Eye tracking accelerates learning and improves memory in children with learning difficulties

A randomized controlled study by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong finds that eye-tracking training (ETT) leads to significant improvements in memory and faster learning among children with learning difficulties.

In Hong Kong, students with special educational needs (SEN) attend ordinary primary schools, but receive additional support in the form of after-school remediation classes aimed at improving reading and writing skills.

“The purpose of the present study is to compare the effect of a conventional after-school remediation class with an innovative eye-tracking intervention for primary school students with SEN,” wrote the researchers. “The rationale of using an eye-tracking system for cognitive training is that eye movement abnormality has been proposed to be associated with frontal lobe impairment such as disinhibition and working memory problems.” [Brain Dev 2010;32:347-355; Aging Ment Health 2021;doi:10.1080/13607863.2021.1913471]

Grade 2–5 primary school students (age range, 7–10 years) with learning difficulties (ie, formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disorder, specific language impairment, or borderline level of intellectual functioning with IQ scores of 70–79) were recruited through referral by their school teachers. These students were randomized to receive either the ETT programme (n=26) or conventional training (CT; n=24). [Sci Rep 2022;doi:10.1038/s41598-022-18286-6]

Each group underwent 20 after-school weekly 50-minutes-long sessions over a period of 8 months. Participants in the ETT programme were required to fixate on or trace a target with their eyes for a set period of time, while ignoring any distractions. Conventional training was composed of paper-and-pencil and computer tasks targeting reading and writing skills commonly used in Hong Kong.

The participants were asked to complete the Hong Kong List Learning Test, where they were presented with a verbal list of 16 two-character Chinese words three times and required to verbally recall as many words as possible. After 10 minutes, they were asked to recall the words from memory again.

“Our study found that children who received ETT, but not those who attended remediation class, showed improved memory and faster learning. In addition, students with poorer learning scores at baseline demonstrated a greater degree of improvement at later trials after ETT [second trial: r=−0.60; p=0.001; third trial: r=−0.42; p=0.03]. This was not observed in students receiving CT,” reported the researchers.

Both groups demonstrated significant improvement in reading ability. The researchers found significant improvements in the Chinese Word Reading Test (t=−8.20; p<0.001) and Chinese Passage Reading Test (t=−2.44; p=0.02) in the CT group unsurprising, given that these students received remediation for their Chinese reading skills. “Interestingly, the ETT group also showed a significant increase in these tests [t=−5.80; p<0.001 and t=−3.12; p=0.005] after the training,” they highlighted.

The ETT group also demonstrated a significant improvement in delayed recall (t=−5.23; p<0.001), while the CT group did not show any significant change (t=−2.05; p=0.05). In addition, the change had a large effect size (d=1.03) in the ETT group, suggesting a great extent of improvement in recall after a delay.

“Since the ability to recall newly formed memory after a delay plays a significant role in students’ everyday learning, better delayed recall suggests that students can acquire new knowledge and recall what has been learned for later application. Therefore, present study has provided preliminary support for the efficacy and applicability of the eye-tracking technique in cognitive training as an after-school programme for children with learning difficulties in mainstream schools,” concluded the researchers.