Neurophysiological Evaluation of Students’ Experience during Remote and Face-to-Face Lessons: A Case Study at Driving School
Open Access
- 3 January 2023
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Brain Sciences
- Vol. 13 (1), 95
- https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010095
Abstract
Nowadays, fostered by technological progress and contextual circumstances such as the economic crisis and pandemic restrictions, remote education is experiencing growing deployment. However, this growth has generated widespread doubts about the actual effectiveness of remote/online learning compared to face-to-face education. The present study was aimed at comparing face-to-face and remote education through a multimodal neurophysiological approach. It involved forty students at a driving school, in a real classroom, experiencing both modalities. Wearable devices to measure brain, ocular, heart and sweating activities were employed in order to analyse the students’ neurophysiological signals to obtain insights into the cognitive dimension. In particular, four parameters were considered: the Eye Blink Rate, the Heart Rate and its Variability and the Skin Conductance Level. In addition, the students filled out a questionnaire at the end to obtain an explicit measure of their learning performance. Data analysis showed higher cognitive activity, in terms of attention and mental engagement, in the in-presence setting compared to the remote modality. On the other hand, students in the remote class felt more stressed, particularly during the first part of the lesson. The analysis of questionnaires demonstrated worse performance for the remote group, thus suggesting a common “disengaging” behaviour when attending remote courses, thus undermining their effectiveness. In conclusion, neuroscientific tools could help to obtain insights into mental concerns, often “blind”, such as decreasing attention and increasing stress, as well as their dynamics during the lesson itself, thus allowing the definition of proper countermeasures to emerging issues when introducing new practices into daily life.Funding Information
- European Commission (953432)
- neurometrics for a new concept of smart interaction with the surrounding environment (950998)
- Transparent artificial intelligence and automation to air traffic management systems (894238)
- SAFEMODE: Strengthening synergies between Aviation and maritime in the area of human Factors towards achieving more Efficient and resilient MODE of transportation (814961)
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