Eye tracking study of the specificity of visual information processing in children with hearing impairment in a learning situation

Context and relevance. The article considers the problem of the consequences of early auditory deprivation on the reorganization of visual information processing. Auditory deprivation causes a reorganization of visual information processing in children with hearing impairments, which affects the perception of visual teaching materials in the learning process. Objective. Objective. Using eye tracking, track changes in visual information processing in children with hearing impairments. Using the example of perception of visual teaching materials, the task was to identify how the specificity of visual information processing manifests itself in children with hearing impairments in a learning situation. Hypothesis. The specificity of perception of educational materials in children with hearing impairments will be associated with the reorganization of visual information processing, which can be recorded by tracking eye movements. Methods and materials. A comparative study was conducted among a sample of preschool children aged 5-7 years (N = 35), typically developing children (N = 20; M = 6,1; SD = 0,4) and hearing impaired children with sensorineural hearing loss after cochlear implantation (N = 15; M = 6; SD = 0). Illustrations from the ABC book for hearing-impaired children by N.Yu. Donskaya and N.I. Linikova were used as stimulus material. Data were recorded using a stationary eye tracker GP3. The auditory-visual presentation of visual aids and with visual lexical supports was varied. Results. The features of visual information processing in children with hearing impairments were revealed through the analysis of shifts in visual attention (including those indicating the features of perception of visual aids in educational material). Through markers of fixation duration, number of fixations it is shown that children with hearing impairment have a large cognitive load, differences in depth, intensity of visual information processing in the perception of visual aids of educational materials, differences in the sequence of visual attention, visual search strategies, spatial distribution of attention, temporal characteristics of visual information processing are revealed. Conclusions. With the help of eye tracking it was possible to expand the understanding of the cross-modal effects of sensory deprivation on the processes of visual information processing in children with hearing impairment. The understanding of the influence of forms of using visual aids of educational materials, their presentation in an auditory-visual format or with the use of visual lexical supports in the process of teaching children with hearing impairment is supplemented.

Datasets аvailable from https://doi.org/10.48612/MSUPE/nvu1-epnf-4rk4 Smirnova, Ya.K. (2024). Materials of eye tracking study of eye-motor activity specificity in the process of visual educational material perception by children with hearing impairment: Data set. RusPsyData: Repository of psychological research and instruments. Moscow.

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