The relationship between attention levels and class participation of first-year students in classroom teaching departments

Abstract

This study aimed to detect any relationship that may exist between classroom teacher candidates' class participation and their attention levels. The research method was a convergent parallel design, mixing quantitative and qualitative research techniques, and the study group was composed of 21 freshmen studying in the Classroom Teaching Department at Uşak University, Faculty of Education, in the autumn term of the 2014-2015 academic year. As a data collection instrument, NeuroSky's Mindset EEG equipment was used to detect the students' attention levels, with video-recording being used to detect their class participation. The data obtained were analysed using the PYTHON and MATLAB package programs. The findings showed that, according to the eSense metric, students' level attention was averagely natural (43) as it was stated. The study concluded that there existed a moderate, positive correlation between students' attention levels and class participation.