Modulation of instructor’s eye gaze by facial expression in video lectures

ABSTRACT

This study tested the interaction effect of the instructor’s eye gaze (direct gaze vs. averted gaze) and facial expression (happy face vs. neutral face) on students’ attention and learning performance in slide-based video lectures. University students (N = 120) participated in the experiment in a laboratory setting. The results of ANOVAs showed that students in the conditions that included the instructor’s direct gaze paid greater attention to the instructor’s face and paid less attention to the video lecture slides. However, direct gaze predicted better learning when the instructor had a happy facial expression. Our results suggest that the effects of an instructor’s eye gaze are modulated by her facial expression in this educational context. The findings have practical implications for designing slide-based video lectures: an instructor is encouraged to look straight towards the camera with a happy expression.

KEYWORDS:

• Video lectures
• eye gaze
• facial expression
• eye tracking technology
• e-learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the 12th five-year planning for China's Education Sciences [BBA150048].

Notes on contributors

Zhongling Pi

Zhongling Pi is a research associate professor in the MOE Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology at Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU). Her research interests include learning science, educational psychology and collaborative learning.

Minnan Chen

Minnan Chen is a masters student in the School of Educational Information Technology at Central China Normal University (CCNU). Her research interests include online instructional design.

Fangfang Zhu

Fangfang Zhu is a doctoral student in the National Engineering Research Center for E-Learning at CCNU. Her research interests include instructional design, blended learning and educational psychology.

Jiumin Yang

Jiumin Yang is a professor in the School of Educational Information Technology at CCNU. His research interests include learning science, instructional design, teacher education and educational technology.

Weiping Hu

Weiping Hu is a professor in the MOE Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology at SNNU. His research interests include creativity and educational psychology.