Low-cost EEG multi-subject recording platform for the assessment of students’ attention and the estimation of academic performance in secondary school

Abstract

The level of student attention in class greatly affects their academic performance. Teachers typically rely on visual inspection to react to students’ attention in time, but this subjective method leads to inconsistencies across classes. Online education exacerbates the issue as students can turn off cameras and microphones to keep their own privacy. To address this, we present a novel, low-cost EEG-based platform for assessing students’ attention and estimating their academic performance. In a study involving 34 secondary school students (aged 14 to 16), participants watched an academic video and answered evaluation questions while their EEG activity was recorded using a commercial headset. The results demonstrate a significant correlation (0.53, p-value = 0.003) between the power spectral density (PSD) of the EEG beta band (12–30 Hz) and students’ academic performance. Additionally, there was a notable difference in PSD-beta between high and low academic performers. These findings encourage the use of PSD-beta for the immediate and objective assessment of both the student attention and the subsequent academic performance. The platform offers valuable and objective feedback to teachers, enhancing the effectiveness of both face-to-face and online teaching and learning environments.

This work was supported by grant B-TIC-352-UGR20, Junta de Andalucía; grant PID2021-128529OA-I00, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and by ERDF A way of making Europe; grant PP2021.PP-28, University of Granada; grant PROYEXCEL_00084, P21_00084P21_00084, Projects for Excellence Research, funded by the Council for Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities, Junta de Andalucía 2021.