Can we measure engagement from video data based on student movement and sound level?
Engagement is widely recognised as central to learning and academic achievement. Movement and sound level, combined with an indicator of school relevant content, can be linked to engagement through activating affect, behaviour, and cognition. Electrodermal activity (EDA) is a reliable indicator of movement and sound level, as it measures sympathetic nervous system activation. However, the high cost of wearable EDA sensors has limited its widespread application. This study answers the call for affordable, high-temporal-resolution engagement measures by introducing a video-based quantitative assessment method.
We collected 75 minutes of synchronised EDA and video data from 12 upper secondary students (aged 17-18) during regular instruction. Novel software was developed to analyse student movement and sound level for academically relevant content. The OpenPose AI model for pose estimation was also applied. This approach produced six distinct movement variables: two AI-based and four non-AI-based. Six linear models using varying movement variables and sound level were tested to predict tonic EDA levels. All models effectively predicted EDA levels, with non-AI-based movement metrics outperforming AI-based alternatives. The four non-AI-based movement models showed similar performance, indicating that compressed versions reduced computational time without sacrificing predictive power.
These findings validate a novel, objective method for comparing movement and sound level across learning activities on short timescales, of use for inferring engagement levels. This method is particularly useful for collaborative learning environments and enables controlling for movement and sound in quantitative classroom analyses.
The bi-weekly ODD seminar series at CCSE
The Open Discussions on Didactics (ODD) is a seminar series usually on Mondays at 13:00–14:00 approximately every other week (odd week numbers) at CCSE.
The seminar will be maximum one hour and is an informal arena to present and discuss learning theory, educational research and teaching experiences within computational science. To cater to the highly heterogeneous backgrounds and interests of students, teachers and researchers in our environment, we aim for seminars that introduce participants to new ideas, reflection, and discussion within a broad spectrum of educational topics.
Presentations need not be mature and polished – on the contrary, we hope that as many as possible want to share undigested observations and reflections in short presentations of varied form and topics. We hope to have enough contributions to frequently have the meetings as lightning talk sessions, where three different speakers will each give a 5-10-minute presentation followed by discussion.