國中資優生獨立研究歷程之情緒自我覺察與調適研究

Emotional awareness and regulation in the process of independent study: Gifted junior high school English students

本研究旨在探討國中英語資優生參與獨立研究過程中所覺察之情緒、相關學習事件所反映的情緒特性及其調適方式。為瞭解學生參與課程的主觀感受，本研究先請六位個案完成「獨立研究情緒體驗折線圖」，回顧獨立研究過程的心理變化，再依循折線圖上標示之歷程與個案標示之情緒進行訪談，藉以蒐集豐厚的質性資料。本研究歷經訪談內容主題分析與情緒折線圖等多元質性資料分析，研究發現如下：英語資優生在獨立研究歷程所覺察到的情緒是持續變化的，過程中的「實施研究」與「撰寫研究報告」覺察到較多負向情緒，且在「撰寫研究報告」覺察到的負向情緒明顯多於其他階段，原因包括無法聚焦問題、撰寫工作遇上困難、進度與課業壓力大、獨立研究影響生活、與指導老師的溝通出現問題等。「評鑑研究成果」階段覺察到較多正向情緒，其要因包括進行有挑戰性的學習任務、獲得師長與同儕的正向回饋等。研究發現即便歷程中經歷各種高低起伏，在完成獨立研究後（評鑑研究成果階段）多展現正向情緒並能肯定自己收穫與成長。負向情緒因應策略方面，英語資優生採用問題焦點因應策略的比例較情緒焦點因應策略高，且採取積極因應策略的英語資優生，在獨立研究歷程中覺察到的正向情緒比例，較採取消極因應策略的資優生高。最後，研究者亦根據上述研究發現提出相關建議。

Rationale and Purpose: Gifted education is intended to foster critical thinking and innovation, as emphasized in the “White Book of Gifted Education.” The World Economic Forum also recognizes the significance of soft skills, such as problem-solving and leadership, for global development. To prepare students to meet the challenges world, gifted education is dedicated to transforming students from receivers to producers of knowledge. Independent study is therefore a favored strategy for teaching gifted students because it promotes active learning, problem-solving skills, and holistic development and encourages students to apply an interdisciplinary approach. However, the emotional aspects of independent study are often overlooked. Gifted students’ emotional traits may lead to challenges in stress management, social skills, well-being, among other factors. This study focused on the emotional experiences of gifted students conducting independent research in English. By using qualitative research methods and interviewing six gifted junior high school students studying English, the study investigated gifted students’ emotional fluctuations, contributing factors, and coping strategies when faced with negative emotions in the process of conducting independent study. The findings enhance the understanding of students’ emotional experiences and can provide future guidance on how best to support these students’ emotions during independent study. Methods: To gain a deeper understanding of the emotions that arise during independent study and their significance and impact, this study employed semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore the students’ emotions, related learning events, and coping strategies. The research focused on six gifted junior high students with diverse backgrounds who were independently studying various topics in English. The students were purposively selected to ensure they had worked through all nine identified stages of independent study. Students with different backgrounds, characteristics, and experiences were recruited to avoid recruiting a sample highly similar in learning experiences and to account for variations in emotional awareness. Interviews were used for data collection, with four main interview questions designed to explore the students’ emotional awareness and responses during the independent study process. Prior to the interviews, students were provided with an “Emotional Experience Line Graph” to help them recall and reflect on their emotional experiences throughout the stages of research. Data analysis involved assessing the reliability of emotional awareness coding by using Cohen’s kappa test. The interviews were transcribed, and the content was segmented and coded according to the nine stages of independent research. Cross-case analysis was performed to establish a comprehensive understanding of the gifted students’ emotions during the entire independent study process. Results/Findings: Students reported experiencing the positive emotions of joy, interest, anticipation, acceptance, calmness, trust, surprise, optimism, and wonder. Among these, joy, interest, and anticipation were the most frequently mentioned. Regarding negative emotions, students reported experiencing worry, irritability, contemplation, aversion, sadness, caution, fear, anger, disagreement, distraction, boredom, and contempt, with worry and irritability being the most prevalent. The qualitative analysis of the emotional events experienced by the six students confirmed previous findings that gifted students may experience negative emotions because of self-imposed high standards, perfectionism, and the academic challenges associated with independent research. Throughout the independent study process, the students reported facing various learning events related to reading and writing in English, preparing presentations or speeches, coping with research pressure, balancing research with other aspects of life, and communicating with their supervisors. The students overwhelmingly expressed a sense of difficulty during the “writing research reports” phase, which triggered a significant number of negative emotions. By contrast, most other stages involved a mixture of positive and negative emotions, and the final “evaluation of research outcomes” stage was primarily associated with positive emotions. This trend suggests that gifted students’ emotions tend to shift back to positive after they overcome the challenges of the research process. The coping strategies for negative emotions were individualized and context-specific, with students adopting problem-focused and emotionfocused coping strategies. They faced challenges head-on, sought peer support, adjusted priorities, or redirected their attention to reduce negative emotions. Gifted students were willing to confront both emotional and academic challenges in accordance with the findings of previous research on gifted students’ coping mechanisms. Conclusions and Implications: Overall, the emotional experiences of students during independent study fluctuated throughout the process. The “implementing research” and “writing research reports” stages were marked by a significant number of negative emotions, particularly worry and irritability. However, during the “evaluating research outcomes” stage, positive emotions prevailed, indicating that choosing positive coping strategies enabled students to feel the joy of exploration. Over the nine stages of independent study, students perceived more positive emotions in the two stages of “deciding the research topic” and “evaluating research outcomes.” The factors contributing to gifted students’ positive emotions included being able to select research topics, performing challenging tasks, and receiving positive feedback from teachers and peers. Gifted students perceived more negative emotions in the two stages of “setting research questions and objectives” and “writing research reports,” with report writing generating considerably more negative emotions than any other stage in the whole process. The factors that contributed to gifted students’ negative emotions included being unable to focus on problems, having difficulties in written work, facing schedules and academic pressure, feeling that the course is affecting other aspects of life, and having problems communicating with instructors. To manage negative emotions, gifted students adopted more problem-focused than emotion-focused coping strategies, and those who adopted positive coping strategies experienced more positive emotions than those who adopted negative ones. On the basis of the findings, this study recommends the following: 1) Future studies should continue to explore specific emotions and develop adaptive strategies. Negative emotions persist throughout the learning process, but certain negative emotions, such as anxiety and worry, may not necessarily be detrimental to learning if appropriately regulated. Thus, further research can focus on developing coping strategies for the negative emotions identified in this study. 2) Teachers should be attentive to and guide students without overly intervening in their independent study. Teachers can encourage students to collaborate and discuss research topics, offer support in focusing on research questions, and provide academic writing techniques during the writing stage. Additionally, teachers should continuously monitor students’ emotional state and provide timely assistance and positive feedback if they sense a shift to negative emotions in students. 3) Schools can establish comprehensive counseling mechanisms and integrate internal and external resources for independent study. Additionally, schools should enhance secondary counseling services to help gifted students who are experiencing academic and emotional challenges. Flexible scheduling can also be provided to accommodate independent research. Organizing independent research outcome presentations can positively impact students’ emotional states and link learning goals to real-life experiences. 4) The role of parents in observing their children’s emotional changes and providing appropriate support should be emphasized. Parents can actively engage in parent–teacher communication platforms to stay informed about their children’s learning progress and offer emotional support. As independent study topics vary widely, parents can help to identify or provide relevant resources to support their children’s independent research endeavors.