Over the past few years, I have worked with Jennifer Schmidt and Patrick Beymer to explore student engagement in science using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Most recently, we used what scholars have referred to as a “person-in-context” approach, using both ESM and a person-oriented approach.
A figure is helpful for conveying how the person-oriented approach can be used to find common momentary engagement profiles:
We examine how common these profiles are in laboratory activities and on the basis of students’ ability to make choices. These choices are not only about with whom to work or how much time to spend, but also what questions or problems students take up.
A link to the paper, not yet assigned to an issue but available as an early view, is here.