Pioneering a Tangible Learning System for Children with Dislexia
We designed an interactive system for 5- to 7-year-old children with dyslexia to study simplified Chinese characters through learning radical composition. We created two versions of the system: a tangible version with physical radical cards and a touchscreen version with all interactions on a tablet.
In a two-week study, we evaluated and compared two versions with 20 children. While both versions helped children remember radicals and characters, the tangible version excelled at fostering learning motivation, facilitating hands-on engagement, and encouraging the adoption of a wider range of learning strategies.
Duration
2023.4-2023.7 (16 weeks)
My Role
UX Designer, Research Assistant
Team
Professor x1
Research Assistant x4
Skills
UX Design
User Research
Usability Testing
Background
In China, approximately 5-10% of children are reported to experience dyslexia,* a cognitive disability which may be closely linked to deficiencies in orthographic knowledge (recognition of the visual forms of words). This poses a particular challenge in learning to read logographic languages like Chinese. Unlike alphabetic languages, Chinese characters are constructed through spatial arrangements of strokes and combinations of radicals (building blocks of characters that convey information about the character’s meaning or pronunciation). Previous research suggests explicit teaching of radicals can effectively enhance children's orthographic understanding of Chinese characters.**
* Liping Yang, Chunbo Li, Xiumei Li, Manman Zhai, Qingqing An, You Zhang, Jing Zhao and Xuchu Weng. 2022. Prevalence of Developmental Dyslexia in Primary School Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Brain Sci 12, 2, 240. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020240
** Linjun Zhang, Zhichao Xia, Yang Zhao, Hua Shu and Yang Zhang. 2023. Recent Advances in Chinese Developmental Dyslexia. Annu. Rev. Linguist. 9, 1, 439–461. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-030421-065648
Example of two orthographically similar characters
Examples of Chinese radicals
System Setup
Our system design comprised essential components that support children’s learning experience. This included a tablet displaying a character learning app, a tablet camera mirror capturing video from the desk area, a tablet stand, and a set of 37 physical radical cards for the tangible version.
In both the tangible and touchscreen version, children would first acquire new radical and character knowledge through the learning app, then complete a series of character composition exercises to strengthen their learning. In the tangible version, children were prompted by the app to find the correct radical cards to compose various characters and place them under the camera mirror. Through a machine learning algorithm, the app would determine if the characters captured by the camera mirror were composed correctly. In the touchscreen version, children would select radicals and complete the equivalent character-composition tasks in the app by scrolling and touching the tablet screen.
System set up overview
The tangible setup (left) and the touchscreen setup (right)
Learning Material Design
Our app offered 6 lessons, each focusing on a unique radical component and 5 associated characters. We selected characters from K–1 grade textbooks, organizing them into lessons based on their radicals. Our learning materials covered both elementary radicals and characters like 氵and 江 (/jiang1/, river), as well as more intricate ones like 心 and 感 (/gan3/, feel). The lessons also contained character composition tasks within words and poems, allowing children to apply these characters in context.
User Interface Design
The user interface design of our system adopted a simplistic layout to minimize cognitive load. In each lesson, we used animated and graphical content to introduce radical and character knowledge in an engaging manner. Additionally, we created color cues to differentiate each radical and establish associations with their semantic meanings, whenever applicable. For example, the color cue designated for the radical "日" was orange, hinting at its semantic meaning of the sun. Our approach to user interface design strived for an optimal learning experience for children with dyslexia.
Research Study
To assess how our system can assist children in learning Chinese radicals and characters, we carried out a two-week research study with 20 children at a local kindergarten. Each child utilized both the tangible and touchscreen versions for learning, finishing half of the lessons in the tangible version and the other half in the touchscreen version.
Before each lesson, we conducted a pretest to assess the participant’s reading and composition abilities. Next, the participant completed guided lessons through the learning app. At the end of each lesson, we administered a post-test to evaluate the participants' character reading and composition accuracy. By the end of the study, we interviewed the participants and teachers about their opinions and preferences on the tangible and touchscreen versions.
Observations
Key Conclusions
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The tangible version was exceptional in cultivating hands-on engagement during the learning process. The participants’ interaction with physical cards led to more engaged learning, as evidenced by the diverse manipulation and placement approaches observed in the tangible condition.
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The character detection function in the tangible version further ignited the children's interest in learning. The incorporation of machine learning to detect characters captivated the participants, leading them to experiment with characters beyond the curriculum.
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The majority of participants and their teachers expressed strong preference for the tangible version. When asked about their preferences for either of the two versions, a significant majority (13 out of 20) of the children expressed preference for the tangible version. Those who preferred the tangible version cited enjoyment in using physical radical cards to compose characters as the main reason.
Identified Usability Issues
Our study revealed several critical aspects of the learning system that warrant improvements. By addressing these issues, the system can be enhanced to foster a safer, more engaging, and more effective learning experience.
Impact and Future Steps
Overall, our research findings underscored the tangible version's effectiveness in promoting hands-on engagement and diverse learning strategies, sparking children's passion for learning.
Based on our study’s findings, we recognize the need to address usability issues in our learning system, such as sharp edges on tangible cards, rapid animations, and the lack of specific audio feedback. These aspects require thorough review and enhancement to improve the user experience and ensure safer learning environments for children with dyslexia.
Additionally, we acknowledge the limitations of our study, including the small sample size and limited training sessions, highlighting the necessity for more extensive research to gain representative results. In our future research, we will aim to explore the comparative benefits and limitations of our learning system and other instructional approaches.