of self-consciousness
8. The transformation of time
According to Csikszentmihalyi, not all of these
components are needed for flow to be experienced [25]
III. METHODOLOGY