This thesis investigated shared creative processes and the role of flow experience in group dance improvisation. A literature review suggested that dancers associate high-quality performance with 'being in the flow', and that group flow is a peak experience when a group is performing at its highest level. The first study explored the role of flow in dance creative practice and improvisation through qualitative content analysis of individual interviews with six dancers. Absorption with activity and enjoyment were themes in dancers' reports of flow. Group improvisation facilitated flow and creativity through maintaining desired focus for longer, lowering self-judgment and inspiring novel solutions. The second study investigated the occurrence of flow and its shared character within group improvisation using video-stimulated recall and questionnaire methods (n=16, 4 groups of four dancers). It showed that group flow was rather rare and it was more likely when a group had worked together for longer. Dancers reported that a group in a high-flow state engaged with a task in a more complex way, sharing, transforming and supporting each other's ideas, while low-flow groups worked more with mimicry and bodily manipulation. Dancers perceived tasks performed in a high-flow state as more creative. The third study explored the relationship between dancers' flow experience and creative outcomes from a third person perspective. A total of 203 participants (77 experts and 126 nonexperts) rated excerpts of high- and low-flow dance improvisation (five each) using Consensual Assessment Technique. Experts judged high-flow collaborations as more creative, and more coherent, technically advanced, aesthetically appealing and meaningful, however there were no significant differences in nonexperts' ratings. The fourth study explored whether synchronous arousal, measured by cross-recurrence quantification analysis of heart and breathing rate, was a physiological basis for group flow (n=8 group, 4 dancers per group). Although no relationship between synchronous arousal and flow was found, spontaneous synchronization of dancers' heart and breathing rate in improvisational group tasks was observed, unrelated to synchronized activity. Overall, the studies conducted confirmed that flow was a highly creative state for dancers, in which they performed better. The presence of others and quality of group collaboration supported the occurrence and amount of flow. However, group flow occurred rarely and was more likely when a group had worked together for longer.

This dissertation encompasses three articles concerning Sawyer's (2007) theory of group flow in the context of higher education, including a literature review, and two interpretive studies. In the literature review and in the first interpretive research article, the results of the research illuminated the applicability of themes of group flow in collaborative settings in higher education in themes of vision, ownership and contribution, and communication. The final article provides a description of the roles of student lead and professor in this environment and the unique ways that they may have encouraged those themes in the studio. The context for this study was the BYU Animation Studio, using video footage of students working in the computer lab, in their Daily meetings, and video interviews with students and professors in the program. The footage focused on one year of the senior project, with a core group of students coordinating efforts to create an animated short. Students involved in the senior film were mostly juniors and seniors coming from different academic departments, including Fine Arts, Engineering, and Computer Science. In the descriptive article, we gained further insights into the experience of group flow in a higher education setting. Several of the themes from the data resonated with the literature on group flow. Students working on the project had both project and people-oriented goals. They took initiative to solve problems and work through personal conflicts with group decisions, and made efforts to share their knowledge with other students. As group members communicated, they often validated and built off of others' ideas, putting the interests of the group above personal interests. In the same context, using the same methods, we were able to observe ways that student leads and teachers tried to enhance the group experience. Student leads and teachers made different contributions in that respect. Student leads contributed the actual project vision, breaking up the project into tasks for which students could volunteer and take initiative. Student leads also promoted friendship and communication within the group. Professors taught collaboration skills, and supported student initiatives. Professors also provided opportunities for students to collaborate across departments, while practicing collaboration between faculty members.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka musiklärares erfarenheter av elever i flow i musikundervisning. Undersökningen syftade till att bidra med kunskap om vad som karaktäriserar flow, aktiviteterna som gav upphov till flow, samt lärares förhållningssätt till dessa aktiviteter. Undersökningen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju musiklärare som arbetar i olika skolformer och elevgrupper. Intervjuerna analyserades utifrån faktorer för såväl gruppflow som individuellt flow. Resultatet visar att elevers flow i musikundervisningen karaktäriseras av bland annat djup koncentration, omedvetenhet om omgivningen och ovilja att avbryta aktiviteten. Aktiviteterna som gav upphov till flow karaktäriserades av utmaningar med tydligt definierade mål där elever gavs utrymme till självbestämmande i sitt eget lärande. Lärarens förhållningssätt präglades i dessa aktiviteter av ett öppet och stöttande förhållningssätt. Därtill hörde noggrant utförda planeringar för undervisningen samt bidragande med en relevant kontext för att öka elevernas engagemang i aktiviteten. / The aim of this study was to examine music teachers perceptions of flow experiences in students. The study investigates flow characteristics in music education, the activities that preceded flow experiences and in what way teachers approach and plan for these activities. The study was carried out using semistructured interviews with seven music teachers who work in different school systems and student groups in Sweden. The interviews were analyzed using theories of both individual flow and group flow. The results show that flow experiences in students are characterized by deep concentration, unawareness of their surroundings and a disclination towards ending the activity. The activities were characterized by clearly defined goals and the opportunities for students to steer their own learning trajectories. Teachers accounted for utilizing an open and supportive approach towards these activities and their students. The activities were preceded by extensive planning and teachers also contributed with relevant contexts for students to engage in the activity. These contexts also showed importance in providing clear goals as well as relevance and authenticity for the activities.

I denna studie undersöks och jämförs tre vetenskapliga texter från 2000-talet som handlar om hur och när individuella flowupplevelser och gruppflow uppstår i musikundervisning på grundskolan. Fokus för studien är vilka metoder som har utvecklats för att främja flow i undervisning generellt och mer specifikt i musikundervisning. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar används metoden allmän litteraturstudie med systematisk ansats samt en informell intervju med två framstående forskare inom gruppflow och team flow samt flow i undervisning. De utvalda texterna har analyserats och granskats kvalitets- och kunskapskritiskt och studiens vetenskapliga ansats är Vygotskijs sociokulturella perspektiv på lärande. Föreliggande studies huvudsakliga resultat är att flow, gruppflow och team flow främjar barns engagemang och lust till lärande i musikundervisning på grundskolan. Det har publicerats väldigt lite forskning om flow i musikundervisning på grundskolan. Fortsatt empirisk forskning om hur flowmodellen ska tillämpas praktiskt i musikundervisning på grundskolan behövs därför för att fånga upp forskningsglappet. / This study examines and compares three scientific texts from the 21st century that deal with how and when individual flow experiences and group flow occur in music education at elementary schools. The focus in his study is which methods have been developed to stimulate flow in teaching in general and more specifically in music education. The method applied in this study is a general literature study with a systematic approach. Two informal interviews with prominent researchers on team flow and flow in education were carried out in order to meet the purpose of this study and answer its scientific questions. The three articles that were included for analysis have been critically reviewed in terms of scientific quality and knowledge. Vygotskijs socio-cultural perspective on learning was used as this studies approach. The main findings of this study are that flow, group flow and team flow as educational models are applicable and extremely useful in music education at primary schools and promote engagement and desire to learn for children. Proposals for application of the flow model in music education have been made, though future empirical research is needed to fill up the gap within flow research in music education at elementary schools. Flow in school, group flow and flow in music are well-researched areas. On the other hand, very little research has been published about flow in music education at elementary schools. Suggestions for future research are therefore discussed further on in this study.