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‘I’m bored … get me out of here!’

This article delves into the concept of boredom, examining its various forms and exploring its origins, psychological effects, and potential coping strategies. Through a combination of academic research and real-life experiences, it seeks to shed light on the universal phenomenon of boredom and provide insights for better managing it.

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‘I’m bored … get me out of here!’

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  1. ‘I’m bored … get me out of here!’ Prof. John G. Sharp

  2. Introductions

  3. Setting the scene

  4. Who knew?

  5. Common words and phrases tedium                                                                                   languor monotony                                                                              lassitude dreariness                                                                             apathy weariness                                                                              humdrum lethargy                                                                                  sameness Bored to tears Bored to death As dull as dishwater Like watching paint dry Same old same old

  6. Cultural references First use of the word ‘boredom’ in print in the  English language was in the novel Bleak House (1852) by Charles Dickens. In The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde, the character Lord Henry Wotton  says to a young Dorian Gray: ‘The only horrible thing in the world is ennui, Dorian.’  In boredom: A lively history    (2011), Peter Toohey asks if  boredom has always existed  and been felt the same way? 

  7. Philosophical references The devil makes work for idle hands SørenKierkegaard (1813-1855): ‘Boredom is the root of all evil …’ Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) wrote about boredom in two texts, The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics and What is Metaphysics?

  8. Pathologising boredom Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): a repressed desire. Boredom has been associated with loneliness and withdrawal, depression, anxiety, disruptive  behaviours, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking,  gambling, risk-taking and self-harm.  It can be a ‘chronic’ and ‘disabling’ condition.

  9. A ‘universal’ experience? Types of boredom:  • life or existential • spiritual or religious • work-related • free-time • leisure-time • sexual • cultural • academic Combined with its everyday use and the misattribution of boredom to all manner of things and vice versa, boredom’s apparent ‘universality’ has proved its own worst enemy, rendering it difficult to isolate and study. 

  10. Interest emerges O’Hanlon (1981) describes boredom as a state - the situated experience of boredom by an individual at any given moment in time:     • boredom occurs as a reaction to monotonous task situations in which the pattern of sensory information is nearly constant or highly repetitive. Farmer and Sundberg (1986) describe boredom as a trait - the propensity or habitual disposition of an individual towards becoming bored, measured using the Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS).

  11. A proliferation of studies ‘A state of relatively low arousal and dissatisfaction which is attributed to an inadequately stimulating situation.’ (Mikulas and Vodanovich 1993: 3) ‘[B]oredom is an unpleasant, transient, affective state in which the individual feels a pervasive lack of interest in and difficulty concentrating on the current activity.’ (Fisher 1993: 396)  Psychologists use the BPS to explore boredom alongside other variables using their students as participants. Stephen Vodanovich

  12. Contemporary views Academic boredom is a psycho-physiological response to a supposedly meaningful educational event and one of several achievement-related emotions displaying cognitive, affective, motivational and behavioural components (Pekrun 2000, 2006). Control-Value Theory rises to prominence as a trans-theoretical alternative to arousal and attentional theories accounting for boredom’s complexity and hybridity in real-life educational settings. RhinehardPekrun

  13. Design Stephen Gorard Anthony Onwuegbuzie • Study 1: Mixed methods, single university, 235 final-year Education Studies students(61.8% response rate), BPSI administered alongside Entwistle's ASSIST and SETLQ questionnaires; • Study 2: BPSI only, two universities and       two providers of HE in FE, 408 students      across a wide range of disciplines (28.5% response rate).

  14. Course engagement

  15. Contributors What makes ‘it’ all dull?  • teaching and learning strategies; • personal attributes and qualities of the lecturer; • relevance; • coherency, pace and level; • interaction; • student behaviour; • environment.

  16. Coping strategies So what do you do when you’re bored (n=235)? • daydream 45.5% (not necessarily a bad thing); • just switch off 44.3%; • text 37.0%; • doodle/scribble over handouts 35.7%; • talk to neighbour 27.2%; • leave at the break 5.5%; • other 8.5% (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Internet, games).  More strategies were adopted in combination by those respondents more prone to boredom than others.

  17. Lecture boredom (state) ‘Sometimes when lecturers have used a lot of PowerPoints and not really interacted with everyone in the lecture theatre it becomes a bit monotonous and my brain switches off.  I don’t like it when people turn the lights off … that makes me more sleepy … The speed of content that’s been covered in the lecture, especially if it’s new … I get completely muddled, and the rest of the lecture becomes a blur… [I’m] not concentrating, completely lost, and panicking a bit… I generally either doodle or go on social media … I feel frustrated at myself because I feel like I should be concentrating but then I also feel like “Why am I here?”.  It feels a bit pointless.’ (Hannah)  

  18. Assignment boredom (state)  'With a specific focus I know what I need to do … I don't have to make big decisions … I think if you're given too many options it becomes hard to decide … I find [them] interesting at first but then it becomes more of a task and I find it boring.   I'm not very good with proof reading … I think I get to a position where I know I need to do it  but I haven't got so much time so I cram … I think that's down to poor time management … but a lot of the time I’m working to the deadline and I’m constantly thinking “I’ve got to get this in”.  Maybe I should focus on the actual quality… I think I want to do well, but I think it’s the confidence sometimes, especially if I’ve had a previous assignment that’s not had much of a good mark … I read it as soon as I get it back … I'm bad at focusing on the negative parts … and not looking at what's positive about it.' (Hannah)

  19. Approaches to learning What? The ‘sense making’ component of studying and, consequently, learning How? The ‘structural’ component of studying and, consequently, learning Surface: coping with imposed course requirements, memorizing of unrelated bits of knowledge, reproduction, studying without reflecting on either purpose or strategy, failure to spot relevance (Marton and Säljö 1976; Ramsden 2003; Entwistle 2009) Deep: understanding ideas and meanings, looking for patterns, using evidence and making connections, relating ideas to previous knowledge and experience, exploring argument critically, being reflective, metacognitive awareness  (Marton and Säljö 1976; Ramsden 2003; Entwistle 2009)

  20. Cluster analysis Mean degree 56.7% 2:1 only 33.3% 2:2 and 3 66.7% Attendance 40% excellent Self-study 6.9 hours Mean degree 63.2% 1 and 2:1 85.0% 2:2 only 15.0% Attendance 90% excellent Self-study 17.9 hours Characteristics of less engaged and less effective learners Characteristics of more engaged and more effective learners

  21. Path analysis Self-study Intrinsic value .37*** .41 .40 Deep Teaching and learning Career -.29*** .39 .19 Organised effort Lack of purpose Degree outcome Generic skills -.32*** -.29*** .37 -.40*** .49*** Academic trait boredom Surface Academic achievement (%) Perceived experiences of teaching and learning, course demands and effort Ways of working (approaches to studying and learning) Achievement-related emotions and course expectations

  22. Implications • learning developers; • counsellors; • student support services; • course design and delivery; • CPD for academic staff; • teaching and learning strategy and communication; • studentresponsibilities.

  23. Useful references Mann, S. and Robinson, A. (2009) Boredom in the lecture theatre: an investigation into the contributors, moderators and outcomes of boredom        amongst university students. British Educational Research Journal, 35(2), 243-258. Pekrun, R., Elliot, A.J. and Maier, M.A. (2009) Achievement goals and achievement emotions: testing a model of their joint relations with         academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(1), 115-135. Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Daniels, L.M., Stupinsky, R.H. and Perry, R.P. (2010)  Boredom in achievement setting: exploring control-value        antecedents and performance outcomes of a neglected emotion. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 531-549. Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W.and Perry, R.P.  (2002) Academic emotions in students’ self-regulated learning and achievement: a programme        of quantitative and qualitative research. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 91-106. Pekrun, R., Hall, N.C., Goetz, T. and Perry, R.P. (2014) Boredom and academic achievement: testing a model of reciprocal causation. Journal        of Educational Psychology, 106(3), 696-710. Sharp, J.G., Hemmings, B., Kay, R. and Sharp, J.C. (2019) Academic boredom and the perceived course experiences of final year Education        Studies students at university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(5), 601-627. Sharp, J.G., Sharp, J.C. and Young, E. (2018) Academic boredom, engagement and the achievement of undergraduate students at university:        a review and synthesis of relevant literature. Research Papers in Education.  Online: DOI 10.1080/02671522.2018.1536891. Sharp, J.G., Hemmings, B., Kay, R. and Atkin, C. (2018) Academic boredom, the approaches to learning and final-year degree outcomes of        undergraduate students. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42(8), 1055-1077.  Sharp, J.G., Hemmings, B., Kay, R., Murphy, B. and Elliott, S. (2017) Academic boredom among students in higher education: a mixed       -methods exploration of characteristics, contributors and consequences. Journal of Further and Higher Education,41(5), 657-677.  Sharp, J.G., Hemmings, B. and Kay, R. (2016) Towards a model of student boredom and boredom proneness in the UK higher education        context. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(5), 649-681. Tze, V.M.C., Klassen, R.M. and Daniels, L.M. (2014) Patterns of boredom and its relationship with perceived autonomy support       and engagement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39(3), 175-187. Tze, V., Daniels, L.M. and Klassen, R.M. (2016) Evaluating the relationship between boredom and academic outcomes: a meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 28(1), 119-144. 

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