We seek experiences associated with positive feelings and avoid those associated with pain or humiliation. One important facet of student engagement is an optimal level of challenge, one that draws attention and interest, and is not beyond reach. When challenge is at precisely the right level for a student, the task is just within reach with support. When goals are clear, feedback relevant, and challenges and skills are in balance, attention becomes ordered and fully invested. Because of the total demand on psychic energy, a person in flow is completely focused.
Neuropharmacological evidence supports the concept of an optimal level of challenge.
As we learn more about the workings of the affective system in the brain, we can approach teaching and technology with a more sophisticated sense of what each student needs. Read other comments in the forums .