From SEAPOP to POPPY: Advancing Behavioral Observation with AI

Presenter:  Lauren van Huisstede

Human behavioral coding is a valuable research method in psychology and education. In EYEPlay ADAPT (Early Years Educators at Play – All Participating Abilities Participate and Thrive), we developed SEAPOP (Student Engagement and Active Participation Observation Protocol) to capture preschoolers’ attention and participation during drama-based story times. However, these data have limitations, including low temporal resolution, human error, and limited scalability. To address these challenges, we are developing an AI agent to generate temporally precise, scalable behavioral data.