Estimation of reading subjective understanding based on eye gaze analysis

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 25;13(10):e0206213. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206213. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The integration of ubiquitous technologies in the field of education has considerably enhanced our way of learning. Such technologies enable students to get a gradual feedback about their performance and to provide adapted learning materials. It is particularly important in the domain of foreign language learning which requires intense daily practice. One of the main inputs of adaptive learning systems is the user's understanding of a reading material. The reader's understanding can be divided into two parts: the objective understanding and the subjective understanding. The objective understanding can be measured by comprehension questions about the content of the text. The subjective understanding is the reader's perception of his own understanding. The subjective understanding plays an important role in the reader's motivation, self-esteem and confidence. However, its automatic estimation remains a challenging task. This paper is one of the first to propose a method to estimate the subjective understanding. We show that using the eye gaze to predict the subjective understanding improves the estimation by 13% as compared to using comprehension questions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms
  • Attention / physiology
  • Comprehension / physiology*
  • Educational Measurement / methods*
  • Eye Movements / physiology*
  • Female
  • Fixation, Ocular / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Language
  • Language Tests
  • Male
  • Reading*
  • Saccades / physiology
  • Students / psychology
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work is in part supported by Japanese Science and Technology Agency, Core Research for Evolutionary Science and Technology (JPMJCR16E1), https://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/crest/en/; JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15K12712, https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/; Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, KAKENHI (16K16089), https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/; and Key Project Grant Program of Osaka Prefecture University.