Attention & Eye Movements:
When a student has weak attention skills or inaccurate eye movements, that student is going to struggle with reading. One student we worked with preferred to read the encyclopedia. Yes, he enjoyed the dense information in it (which he remembered in great detail), but it was also because he had challenges holding his attention on longer passages. It was challenging to read even short stories.
After training his attention skills, he read the whole Harry Potter series over the summer. He is a voracious reader now. Plus, he has an easier time looking people in the eye when having discussions.
That is why we have partnered with Lexplore. They offer a rapid reading assessment that uses the same eye-tracking technology that BrainLeap uses. Combining eye tracking with artificial intelligence allows them to accurately identify a reader’s skill level in just 3-5 minutes.
Lexplore
Eye movements can offer us a valuable insight into the complex cognitive and linguistic processes behind reading. Using the latest in eye tracking technology to measure when, where, and how children’s eyes move in relation to the words they are reading, we can pick up on minor differences in the way their brains process text.
The eyes of a child with a high reading attainment generally move through a passage of text with short, quick movements, whereas those of a child with a low reading attainment tend to move much slower, and they may fixate upon individual words. By studying such differences in saccadic movement and fixation time we can quickly evaluate how effectively the main processes involved with reading work together.
“Current reading assessments are simply not good enough. When we look at a standard test score in isolation, it tells us a child can’t read. It doesn’t tell us why that child can’t read. Lexplore gives us much more than a simple score or percentile.”
Bernadette McLean – Former Principal of the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre
The assessment has also been able to offer a fresh perspective when it comes pointing to children’s specific problem areas, some of which can be easily addressed, such as issues with reading speed, difficulties with certain sounds, or simply a lack of confidence with reading aloud. Strengthening attention skills can help others.
Lexplore Analytics gives you visibility at the district, school, and classroom level. You can closely monitor progress at all levels over time and gain a thorough understanding of how your school compares to national averages.
Lexplore & BrainLeap
