Agentic education · Learning science

Actionable companion · Cognitive load & attention

Learning with agency: Artificial Intelligence for the Analysis of Biometric Data from Wearables in Education: A Systematic Review

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide, separate from the original research. Proposed actions are not claims or recommendations attributed to the source authors. No independent peer review of this guide is asserted.

Evidence and context

Title and abstract screening; stage labels describe reported settings, not verified numerical ages. Design labels require full-text appraisal. Reported stage(s): Age / stage not established. Verify the participant population and task before transferring the findings.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the linked source license:

Wearable devices provide reliable biometric measurements in different contexts, and AI algorithms are increasingly being used to analyze this data. The objective of this review is to examine the use of wearable devices to collect biometric data combined with AI algorithms in an educational setting. A systematic review was conducted through the PRISMA methodology, by searching the Scopus database for works that included wearables, biometrics, and AI algorithms. A total of 43 studies were included and examined. The objectives, the type of collected data, and the methodologies of the included studies were investigated. Most articles utilized machine learning and deep learning algorithms for classification tasks, such as detecting stress or attention. Other applications included human activity recognition (HAR) for classroom orchestration and emotional or cognitive state detection. Many of the studies applied knowledge from previous works to the educational context, resembling exploratory research. Conversely, some authors developed tasks and methodologies tailored to the educational context. The strengths and weaknesses of the presented studies were discussed to propose future research directions. The main findings of this review highlight the advantages of the combination of multimodal sensing and predictive modeling in education with the eventual prospect of personalization. The absence of standardized acquisition and reporting remains the main barrier to replication, benchmarking, and synthesis across studies.

What kind of evidence is this?

Supporting AI learning science · Evidence synthesis

Stage: Age / stage not established. Screening labels describe reported context and study-design language. They are not a risk-of-bias rating or proof of effectiveness for an age band.

Study methods · source passage

This systematic literature review originates from the following research questions: RQ1 How can biometric data collected via wearable devices and analyzed through AI algorithms provide reliable information in educational contexts? RQ2 How can these frameworks enable continuous personalization in education?

Limitations and uncertainty · source passage

Wearable devices provide reliable biometric measurements in different contexts, and AI algorithms are increasingly being used to analyze this data. The objective of this review is to examine the use of wearable devices to collect biometric data combined with AI algorithms in an educational setting. A systematic review was conducted through the PRISMA methodology, by searching the Scopus database for works that included wearables, biometrics, and AI algorithms. A total of 43 studies were included and examined. The objectives, the type of collected data, and the methodologies of the included studies were investigated. Most articles utilized machine learning and deep learning algorithms for classification tasks, such as detecting stress or attention. Other applications included human activity recognition (HAR) for classroom orchestration and emotional or cognitive state detection. Many of the studies applied knowledge from previous works to the educational context, resembling exploratory research. Conversely, some authors developed tasks and methodologies tailored to the educational context. The strengths and weaknesses of the presented studies were discussed to propose future research directions. The main findings of this review highlight the advantages of the combination of multimodal sensing and predictive modeling in education with the eventual prospect of personalization. The absence of standardized acquisition and reporting remains the main barrier to replication, benchmarking, and synthesis across studies.

Design the system before the pilot

Use this study to inform a learning mechanism or implementation question. It is not direct evidence that autonomous agents improve learning. Keep the proposed agent behavior separate from what the source actually tested.

  • Limit simultaneous instructions and unnecessary dialogue. Compare task performance and a suitable mental-effort measure; easier-feeling work is not automatically better learning.

A 90-day district pilot

  1. Days 1–15 · Appraise. Have the curriculum lead and a teacher read the methods and limitations. Record the study design, sample, comparator, outcomes and evidence gaps. Define a local question that the study can help inform.
  2. Days 16–30 · Design. Treat the paper as background evidence until its population is verified in the full text. Do not assign an age-specific intervention or extend adult results to children. Name an accountable owner and set the baseline, success threshold and budget before implementation.
  3. Days 31–60 · Test. Start with a small voluntary cohort, preserve an accessible non-AI route and require teacher review. Use synthetic or de-identified examples; approve data handling and tool terms through district processes.
  4. Days 61–90 · Decide. Extract the participant ages or education stage, recruitment, task and comparator before selecting a local pilot. If these cannot be established, retain the paper for design discussion rather than age-band efficacy claims. Compare with baseline, document uncertainty and stop or revise if learning worsens, access is unequal or critical errors persist.

The board decision brief

Report the learning problem, evidence quality, participating population, total cost including review time, measured benefit, errors, access differences and remaining uncertainties. Make a dated recommendation to stop, revise or expand. A positive perception survey alone does not establish learning improvement.

Attribution and reuse

Vittorio Meini; Lorenzo Bachi; Mohamed Amir Omezzine; Giorgia Procissi; Federico Pigni; Lucia Billeci. Artificial Intelligence for the Analysis of Biometric Data from Wearables in Education: A Systematic Review. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) (2025-11-18). https://doi.org/10.3390/s25227042

Companion prepared 2026-10-30. Original authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract is an attributed source extract; the implementation plan is new AI-assisted editorial material, offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license. This guide has not undergone independent peer review.