Quantification and accuracy of learning through gaze tracking
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Abstract
Introduction: The processes of learning and teaching are fundamentally linked. Therefore, to truly understand how both processes are interconnected we must first define each term separately. Learning can be defined as “the act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skills” (Conner 1997). Teaching is much more than the simple delivery of information as it also involves knowing how to grab an audience’s attention and keep them engaged in order for them to truly recall what is being taught to them in a near future. There are several theories that try to explain this complex dynamic by proposing several learning theories and learning styles as to how people learn best. Some popular theories of learning are behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and more recently connectivism. The method a person implements during learning cannot be directly measured via test results. Therefore, we are investigating whether students’ eye movements are potential indicators of how the students learn.
Methods: The visual information presented on the computer screen were a series of 6 black and white line drawings of cells that are either oblong or square shaped. The experiment was divided into a Baseline phase, a Training phase, and a Testing phase. The subjects are first asked to visually explore each image during the Baseline phase. Subjects in the Experimental group are then trained to use salient features to identify cell images, which have been assigned a number 1-6 while the Control group received no training but were shown the same numbered cells with no labeled key features. In the Testing phase of the experiment, both groups were asked to identify cells by number. It is during this phase that the subjects see all six images three times but in different orientations: a 180- degree flip, a horizontal flip, and the original or same orientation as the baseline. [TRUNCATED]
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Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University