EEG Inter-Subject Correlation: Measuring Neural Engagement in Educational Videos

Studies have primarily utilized EEG techniques to investigate inter-subject correlation (ISC) of EEG signals evoked by instructional videos in order to measure the neural engagement of learners on the timescale of the brain. Depending on the instrumentation, two types of studies are conducted.

One type involves the use of portable EEG to examine cerebral activity elicited by learners watching video stimuli in a real-world classroom setting. By monitoring the shared attention of groups of learners as they watch educational videos, this type of research can evaluate the effectiveness of classroom instruction (Poulsen et al., 2017). For example, Bevilacqua et al. (2019) compared variations in teacher-student brain synchronization across two learning modalities, viewing lesson-related educational films or instructor lectures in a real classroom, using Emotiv wireless EMOTIV EPOC EEG headsets. The findings showed that video education led to higher brain synchronization and information retention compared to teacher lectures. Moreover, teacher lectures enhanced students’ social closeness to teachers and their brain synchronization with instructors.

The other type of research is conducted in the lab using conventional EEG cap instruments, which are frequently used to predict and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods and instructional materials. According to Cohen et al. (2018), ISC could be a useful technique for linking video engagement to academic outcomes. A subsequent study analyzed the results of ISC among learners and found that video clips that triggered a stronger desire to learn resulted in stronger correlations in EEG signals between students (Zhu et al., 2019). Multi-brain scan experiments have an advantage over fMRI experiments in that they can collect brain data from multiple participants simultaneously and are more educationally ecological (e.g., they can be used in classrooms).