What Is Real about “Real Time” Anyway? A Proposal for A Pluralistic Approach to Studying Identity Processes across Different Timescales

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on the fact that an understanding of identity development requires the study of real-time identity. But what exactly constitutes ‘real-time identity’? In this manuscript, we highlight that definitions of real time are often fuzzy, which poses a threat to this research field. We discuss two conceptual issues of research on ‘real-time identity’ that we believe require further clarification. The first is that ‘real-time identity’ is often conflated with ‘micro-level identity’. The second is that ‘micro-level identity’ is pitted against ‘macro-level identity’. We attempt to bring clarification to the above issues by drawing attention to three conceptual points: Firstly, we stress that ‘real-time’ simply refers to “the actual time during which something takes place“. Secondly, researchers can study static characteristics of identity phenomena in real time or they can study dynamics of change and development in real time. Thirdly, we draw attention to the fact that the terms ‘micro-level’ and ‘macro-level’ represent two ends of a time-scale continuum. We describe these points in depth and summarize our clarifications as a taxonomy for authors interested in studying ‘real-time identity’, which promises to support theoretical and empirical integration between different approaches to identity

What Is Real about “Real Time” Anyway? A Proposal for A Pluralistic Approach to Studying Identity Processes across Different Timescales

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on the fact that an understanding of identity development requires the study of real-time identity. But what exactly constitutes ‘real-time identity’? In this manuscript, we highlight that definitions of real time are often fuzzy, which poses a threat to this research field. We discuss two conceptual issues of research on ‘real-time identity’ that we believe require further clarification. The first is that ‘real-time identity’ is often conflated with ‘micro-level identity’. The second is that ‘micro-level identity’ is pitted against ‘macro-level identity’. We attempt to bring clarification to the above issues by drawing attention to three conceptual points: Firstly, we stress that ‘real-time’ simply refers to “the actual time during which something takes place“. Secondly, researchers can study static characteristics of identity phenomena in real time or they can study dynamics of change and development in real time. Thirdly, we draw attention to the fact that the terms ‘micro-level’ and ‘macro-level’ represent two ends of a time-scale continuum. We describe these points in depth and summarize our clarifications as a taxonomy for authors interested in studying ‘real-time identity’, which promises to support theoretical and empirical integration between different approaches to identity

Emotional Processes of Foreign Language Learning Situated in Real-Time Teacher Support

The dynamic turn in the field of psychology of foreign-language learning has inspired researchers to capture the nitty gritty dynamics of development in inter- or intra-individual variables. Despite the growing number of techniques for analyzing dynamics, there is still a need for techniques that capture how intra-individual dynamics are situated in a changing context. One of the techniques that can contribute to this knowledge is a clustering technique called Kohonen’s Self-Organizing Maps (SOM). In this study, we aimed to explore the intra-individual process of foreign-language enjoyment and foreign-language classroom anxiety in alignment with teachers’ level of emotional support during teacher-student interactions for two dyads. The findings indicated the emergence of recurring patterns of teacher support, and student anxiety and enjoyment. These patterns highlight the self-organizing nature of these teacher-student interactions, the bi-direction nature of this process, and in general, the notion of teachers and students as dynamic systems. Moreover, the specific nature of the emergent patterns suggests that the traditional positive association between teacher support and student affect may (mostly, but not always) be generalized to real-time and real-life processes. And finally, our results point toward the importance of the student, in determining the affective nature of the interactions from moment to moment

The Landscape of Identity Model:An Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Aspects of Identity Development

The landscape of identity model views identity as a constellation of commitments with different levels of strength and integration, showing how this constellation emerges from everyday life experiences. Drawing on key principles from the complex dynamic systems approach, our model further describes this conceptualization, as well as the mechanisms underlying the development of an identity landscape. We show that the model solves current conceptual issues within identity theory, specifies how Marcia’s four identity statuses can be viewed as particular types of identity landscapes, and helps to further develop the identity field by generating predictions regarding how individuals with different types of identity landscapes would respond to major life events

'Let's get to work everyone!' Student engagement as a collective process

Although engagement is usually seen as an individual construct, it is also a collective process. In the empirical literature on engagement, we examined a) definitions of engagement as a collective process b) its genesis mechanisms; and c) the role of teachers. The results showed that the traditional, individual definition of engagement is dominant. A number of studies looked at engagement a) at the collective level b) as a dialectical individual and collective process, or c) as an aggregate of individuals. The mechanisms for the emergence of collective engagement require learners to engage meaningfully (verbally and physically) in a task, and participate in a coordinated process of meaning-making at the group level. Teachers must skillfully time their interventions and monitor the distribution of autonomy in the group to ensure cooperation and discovery in a climate of socio-emotional cohesion. We discuss how hyper-personalised teaching approaches can conflict with collective learning processes