Leveraging Response Times in Learning Environments: Opportunities and Challenges

Computer-based learning environments can easily collect student response times. These can be used for multiple purposes, such as modeling student knowledge and affect, domain modeling, and cheating detection. However, to fully leverage them, it is essential to understand the properties of response times and associated caveats. In this study, we delve into the properties of response time distributions, including the influence of aberrant student behavior on response times. We then provide an overview of modeling approaches that use response times and discuss potential applications of response times for guiding the adaptive behavior of learning environments.