Last transnational meeting of the Erasmus+ project on Eye-Tracking Technology & Education

12 August 2022 | From UNICA

On the morning of the 10th of July UNICA attended online the last transnational meeting of Erasmus+ funded project  ‘Teaching in Higher Education Effectively via Eye-tracking’ (THEE).

The event took place at Atatürk University in Erzurum, Turkey, with some partners attending on-site while others were online.

“Interaction is the base of Education” were the words with which Professor Kürsat Çağıltay from METU resumed the three year project that comes to an end later this month. Indeed, not only did this project focus on the interplay of the actors in a classroom, as the circumstances resulting from the pandemic – which impacted the project to a great extent and pushed back its deadline – allowed  partners to observe classroom interaction in a digital format like never before. And despite the fact that the consortium was able to resume the studies on on-site classes, it would certainly be interesting to use eye-tracking technology to compare both learning experiences.

The meeting focused on discussing the final stages of the project and reflecting future research opportunities.

Results of the THEE project

Findings of the research carried out by the THEE project show that analysing eye movements can indeed lead to an improved learning experience. This is because, by acknowledging their performance, instructors become aware of their interactions with students and adopt (and adapt) behaviors to increase the students’ attention.

For example, at Atatürk University, the students recognized behavioural changes in the faculty members such as an increase in the mobility of the lecturer and more focus on the whole class towards instead of just the first rows.

The results of the project will be shared in 5 e-courses on are being finalised by project’s partner DamaSistem and will soon be available for academics all around Europe. These e-learning contents will be available in English and in the three other languages of the project (Turkish, Lithuanian and Italian). These can be especially useful for early-career instructors to enhance their classroom management skills.

The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades… eye-tracking shades!

Despite coming to an end, the THEE project opened the door for new research possibilities on in-class interaction and eye-tracking technology.

As mentioned by Professor Kürsat Çağıltay, “We learned a lot not only technically but also about how this technology can improve the process of teaching and learning. But this was a small step in using this technology, it was just the beginning!”

Stay tuned for the launch of the e-learning courses!

Learn more about the project.