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. 2024 Feb 28:17:813-826.
doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S442863. eCollection 2024.

Effects of Exercise Habits and Gender on Sports e-Learning Behavior: Evidence from an Eye-Tracking Study

Xu-Fu Yuan  1 , Yu-Qin Ji  2 , Teng-Xiao Zhang  3 , Hong-Bin Xiang  4 , Zhuo-Yan Ye  5 , Qiang Ye  3
Affiliations

Effects of Exercise Habits and Gender on Sports e-Learning Behavior: Evidence from an Eye-Tracking Study

Xu-Fu Yuan et al. Psychol Res Behav Manag. .

Abstract

Background/objective: In the post-epidemic era, an increasing number of individuals were accustomed to learning sports and physical activity knowledge online for fitness and health demands. However, most previous studies have examined the influence of e-learning materials and resources on learners and have neglected intrinsic factors such as experience and physiological characteristics. Therefore, we conducted a study to investigate the effect of exercise habits and gender on sports e-learning behavior via eye-tracking technology.

Methods: We recruited a sample of 60 undergraduate students (mean age = 19.6) from a university in Nanjing, China. They were randomly assigned into 4 groups based on 2 genders × 2 exercise habits. Their gaze behavior was collected by an eye-tracking device during the experiment. The cognitive Load Test and Learning Effect Test were conducted at the end of the individual experiment.

Results: (1) Compared to the non-exercise habit group, the exercise habit group had a higher fixation count (P<0.05), a shorter average fixation duration (P<0.05), a smaller average pupil diameter (P<0.05), and a lower subjective cognitive load (P<0.05) and better learning outcome (P<0.05). (2) Male participants showed a greater tendency to process information from the video area of interest (AOIs), and had lower subjective cognitive load (P < 0.05) and better learning outcomes (P < 0.05). (3) There was no interaction effect between exercise habits and gender for any of the indicators (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that exercise habits effectively enhance sports e-learning outcomes and reduce cognitive load. The exercise habits group showed significant improvements in fixation counts, average fixation duration, and average pupil diameter. Furthermore, male subjects exhibited superior learning outcomes, experienced lower cognitive load, and demonstrated greater attentiveness to dynamic visual information. These conclusions are expected to improve sports e-learning success and address educational inequality.

Keywords: e-learning; exercise habit; eye-tracking; gaze behavior; gender.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Process of equipment usage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Visual preference. (a) AOI delineation rules in the Core Learning Content (Skill Explanation), with interpretive text AOI on the left and dynamic video AOI on the right, (b) Fixation dwell time ratio.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Eye movement results. (a) Fixation count, (b) Average fixation time, (c) Average pupil diameter, and (d) Blink count.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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