Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Committee Members
Scott Watamaniuk, Ph.D. (Advisor); David LaHuis, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ion Juvina, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Valerie Shalin, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
Instruction is increasingly asynchronous, providing new opportunities but at the cost of losing some guard rails of in-person classes. One such guard rail is an instructor’s ability to detect boredom and learner disengagement. This dissertation explores the development and evaluation of an adaptive training simulator designed to respond to user engagement levels in real-time. The simulator monitors eyeblinks, comparing metrics to individual baselines to detect signs of fatigue and boredom. Participants are exposed to novel information in an audiobook recording of a textbook chapter and later quizzed to assess retention. An adaptive intervention offering periodic brief respite was tested against a control condition that provided a break 45 minutes into the content. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of these strategies, hypothesizing that their success will vary based on the participants' interest in the material and their level of conscientiousness. Blink-based attentional metrics were not reliable predictors of performance at the aggregate level; however, both linear and quadratic effects for mean blink duration suggest that learning gains vary nonlinearly with attentional state, reflecting an optimal balance between under- and over-engagement. Motivational traits, including conscientiousness and interest, did not moderate the effects of the adaptive intervention, though analyses involving these traits were underpowered, indicating additional data are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. This study highlights the nuanced and dynamic relationship between attention and learning, offering evidence that adaptive, blink-informed systems may enhance engagement through timely modulation of cognitive load and fatigue.
Page Count
87
Department or Program
Department of Psychology
Year Degree Awarded
2025
Copyright
Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
ORCID ID
0000-0003-4433-5876
