The Nature of Immersive Experience: An appreciative inquiry Norman Jackson
Introduction
Immersion is a metaphorical term derived from the physical and emotional experience of being submerged in water. The expression, ‘being immersed in’, is often used to describe a state of being which can have both negative consequences – being overwhelmed, engulfed, submerged or stretched, and positive consequences – being deeply absorbed or engaged in a situation or problem that results in mastery of a complex and demanding situation. Being immersed in an extremely challenging experience might be very uncomfortable but it is particularly favourable for the development of insights, confidence and capabilities for learning to live and work with complexity and messyness. It is in these situations that we need to draw on both our intellectual and our creative resourcefulness and this is where we might usefully explore possible links with Mihayli Czsentmihayli’s concept of ‘Flow’. Because of these intriguing and educationally important dimensions to the idea of immersive experience, the concept is worthy of exploration. Norman Jackson January 2008 Introduction to the Power of Immersive Experience Conference Programme
This paper summarises the findings of an appreciative enquiry undertaken in January 2008 as part of a conference held at the University of Surrey. The conference was deliberately structured to facilitate enquiry, conversation and story telling about personal experiences
Participants to the conference were invited to tell author a story about an experience that they had had which they believed engaged them in an immersive way (an immersive experience). The stories are available at: http://immersiveexperience.pbwiki.com/Stories+of+immersive+experiences
Participants were invited to say something about: the context/situation/challenge the particular characteristics of the situation that engaged them in an immersive way. the forms of learning / personal development / change that emerged from the situation the words/concepts/feelings would you use to describe the immersive experience the principles or lessons that can be drawn from the story. For example, how could this story inform designs and enrich opportunities for learning through immersive experience in higher education?
A series of Working Papers were created, based on the content of these stories and this report summarises the Working Papers. The list of contributors is provided in appendix 1. Without their contributions this synthesis would not have been possible.
What is an immersive experience? The vocabulary used to describe experiences that participants feel are immersive (Table 1) provides a clue. The vocabulary is rich and reflects the complexity of the experiences and their emotional effects on participants. Within this rich vocabulary a number of conceptual patterns can be discerned.
Situations that require an intense level of engagement and lots of concentration and energy Words like – absorbing, consuming, determination, discipline, driven, engagement, energetic, intense and intensive, perseverance, powerful, self motivation, self reliance, spell-binding, staying power, steep learning curve, time consuming.
Situations that require emotional engagement Words like – anxiety, doubt, emotional, enjoyment, joy, exhilaration, fear, frustration, happiness, lonely, pride, sadness, satisfaction, feeling stressed, uncomfortable.
1 Table 1 Vocabulary of immersive experience – words used to describe the experience
Absorbing Emotional Integrative Rewarding Achievement Encouraging Intense Sadness Adapting Energetic Intensive Satisfaction Alarming Engagement Invaluable Satisfying All-encompassing Enjoyable Joyful Scary Amusing Enlightening Journey Self-affirming Anxiety Enriching Happiness Self motivation Authentic Escape Hectic Self reliance Awareness Exciting Highs and lows Serious Beneficial Exploring Humbling Spell-binding Bewildering Exhausting Learning Staying power Brilliant ideas Exhilarating Liberating Steep learning curve Celebratory Familiar, yet new Life changing Strange Challenging Fear of failure Lonely Stimulating Changing me Feeling de-motivated Lonliness Stretched Chaos Focus Long-lasting Supportive Cold Focusing Loss Surprising Competing interests Freedom to learn and Magnificent landscapes Sustainable Completely uprooted be myself Maturity Taxing Complex - Complexity Friendly Messiness Taking risks Confidence boosting Frustrating Need for reassurance Terrifying Confident Full of potential Nurturing Time consuming Confused Fun, but scary One-off Tireless Consuming Goal driven Overwhelming Transcendent Creative Growing Ownership Transforming Demanding Guiding Perseverance True facilitation Depression Happiness Personal Unexpected Developmental Hectic Pleasing Unexplored Determination Hidden perspective Powerful Uncertainty Different Highly rewarding Practical Unknown smells Discipline Highs and lows Preoccupying Unnerving Distressing sometimes Humbling Privileged Urgent Doubt Illuminating Pride Unsettling Dream Immediate Provoking Unstructured Driven Indescribable Relaxing Unsustainable Emotional Independence Releasing Varied Empowering Innovative Respectful Work-life balance Empowerment Insightful Revelatory Worrying
2 Situations that are extremely challenging, sometimes difficult to describe in ways that capture the complexity, in which risk and fear are often associated Words like – alarming, all-encompassing, anxiety, frequent use of challenging, competing interests complex – complexity, demanding, exciting, exhilarating, fear of failure, hectic, indescribable, messiness, overwhelming, preoccupying, taxing, taking risks, terrifying, time consuming, unexpected, unexplored, uuncertainty, unnerving.
‘for me the level of immersion seems to be in inverse proportion to my ability to talk about my thinking’.
Situations that are uncomfortable or frightening Words like – alarming, anxiety, cold, distressing, lonely and lonliness, scary, terrifying, uncertainty, unnerving, worrying. ‘I continually felt out of my comfort zone’. ‘I was forced to exist out of my comfort zone.’
Situations where people do not feel in control Words like – chaos, completely uprooted. ‘I felt out of my depth’.
Situations that are not known and require exploration Words like – unexpected, unexplored, uncertainty, exploring, familiar yet new, full of potential, hidden perspective, strange, surprising. ‘We explored the concepts.’
Situations that stimulate and require reflection and discovery of self It made me reflect on my own skills and attitudes.. The impetus to appreciate reflection...far more constructively than hitherto To recognise the importance of feedback My questioning and exploration of self
States of perplexity Words like – bewildering, confused, doubt, uncertainty
Situations that require creativity Words like – adaptability, creativity, creatively stimulating
A sense of personal change, growth and gain Words like – achievement, awareness [greater sense of], beneficial, ‘changing me for the better’, developmental, empowering and empowerment, enlightening, enriching, freedom to learn and be myself, growing, insightful, integrative, invaluable, learning, liberating, life changing, new understanding, nurturing, releasing, revelatory, self-affirming, self motivation, self reliance, transcendent, transforming.
A sense of satisfaction, confidence and happiness in coming to terms with or mastering a difficult situation and a new sense of wellbeing Words like – celebratory, confidence boosting, empowering, happiness, rewarding, satisfaction and satisfying, pride.
What sorts of contexts do people associate with immersive experiences? Part of the answer to the first question is embedded in the contexts of the experiences that people describe as being immersive. Contexts identified in personal stories of immersive experiences include:
Challenging language/cultural situations – like travel, voluntary service or work in other countries typically compounded by lack of knowledge about the society and language and sometimes compounded with issues like poverty or poor security. Finding yourself as a white middle class teenager in a black African-American urban culture. Challenging work situations – particularly first jobs or new roles, planning and overseeing major events, engaging others, and creative work challenge like writing a book
3 Intensive learning processes and environments that others have created Intensive self-created learning processes particularly relating to postgraduate research Highly engaged participation in a religious/political activity Intensive engagement in leisure activities Intensive engagement in artistic enterprise and performance
The stories of immersive experiences show that the experiences that were selected to embody the idea of immersion were predominantly experiences of choice. Most stories involve people putting themselves into new/unfamiliar and challenging, even risky situations. Many story tellers deliberately and voluntarily put themselves into challenging environments like taking on a job in another country (with no knowledge of the language or culture) or a new organisation, or they have chosen to engage in particular work, educational, self-study or leisure activities that they have found challenging.
In some cases story tellers made a familiar place unfamiliar in order to enhance the challenge of the experience - like the story of off-road cycling at night. Here a familiar environment was rendered unfamiliar by the loss of sensory information as a result of riding at night. The experience demanded other that other senses become heightened.
Most of the stories are positive and affirming in the sense that even when the experience was uncomfortable good things generally emerged but we also have to recognise that there are circumstances for immersive experience where good things will not emerge. We must also recognise that there will be situations where people find themselves immersed in something for reasons beyond their control ie they have not chosen to be in the situation, where life suddenly moves in a direction that was not anticipated and they are precipitated into unfamiliar territory.
Based on the stories of immersive experiences we can define two sorts of overarching contexts Figure 1.
Figure 1 Contexts for immersive experience
Immersion as an essentially solitary Immersion as a co-created (social) enterprise enterprise - contexts for immersion are self- contexts for immersion and contexts are co- constructed and personal e.g. reading, riding created with others (eg work, people in other a mountain bike at night, individual creative cultures, playing in sport/on-line games, and sporting enterprise religious/political communities)
Immersion a Immersion a chosen form of chosen or Immersion a chosen form of Immersion a chosen or engagement in a enforced form of engagement in a context of necessary form of context of engagement in a individual choice e.g. engagement to cope with individual context that has grappling with a new job, a in a situation that has choice and been created by demanding role, formal learning been created by control circumstances process or personal research circumstances beyond an outside a process and team based artistic individual’s control egs person’s control performance, living and working chaos at work, severe in another culture illness, bereavement, coping with extreme situations like natural or manmade disasters, Many experiences are likely to contain a mix of solitary and social activity.
The first category embraces those experiences where immersion is essentially a solitary enterprise (ie the individual creates the experience through their thinking and actions and does not
4 seek to involve anyone else). The experience of being immersed in a book, the athlete immersed in a training programme, the musician rehersing for a concert, the scientist undertaking laboratory research that doesn’t involve engaging other people, riding off-road at night, playing sophisticated games against a computer, are all examples of such experiences. We might envisage two situations for immersive solitary enterprise: 1) where an individual constructs the environment and conditions for immersive experience 2) where circumstances or the environment strongly influences or demands an immersive response from an individual. For example stories of endurance and survival in hostile environments might fall in the later.
The second overarching category is where the immersive experience is much more of a social enterprise - it is co-created through complex social interactions and collaborative enterprise. Again we might envisage two scenarios: 1) where an individual places themselves in a challenging social situation and chooses to engage in an immersive way – examples might include grappling with a new job or complex work problem, engaging deeply in a learning process or team based artistic performance, prolonged travel / exposure in another country/culture with a partner ; 2) where rapid and significant changes in circumstances or the environment require an immersive response in order to get through/survive an event – examples of situations might include severe illness within the family, death of a loved one, coping with natural or manmade disasters.
Types of immersive experiences Three different types of immersive experience can be distinguished in the appreciative enquiry: 1) those which are essentially pleasurable and risk free and do not encounter conditions that are stressful or distressing – like being immersed in a book. 2) those experiences that may contain within them pleasurable experiences and outcomes but which also contain physically, intellectually and emotionally challenging, stressful or distressing situations (a majority of stories are of this type); 3) the murky side of immersive experience in which an immersive situation is intended to ‘block out the light’ rather than lead to enlightenment. Here immersion has ‘links with homogenisation and the repression of difference.’
But not all immersive experiences are good experiences or have beneficial outcomes in terms of making a positive difference to someone’s life. So to these must be added a fourth category. 4) experiences that are far from pleasurable. They are stressful and distressing, they are dominated by emotional low points and outcomes are not positive or beneficial.
Why do people to engage in an immersive experience? Understanding what compels people to voluntarily enter an experience that is likely to be immersive or to turn an experience into one that is immersive by engaging in it in an immersive way is important if we are to create conditions for immersive experience in higher education. It might be anticipated that committing to a level of engagement that participants recognise as being immersive will require powerful motivational forces particularly if the experience is sustained over a period of time. The stories participants chose to tell of their immersive experiences were overwhelmingly self-motivated and positive in the sense of fulfilling personal needs, desires and aspirations. In a few stories the reasons for participating in an immersive way was not clear. Some of the more overt sources of motivation are listed below. Need / desire for personal development / profound change / Taking on a significant new challenge requiring adaptation/re-invention – motivations to understand/survive/master. Necessity /need to invent (typically connected to taking on a new/significant challenge) Desire to exploit an opportunity (typically connected to taking on a new challenge) Desire to learn a language/culture (specific and frequently cited new challenge) The need for stimulation (generic reason for a new challenge) Necessity /need to invent (typically connected to taking on a new/significant challenge) Need desire to conduct research (specific context for new challenge) Passion/excitement/happiness
5 Experiencing effects Doing something for others Being inspired by others Modelling immersive behaviour in order to engage others in an immersive way Coping with situations that were imposed / outside of the control of the individual
Strong and sustained self-motivational forces are likely to involve a combination of forces like for example the need desire for change/personal development, might be connected to taking on a new challenge, seeing and exploiting a new opportunity then experiencing the effects on self and others.
We must also appreciate that an overt motivational force may camouflage other motivations which although unspoken might be as powerful. So needs and desire for change/personal development might also be connected deep down to unarticulated desires for a happier, more fulfilling or spiritual life.
Motivations are also likely to change through a complex experience. An immersive experience may begin with an obligation or sense of duty, it might encounter anxiety and fear as a source of negative emotional energy but might progress through senses of satisfaction and enjoyment as difficult situations are mastered and new insights are gained.
Only a few immersive experiences appear to have been ‘driven’ by circumstances beyond the control of the individual, although the environment and participants’ engagement with it is a key feature of most immersive experiences.
In summary, the overwhelming sources of energy and commitment to engaging in an immersive way with a complex situation seem to be intrinsic in nature seemingly triggered by needs for new experiences and challenges through which people develop themselves. Higher education is not very good at recognising individually designed, self-motivated experience in its pre-planned, formalised approaches to education and this might be a barrier to further development of immersive experiences.
How do people learn through immersive experiences? Learning is an active process: people learn by doing and experiencing things Learning by observing, experiencing, listening, participating, searching for information, asking. I started by wandering around in the clothes I arrived with, then I got an office on someone else's island, then bought my own land (and sold some), then took delivery of our own island which I prepared for the students, to carry out their activity last semester. I attended conferences and discussions, and then organised my own discussion series in the office and now on the island. I spent a lot of time shopping and opened my own shop. I found I was devoting rather a lot of time to living in Second Life ...
In such situations people learn from the experiences of others At the same time, learning from the experiences of others (such as my two French colleagues) was invaluable in helping me to understand this foreign landscape. structured reflection with my coach-mentor the opportunity to discuss issues – and crucially my reflection on issues
Learning is experiential and reflective The forms of learning were initially experiential; later, after the event, predominantly reflective.
Learning involves seeing and making new meanings for me the gain in experiential and reflective learning was much greater. In particular, I was struck by the final wonder…….. this triggered a personal exploration of a situation in which I currently find myself. Through it I was able to explore a range of possibilities. The situation is still uncomfortable but I am now more at peace with the way things are working out.
What do we learn through immersive experiences?
6 The learning that participants report raises the issue of what counts as learning: what emerges is a very rich and diverse visualisation and representation of what learning derived through these sorts of intensively engaged experience means.
We learn a lot through experiences that we describe as being immersive. Learning by observing, experiencing, listening, participating, searching for information, asking. [I learnt a] huge amount of a broad/general and subject specific knowledge acquisition happened as a result of this immersive experience.
Situations often demand that we learn quickly and they may force us to make and learn from mistakes I had to learn a lot very quickly, and learn by making mistakes as well We learn complex things – like a new language or how a society or culture works. I learnt to speak fluently but at the same time, understood how difficult it is to be completely illiterate -- deaf and dumb in some ways of immersion enabled me to get inside another culture and I take pleasure from this experience even to this day. It has left an enduring mark, a language competence and a deep respect for Italy, particularly the South. I developed considerable verbal fluency in Russian, moving from an initial lack of confidence and reluctance to open my mouth for fear of making a mistake, to thinking (and sometimes dreaming) in Russian, I learnt that the British approach to life wasn’t the only way, so I learnt how to unlearn. I figured out which parts of my Britishness I wanted to hold on to and which were better discarded. I found out what was really important to me and treasured values like kindness, cheerfulness and courage that go beyond culture.
We learn subtle things A recognition of the power of the smile and the importance of humour in negotiating and in tense situations.
Situations encourage self-reliance and resourcefulness and encourage people to push themselves beyond their comfort zones The situation, which was highly stressful at times, made me more self-reliant. It made me engage in huge amounts of a priori reasoning, reflection, planning and practice, in the absence of any prescribed, agreed approaches or even content. My own predispositions and interests were encouraged by the circumstances, so that these could be used as resources I discovered resources in myself of self-reliance, resilience and staying power, even through the difficult times. I soon discovered that …I just needed to be self-reliant and get on with the job Shown me the importance of risk taking and moving out of one’s comfort zone
We learn physical things dance movements that then become part of oneself; learning sections of choreography
We learn complex skills and competencies I learnt to gather and synthesise complex evidence and make judgements about what I had seen and experienced. An apparent capacity to appear patient and calm while inwardly panicking! I also developed skills for embracing differences. I learnt how to build relationships and when to choose not to.
We encounter ah-ha moments: ‘Not exactly eureka moments, more ah, hah moments as something falls into place, links with something else or I understand more about a situation or experience’
We learn about how other people behave and become more sensitive to seeing the world from other perspectives I learned how individuals construct their own changing perspectives in learning situations
7 An understanding that some people just do not see the detail and that it takes hard conscious thought to work with people who have very different thought processes and working patterns when in an immersive situation. On reflection, changes that emerged include a greater respect for others who encounter challenges on a daily basis, particularly people who live in absolute poverty and suffer from terminal illnesses, yet do so in a dignified manner. I learnt to empathise with the front-line teachers and managers that made our education system work
We learn to think with complexity, with deeper wisdom and new senses of knowing Negotiation and decision-making based on whole-person, complex models of what learning is and what it is for An acknowledgement that there needs to be vision to create such events, and a realisation that even the smallest of details are important and need to be considered at the visionary stage in order for the big picture to appear complete
We learn how to reflect more deeply and how to make sense of complex situations through this process. This provided the impetus to appreciate reflection as a practitioner far more constructively than hitherto - and within that to recognise the importance of both peer feedback and an understanding of peer perspectives. It made me reflect on my own skills, attitudes and highlighted my strengths.
We learn how to create new senses of order Sense-making is an ongoing project A feeling of creating order, making sense out of material that was both very familiar to me but which seemed at the outset to be very fragmented.
We learn to see things differently through the forms or learning and the personal meaning and connections we make in our lives for me the gain in experiential and reflective learning was much greater. In particular, I was struck by the final wonder: “I wonder what God was doing while Abram & Sarai were wandering back and forth in the desert?” this triggered a personal exploration of a situation in which I currently find myself. Through it I was able to explore a range of possibilities. The situation is still uncomfortable but I am now more at peace with the way things are working out. the learning was about being reminded how teaching and facilitating a learning experience can actually be a trigger for one's own learning - and for the reassertion of one's own learned experiences.
We learn to work with, use and control our emotions
How do people change? The amount and quality of change recognised reflects the nature of the immersive experience that is described. Some experiences described – like reading a book or riding a horse to hounds are relatively self- contained, while they may trigger strong emotions and insights people would not claim that they are fundamentally changed.
Some people moved away from their preferred way of doing things The insight provided by my mentor threw a lot of light for me on how much of an effort I had made to move away from natural inclinations to adapt to individual coaching situations
In some situations people are forced to radically change their behaviour To adapt to the school, I needed to take a crash course in understanding what it was like to be different. I wore an army coat and converse tennis shoes as an urban uniform. I listened to radio programmes and television that were popular to the African-American community, i.e. Soul Train; much of the vernacular and spoken word were different to me. I to alter the way I behaved: I learned to adopt an unprovocative demeanour and not look up into people’s eyes because this was seen as aggressive. I tried to find friends to advise me on protocol; several friends were half African-American and half Indian and were also considered different by their classmates
People changed their value systems and became more humble It made me value what I did for a job. It taught me to value difference and helped me become less judgemental. I became (I hope!) less arrogant and more tolerant.
8 I felt humbled through the experience of meeting and observing the many professionals I came into contact with.
People become more self-aware and gain confidence in their own capability I felt more self-aware and confident to act in a facilitative fashion both with coachees and colleagues….In work relationships in particular I have come to observe I had been operating in a very reactive and process-, rather than, self-aware, interactive and people-focussed way for a long time. Confidence in my ability to be accepted as a colleague in a hitherto closed world to me The main change was the eventual growth in confidence to stick with speaking German especially at work. Overall I think that this whole experience made me much more confident and able to tackle new situations. Boosted my self confidence
They gain new intellectual and practical tools The experience, not that I knew it at the time, helped equip me with the intellectual and practical tools and knowledge to move on to further challenges
Immersive experiences develop persistence and self-knowledge about what an individual can achieve Although there were times when I thought I would go under I didn’t. I persisted and with that persistence and my accumulated experiences my confidence grew so that at the end of the process the thought of radical change didn’t frighten me any more. Deeper understanding of working with tiredness, endurance: language skills diminish, body can be pushed, working through frustration and difficulty to achieve what perhaps did not feel possible at first. Important to try different strategies to achieve your goals and be proactive - ‘If they don’t answer your second email knock on their door’. I discovered resources in myself of self-reliance, resilience and staying power, even through the difficult times. finally I acquired enough resilience to not run away again.
People gain new insights on complex lives and these insights may well connect with or change a person’s identity It made links to what I already knew in a non threatening safe environment. It made me value what I did for a job. It taught me to value difference and helped me become less judgemental. I found that we all had a shared ethos and although we worked in a variety of fields we all wanted the same thing. It made me reflect on my own skills, attitudes and highlighted my strengths. It taught me not to be scared of words. It showed me what child/person centred really means. I learned and continue to learn that what is important is learning, not teaching. I learned and continue to learn that there is an emotional aspect to learning as well as an intellectual one. I became (I hope!) less arrogant and more tolerant. I changed from being a lone, angry rebel to realising that sustaining negativity is a waste of effort and time and that this was better spent finding connections and commonality. I found that shared feelings and experiences were a better basis for establishing lasting common ground than shared opinions. I learnt how to build relationships and when to choose not to.
At the transformative end of the learning continuum immersive experiences fundamentally change people It’s fair to say that this immersive experience was life-changing; I became aware that I could learn anything I set my mind to, taking ownership gradually of a level of confidence that I had never before experienced and that – yes, I can say, permanently – changed my attitude to learning and therefore to myself. I still feel a sense of celebration! I discovered all my limitations as a person, as a Muslim, and as a friend. It was almost like rediscovering me from inside out. It gave me confidence and in practical terms it gave me the way forward through new skills and knowledge. Ultimately it gave me the impetus to change jobs and move into Further and then Higher Education. I changed from being a novice with no idea what I was supposed to do to someone who could perform the professional role. I reformed my professional identity during that year and became a very different person in terms of my interests Overall this was a transforming experience on many levels. As well as learning about a very different world from the one I had grown up in, I also developed personally, gaining in confidence and resilience, and possibly shedding some naivety along the way. We all recognised, both at the time and in retrospect, that some profound changes had occurred that made a substantial and sustained difference to our understanding of the nature of the ‘professional task’ and of the need to work ‘alongside’, rather than ‘for’ our clients if we were to understand their plight and add value to their life experiences and/or ameliorate their suffering.
9 I am not the same person as I would have been had I gone to a suburban all ‘white’ school.
Discussion
You cannot read the appreciative enquiry stories without feeling that there is something special about the idea of immersion (an intense level of engagement) and the situation that creates the experience and requires or encourages such commitment and engagement. The vocabulary which describes such experiences and an individuals engagement is rich and reflects the complexity of the experiences and their emotional effects on participants.
We hypothesised that being immersed in an extremely challenging experience might be very uncomfortable but it is particularly favourable for the development of insights, confidence, resiliance and capabilities for learning to live and work with complexity and messyness and the richness of learning and the types of personal changes attributed to immersive experience seem to endorse this proposition. The types of learning claimed by many story tellers is complex and not easy to describe. Its similar to the fuzzy characterizations offered by Peter Knight in his elaboration of the idea of ‘complex achievements’. This is important as these sorts of experiences offer a means of developing these types of learning that are highly valued by employers.
The will to be involved in an immersive way
The ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ model of motivations (Maslow 1943) developed a framework for analysing the motivational forces behind human behaviour and growth. His model contains five levels of need. 1. Biological and Physiological basic needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. 2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. 3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. 4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. 5. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has been extended by other people to include ('Cognitive', 'Aesthetic', and 'Transcendence' – helping others achieve self-actualization) ‘levels’. Others have argued that these sources of motivation are all concerned with self-development and self-fulfilment that is rooted in self-actualization 'personal growth', which is distinctly different to the 1-4 level 'deficiency' motivators. Maslow’s hierarchical and sequential model has been criticised because in real life people tend to access and utilise different levels of motivation simultaneously rather than sequentially. Clayton Alderfer combined Maslow’s five categories into three categories in his ERG theory:
Clayton Alderfer’s Existence-Relatedness-Growth ERG theory Growth An intrinsic desire for personal development. These include the Maslow’s intrinsic esteem category and the characteristics included under self-actualization. Relatedness The desire we have for maintaining important interpersonal relationships. These social and status desires require interaction with others. They align with Maslow’s social need and the external component. Existence Provides our basic material existence requirements. They include Maslow’s physiological and safety needs.
In contrast to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the ERG theory demonstrates that (1) more than one need may be operative at the same time ie needs are not satisfied sequentially and (2) if the gratification of a higher-level need is stifled, the desire to satisfy a lower-level need increases.
10 This simpler and more flexible interpretive framework seems to work quite well for characterising the motivational forces that are associated with immersive experiences (represented in participants’ stories). Overwhelmingly, the motivations for engaging in immersive experiences seem to be associated with Growth – the personal development, intrinsic self-esteem /self-actualising dimensions of the framework.
From this rational way of thinking about motivation, it would appear that engaging in an experience in an immersive way is a means of satisfying our needs for self-actualisation. And encouraging self- actualisation is perhaps the deep moral purpose for why we are interested in facilitating a deeper engagement with the idea of immersion in higher education.
The teachers’ role is an interesting one because it contains within it dimensions of self-actualisation (the teacher’s need for personal development in order to be the person they want to become) and the transcendent dimension of self-actualisation (the desire of a teacher to help others achieve their self- actualisation goals).
Principles to inform the design and support of immersive experiences in higher education The principles and lessons identified by authors that they believe can inform the design or support of immersive experiences in higher education are summarised below.
Leadership and inspiration The experience should be designed by someone who can inspire learners The designer needs to recapture what made the subject immersive for them I learned how important it is to involve myself fully in the work; it would not have been possible to remain on the outside of this work in any way. I led from the inside, immersed myself into the journey alongside the company.
Encourage holistic view of learning and the experience Ideally an immersive learning environment has intellectual and visceral (or emotional) elements, and to design those elements appropriately, and create a balance between them some form of holistic analysis of the problem, and problem context needs to be undertaken. Value informal learning it is as important as formal learning, but the two are very different from each other.
As teacher involve yourself fully in the experience: model your own engagement with uncertainty I also learned how important it is to involve myself fully into the work; it would not have been possible to remain on the outside of this work in any way. I led from the inside, immersed myself into the journey alongside the company. As a director/teacher it is very easy to become pre-occupied by the end result, thus limiting the creative process. In this project, we were brave to explore and change right up to the last days. Had I been concerned with ‘end-gaming’, I may well have missed some of the very precious and personal contributions from the cast which coloured and characterized the final piece.
The teachers’ role in setting boundaries and creating safe environments Tutors need to set ground rules which state that ‘there is no failure, only feedback that is the raw material for developing skills and knowledge’ – and draw students into a ‘safe-risk zone’ where they do not lose self-esteem. Progressive opportunities to change behaviours, against explicit externally-set criteria, can bring about a sense of achievement which in itself can enhance motivation and confidence. Incorporating too many variables in an immersive learning environment being used to attain measurable student behaviours/knowledge may create unintended and potentially unmanageable consequences. We should be more open to creating the opportunity to experience confusion in a controlled and safe environment.
Encourage ownership / design in choice Make learning personal. We can only take students so far in the learning process: they have to find their understanding and meaning. Giving students’ choice, designing in negotiation will encourage students to take ownership for their own experience and engagement with it.
Create outcomes that reflect uncertainty So much of the learning cannot be predicted in an immersive situation. Outcomes which generally prescribe learning in advance, must reflect the uncertainty and emergence of learning.
11 Outcomes that credit learning that is gained through sense making and reflective processes during and after an immersive experience are more likely to capture the significant learning from the students’ perspectives.
Have courage: don’t be afraid to go where learning takes you Be open to the unexpected. Students (and staff, more particularly) need to come with open minds to new learning opportunities: immersive learning goes where it goes. It is OK to be out of control, bewildered and confused as it is only when you are that you can move to a place that makes sense - which to me is the essence of learning. I know that as a teacher I have a tendency to want to avoid those panicky feelings, both for myself and for students - I try to protect others from those unpleasant feelings, when really I should be more open to creating the opportunity to experience confusion in a controlled and safe environment.
Encourage play and experimentation Don’t be afraid to play remember as Shaw said “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Just be aware of what play means to you. Play is an approach to action, not a form of activity. (Bruner) Learners must be encouraged to experiment and move out of their comfort zones Try new things.
Support/encourage persistence Build/encourage persistence. New experiences are disorienting: that is both their strength and their weakness. We struggle to re-orient ourselves and discover new things in the process, so there has to be follow-through. Always wear a helmet - we have to give students tools to help them pick themselves up and dust themselves down. The idea of an immersive experience can be off putting/frightening for some maybe? An immersive learning experience means letting go, you can’t “cling to the sides of the pool” In designing learning opportunities let them be just that, start from what the students know well and build it in.
Giving students confidence: the need for formative feedback The learner would benefit from having some sense about what they had achieved during the immersive experience, so feedback during the process is essential. Some of the cognitive changes may not necessarily present themselves as observable behavioural changes, some might. We need to build in structures and processes that periodically bring people back to the surface to engage with and articulate to others outside the immediate learning group (which may be a group of one). I see this as a safety net as well as a means of gaining the value of reflective input.
Sense making needs reflective space and conversation: encourage story telling Making sense of immersive experience is a continuous process. Designers need to make the space for periodic deep reflection and facilitate reflective conversation to help students make sense of their experience and learning. Story telling is a necessary way of creating memory and sharing experiences. Designers should encourage and value the stories of learners involved in immersive situations e.g. through the use of blogging, reflective portfolios or collections of stories.
Encourage students to use all their senses: respect and value emotion Encourage learners to use all their senses (rather than just cognition) to understanding to build a picture of the world. Immersive experiences are lessons in emotional learning. Encourage students to recognise and express their feelings. Encourage them to observe/sense the effects that emotions have on their thinking and behaviour.
Encourage and support independence, self-reliance and resourcefulness If you want to learn about yourself and find your limits, then you need to do it alone. Scary but worthwhile, so students will need to be made aware of what to expect and be given support remotely that can help them work through the rough edges and discomfort and to work out what their discomfort is telling them about themselves. The skill of private and collaborative reflection. Students need support when they ‘get stuck’ – and that support can be set up in many different ways, including social learning, collaborative group work projects, personal or group tutorials, mentoring, etc. Curricula can include some explicit interventions to encourage students to make the best use of support – finding a balance between structure and freedom, and between self-reliance and external sources of support and guidance. There is a question of how much support we provide if a student is to learn a degree of resilience and self-reliance. Enabling a student to give up too soon or stepping in to sort out problems with employers for them can leave them with regrets or a sense of failure, so we owe it to them to understand e.g. when a desire to leave an experience is
12 legitimate or merely a sign of the necessary discomfort that’s part of coping with real life. The key question is what can they learn from it and is it worth the time they’re giving it? Identity-changing immersive experiences are highly stressful and they do impact on others close to you. We should not underestimate the importance of family and friends in providing supportive infrastructure during transformative experiences. Encouraging students to realise this and develop their own support network should be part of the educational design.
Using collaborative problem-based learning as a specific approach to encouraging immersive experience I think this experience helps me to develop (further) a particular module for Course Design and Planning in which we use a PBL approach and small groups (2-3) have to develop a programme and present it to their peers. This has to have relevance to their practice but the group may not all come from a similar background but have to learn to work together within a time frame they also have to experience a mini peer review that is assessed and videoed.
Ways we might promote immersive experience in HE Application to HE could involve more emphasis on interactive case studies, work-based learning projects, virtual volunteering opportunities and overseas placements with remote and/or disadvantaged communities, exploring key global issues of our time from minority perspectives utilising case studies from under- represented voices.
Make personal enquiry into their whole HE experience the object of immersive experience There is potential to experiment with a single module that runs alongside the whole degree and focuses on immersive, personal enquiry. The aim should be to show how a learner has made sense of the learning programme as a whole, in the context of the person, their life and their activities – formal and non-formal work.
Some rules for facilitating immersive classroom experiences Learning sessions can be structured to optimise the likelihood of immersion. This specific example illustrates the point. Every workshop is balanced according to student needs, and addresses what are called in Chantraine terms ‘the five times of life’: Choreography; Rhythm; Interiority; Creativity; Technique. This means that in every session, there is time for focussed concentration on a specific technique, tackled in different ways, repeated and reinforced; time to work off energy and at the same time build stamina; time to work on the bigger picture, as a choreography is approached gently, a section at a time; time for physical relaxation and quiet listening and engaging; time to work on rhythmical understanding and response to music.
The variety of approaches also maintains interest, adds stimulation and suits differing learning needs in terms of the students’ own approaches to learning. This is transferable to other disciplines, for example: A balanced mixture of activities involving close observation, listening, experimenting, practice, working in groups, working alone, work in pairs, quiet learning, lively learning Activities led by a teacher; activities led by students; activities where everyone is working together Activities that intensify the ability to observe closely, to learn from and interpret that observation, to put it into practice, to build on that experience and improve Activities that mix theory and practice, relating the two
The ethos of the learning environment The ethos of the environment is important. An ethos cannot merely be copied but needs to be embraced by those who wish to teach and model it. The following are examples drawn from experience, but it is the cumulative impact that has most effect: Everyone on first name terms; considerable care taken for people to learn each others’ names (especially in the context of longer-term study, eg weekly classes, but also evident in ‘Stage-Weekends’). Places everyone on an equal footing and overcomes formality where that is culturally expected Newcomers welcomed and practical steps taken to embed them in the group; particular needs of people with disabilities are addressed with practicality and sensitivity, recognising shared responsibilities, eg for safety An approach that is not competitive – but is decidedly challenging, offering opportunities to push the boundaries of what we can do and understand Respect for each other regardless of ability or prior experience An affirming and positive approach to study that spills over into everyday life; work on inner strength (central force), not only physical but ultimately in other ways, again spilling over into everyday life Opportunities to explore activities that are personally challenging, but where mistakes are positively welcomed as learning opportunities; a language of teaching that is never negative in spirit or in terminology, so that we explore
13 next steps, break down the learning into smaller stages and identify ways to progress, rather than dwell on what we can’t do or have failed to do A feedback resource (‘The Thread and the Nine Points’) that enables positive reflection and contributes to a ‘virtuous circle’ of learning between teacher and taught. Built-in opportunities for progression – widening and deepening knowledge and understanding; no-one excluded on grounds of cost (now there’s a challenge for HE!)
The importance of residential experience The opportunity for residential study – to learn, to study, to enjoy the experience together – is beyond doubt an enriching one if it is well managed. If residential study is not possible, might a full day of learning together on a single theme, imbued with similar energising and engaging qualities, also be a valuable immersive experience?
The importance of seclusion To be immersed also means to be isolated from other aspects that influence our lives. Isolation gives the space to focus and learn something with attentive and inquisitive mind.
Immersive experience outside the formal curriculum Life is full of immersive experiences that are not designed by anyone, other than perhaps the participant. HE should be much more open about using the wider life experiences of students as a rich resource for learning.
Immersive experiences in work environments I think I can relate immersive experiences to what I am now studying, work-based learning that develops transdisciplinarity; both might allow Higher Education to engage with social learning situations and provide a wider range of learning discourses within the university setting. Significant transitions from one role to another are an important point at which immersion can occur. Perhaps mid career changes are some of the most immersive experiences we encounter in our professional lives as they inevitably require us to give up one way of life and invent a new one. Perhaps students experience such transitions while they are in higher education and these situations could be a focal point for learning. Even the most radical personal change can be facilitated by expert facilitation, good mentoring and support from colleagues. My experience involved learning to be someone else. It had technical dimensions – being instructed, and cultural dimensions – being facilitated to understand the traditions and ways of being in the profession. My immersive process for becoming an HMI was one of being acculturated and progressively admitted to a community of practice. I effectively served an apprenticeship although I had considerable responsibility from a very early stage. Identity-changing immersive experiences are highly stressful and they do impact on others close to you. The unsung heroes were my family and the support and encouragement I received from my wife was essential to making the transition. We should not underestimate the role of friends and family in helping and sustaining people through immersive experiences. The support network for educational immersive experiences are essential.
References Alderfer, C. P. The Methodology of Organizational Diagnosis, Professional Psychology, 1980, 11, 459-468 Geen, R. G. (1995), Human motivation: A social psychological approach. Belmont, CA: Cole Maslov, A H (1943) Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 50 (1943):370-96.
Important sources of information used in notes 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Alderfer 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs#Self-actualization
Knight P (2006) Assessment and complex learning kn.open.ac.uk/public/getfile.cfm? documentfileid=6739
14 Appendix 2 Characteristics of self-actualising people4 In view of the apparent importance of self-actualisation as a motivational force for engaging in and sustaining immersive experiences, it is worth reflecting on the characteristics of self-actualising people as described in the writings of Maslow and others.
1. Clearer perception of reality. Self-actualising people perceive reality more effectively than others and are more comfortable with it. They have an accurate perception of what exists rather than a distortion of perception by one's needs, and possess an ability to be objective about their own strengths, possibilities and limitations. They judge experiences, people and things correctly and efficiently, and have an unusual ability to detect the spurious, the fake, and the dishonest. They are not afraid of the unknown and can tolerate the doubt, uncertainty, and tentativeness accompanying the perception of the new and unfamiliar.
2. Acceptance of self, others, and nature. Self-actualizing persons are not ashamed or guilty about their human nature, with its shortcoming, imperfections, frailties, and weaknesses. They can accept their own human shortcomings, without condemnation. Nor are they critical of these aspects of other people. They respect and esteem themselves and others. Moreover, they are honest, open, genuine, without pose or facade. They are not, however, self-satisfied but are concerned about discrepancies between what is and what might be or should be in themselves, others, and society.
3. Spontaneity. Self-actualising people are relatively spontaneous in their behaviour, and far more spontaneous than that in their inner life, thoughts and impulses. Self-actualising persons are not hampered by convention, but they do not flout it. They are not conformists, but neither are they anti-conformist for the sake of being so. They might act conventionally, but they seldom allow convention to keep them from doing anything they consider important or basic. They are not externally motivated or even goal-directed; rather their motivation is the internal one of growth and development, the actualization of themselves and their potentialities.
4. Problem-centering. Self-actualising people have a problem-solving orientation towards life instead of an orientation centered on self. They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives. They commonly have a mission in life, some problem outside themselves that enlists much of their energies. In general this mission is unselfish and is involved with the philosophical and the ethical.
5. Detachment and the need for solitude. Self-actualising people enjoy solitude and privacy. It is often possible for them to remain above the battle, unruffled and undisturbed by that which upsets others. They may even appear to be asocial. It is perhaps, related to an abiding sense of security and self-sufficiency.
6. Autonomy, independent of culture and environment. Self-actualising persons are not dependent for their main satisfactions on other people or culture or means-to-ends, or in general, on extrinsic satisfactions. Rather they are dependent for their own development and continued growth upon their own potentialities and latent resources. The meaning of their life is self-decision, self-governing and being an active, responsible, self- disciplined deciding person rather than a pawn or a person helplessly ruled by others.
7. Continued freshness of appreciation. Self-actualising people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again the basic pleasures of life. They experience awe, pleasure, and wonder in their everyday world, such as nature, children, music and sexual experience. They approach these basic experiences with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy.
8. The mystic experience, the oceanic feeling. Self-actualising people commonly have mystic or `peak' experiences or times of intense emotions in which they transcend self. During a peak experience, they experience feelings of ecstasy, awe, and wonder with feelings of limitless horizons opening up, feelings of unlimited power and at the same time feelings of being more helpless than ever before. The experience ends with the conviction that something extremely important and valuable has happened so that the person is to some extent transformed and strengthened by the experience that has a carry-over into everyday life.
9. Oneness with humanity. Self-actualising people have deep feelings of identification, sympathy and affection for other people, and a deep feeling of empathy and compassion for human beings in general. This feeling is, in a
15 sense, unconditional in that it exists along with the recognition of the existence in others of negative qualities that may provoke occasional anger, impatience, and disgust.
10. Deep interpersonal relations. Self-actualising people have deeper and more profound inter-personal relationships than most adults, but not necessarily deeper than children. They are capable of more closeness, greater love, more perfect identification, more erasing of ego boundaries than other people would consider possible. One consequence is that self-actualised people have especially deep ties with rather few individuals and their circle of friends is small. They tend to be kind or at least patient to almost everyone, yet they do speak realistically and harshly of those whom they feel deserve it — especially the hypocritical, pretentious, pompous, or the self-inflated individual.
11. Democratic character structure. Self-actualising people are democratic in the deepest possible sense. They are friendly towards everyone regardless of class, education, political beliefs, race, or colour. They believe it is possible to learn something from everyone. They are humble in the sense of being aware of how little they know in comparison with what could be known and what is known by others. They are ready and willing to learn from anyone. They respect everyone as a potential contributor to their knowledge, merely because everyone is a human being.
12. Ethical means towards moral ends. Self-actualizing persons are highly ethical. They clearly distinguish between means and ends and subordinate means to ends. Their notions of right and wrong and of good and evil are often not conventional ones.
13. Philosophical, unhostile sense of humor. Self-actualising people have a keen, unhostile sense of humour. They don't laugh at jokes that hurt other people or are aimed at others' inferiority. They can make fun of others in general — or of themselves — especially when they are foolish or try to be big when they are small. They are inclined towards thoughtful humour that elicits a smile, is intrinsic to the situation, and spontaneous.
14. Creativeness. Self-actualising people are highly imaginative and creative. The creativity involved here is not special-talent creativeness. It is a creativeness potentially inherent in everyone but usually suffocated by acculturation. It is a fresh, naive, direct way of looking at things, rather similar to the naive and universal creativeness of unspoiled children.
Motivation1 is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior - These reasons may include basic needs such as food or a desired object, goal, state of being, or ideal. Motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior (Green 1995).
Motivation is intrinsic (internal) if it comes from within (personal interests, desires, and need), when people engage in an activity without obvious external incentives or pressures. Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation – what an individual thinks ought to be done. It is thought that people are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if they: Attribute their influences and accomplishments to internal factors that they can control – the effects I have are proportional to the amount of effort I put in Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals – the things I do cause things to happen Are aiming to master something.
Extrinsic (external) factors such as rewards, praise and promotions, and factors which compel or coerce people to engage with a situation in a certain way, also influence motivation. In educational environments assessment is the biggest external motivational force while in work environments, money, performance review or inspiring others may provide powerful extrinsic motivational forces.
1 Motive - That which moves a mover. Notes from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation#References.
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