Gaze insights into debugging behavior using learner-centred analysis

Abstract

The presented study tries to tackle an intriguing question of how user-generated data from current technologies can be used to reinforce learners' reflections, improve teaching practices, and close the learning analytics loop. In particular, the aim of the study is to utilize users' gaze to examine the role of a mirroring tool (i.e. Exercise View in Eclipse) in orchestrating basic behavioral regulation of participants engaged in a debugging task. The results demonstrated that students who processed the information presented in the Exercise View and acted upon it, improved their performance and achieved higher level of success than those who failed to do it. The findings shed a light how to capture what constitute relevant data within a particular context using gaze patterns, that could guide collection of essential learner-centred analytics for the purpose of designing usable and modular learning environments based on data-driven approaches.