When more or less? The role of two types of flow experiences in creative teaching

The use of creative teaching is becoming increasingly common in higher education institutions. However, there is limited research on the impact of creative teaching on the classroom from a flow experience perspective. Using the stimulus–organism–response model and flow theory, this study presents an analysis of the overall process of creative teaching's impact on student classroom engagement, proceeding from two types of flow experiences: immediate and continuous experiences. This empirical study was conducted in the institutions piloting creative teaching in China. The results affirm the following: first, the balance of challenges and skills, goal clarity and feedback in creative teaching all affect students’ immediate and continuous experiences significantly and positively. Second, immediate experiences have significantly positive effects on both behavioural and social engagement. Third, for science and engineering students, continuous experiences have significant effects on behavioural engagement and social engagement; however, these effects do not obtain for humanities and social science students. Fourth, there is no significant difference in the effects of creative teaching on engagement between male and female students. The potential contribution of this study is that we create a theoretical model of how creative teaching affects student engagement. Based on this model, educational administrators and teachers can understand the whole process of the impact of creative teaching on students’ behaviour.