Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Behavioral Neuroscience, Developmental and Educational Psychology
33
Scopus Publications
469
Scholar Citations
12
Scholar h-index
12
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Prediction of Secondary-School Student Cognitive Performance in Informatics Dimitrios Varsos, Nikolaos Zygouris, Kostas Kolomvatsos, Antonios Dadaliaris, Georgios Dimitriou International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy, 2026 Machine learning techniques for the prediction of performance in the learning process are primarily studied at the post-secondary level of education. Data sets are usually large at that level, resulting in predictive models that have a high accuracy. In contrast, limited research has been conducted at the secondary school level, mostly due to the typically small data sizes and the unique educational challenges of that level. In the present study we aimed to address such issues by implementing a model to predict the final performance of lower secondary school students in a course on Informatics, using a teaching scenario that combined the flipped classroom, a variation of the jigsaw technique and educational robotics. Given the student grades from the first third of the year, as well as demographics data, we used an IBM data analytics tool to create and test several predictive models. The CHAID algorithm achieved the highest accuracy (82.14%) and AUC value, outperforming others like Quest, C5, BN, and RF. The tool also pinpointed the educational activity that was the most significant predictor of final performance, indicating its strong instructional value. Despite the relatively small dataset, the results suggest that careful parameter selection can yield models that predict learner performance with a high accuracy and assist educators in continuously improving their teaching for better student outcomes.
AI-Assisted Screening of Oral Reading in Primary School: Using Short Recordings to Flag Reading Difficulty in Greek Pupils Maria Tsolia, Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Spyros Kamnis, Stefanos K. Styliaras, Eleftheria Beazidou, et al. Digital, 2026 Early identification of reading difficulties enables timely classroom intervention; however, teachers often have limited time and restricted access to specialist assessment. This study explores a brief, teacher-friendly screening approach based on short oral reading recordings to support classroom decision-making. Oral reading samples were collected from 77 Greek primary school pupils (Grades 3–6) during a standardized reading task. Recordings were segmented into 7 s excerpts, converted into spectrogram images, and analyzed using a deep learning model to classify each excerpt as indicative of reading difficulties or not. To reflect realistic school implementation, model development followed an 80/20 participant-level split, with validation conducted on pupils not included in the training set. At the selected operating threshold, the model achieved approximately 84% overall accuracy and a balanced accuracy of 0.85. For practical applicability, a pupil-level indicator—representing the proportion of excerpts flagged as difficult—showed a strong association with expert judgments (r ≈ 0.74). These findings suggest that brief oral reading recordings can provide teachers with an interpretable screening signal to inform monitoring, prioritization, and early classroom support while underscoring the need for further validation under routine school conditions.
Preparation for Inclusive and Technology-Enhanced Pedagogy: A Cluster Analysis of Secondary Special Education Teachers Evaggelos Foykas, Eleftheria Beazidou, Natassa Raikou, Nikolaos C. Zygouris Computers, 2026 This study examines the profiles of secondary special education teachers regarding their readiness for inclusive teaching, with technology-enhanced practices operationalized through participation in STEAM-related professional development. A total of 323 teachers from vocational high schools and integration classes participated. Four indicators of professional preparation were assessed: years of teaching experience, formal STEAM training, exposure to students with special educational needs (SEN), and perceived success in inclusive teaching, operationalized as self-reported competence in adaptive instruction, classroom management, positive attitudes toward inclusion, and collaborative engagement. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct teacher profiles: less experienced teachers with moderate perceived success and limited exposure to students with SEN; well-prepared teachers with high levels across all indicators; and highly experienced teachers with lower STEAM training and perceived success. These findings underscore the need for targeted professional development that integrates inclusive and technology-enhanced pedagogy through STEAM and is tailored to teachers’ experience levels. By integrating inclusive readiness, STEAM-related preparation, and technology-enhanced pedagogy within a person-centered profiling approach, this study offers actionable teacher profiles to inform differentiated professional development in secondary special education.
Children’s color trails test: Greek normative data and clinical validity in children with traumatic brain injury and attention deficit - Hyperactivity disorder L. Messinis, E. Aretouli, P. Patrikelis, S. Malefaki, A. Ntoskou-Messini, et al. Applied Neuropsychology Child, 2026 The Children's Color Trail Test (CCTT) is considered a culture fair equivalent of the Trail Making Test for the assessment of cognitive flexibility in pediatric populations, while others emphasize its additional validity as a measure of attention, perceptual tracking, processing speed, susceptibility to interference and inhibition. The need for standardized neuropsychological tests in Greece, especially for the pediatric population is significant. In the present study, considering the relatively good psychometric properties of the CCTT and its wide cross-cultural application, we decided that such a tool would be useful to Greek clinicians and researchers, and therefore developed norms for the Greek child and adolescent population. Additionally, we examined the clinical validity of the test, administering it to two groups of patients (children with Traumatic Brain Injury and Attention Deficit - Hyperactivity Disorder). We administered the test to 417 native healthy Greek children 6-15 years, recruited primarily from Southwestern Greece from several public schools. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant influence of age on completion time in both parts of the CCTT, whereas sex did not influence time to completion. Older children consistently completed the test faster than younger children, whereas girls and boys performed similarly on both conditions. In addition, CCTT differentiated the performance of children who have had a TBI and those diagnosed with ADHD from the performances of their typically developing peers. This study provides much needed performance and clinical utility data for the pediatric population in Greece on a promising neuropsychological tool for use in clinical and research settings.
Computational Thinking in Primary and Pre-School Children: A Systematic Review of the Literature Efrosyni-Alkisti Paraskevopoulou-Kollia, Christos-Apostolos Michalakopoulos, Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Pantelis G. Bagos Education Sciences, 2025 Computational Thinking (CT) has been an important concept for the computer science education community in the last 20 years. In this work we performed a systematic review of the literature regarding the computational thinking of children from kindergarten to primary school. We compiled a large dataset of one hundred and twenty (120) studies from the literature. Through analysis of these studies, we tried to reveal important insights and draw interesting and valid conclusions. We analyzed various qualitative and quantitative aspects of the studies, including the sample size, the year of publication, the country of origin, the studies’ design and duration, the computational tools used, and so on. An important aspect of the work is to highlight differences between different study designs. We identified a total of 120 studies, with more than half of them (>50%) originating from Asian countries. Most studies (82.5%) conducted some form of intervention, aiming to improve their computational thinking in students. A smaller proportion (17.5%) were assessment studies in which the authors conducted assessments regarding the children’s computational thinking. On average, intervention studies had a smaller number of participants, but differences in duration could not be identified. There was also a lack of large-scale longitudinal studies. Block-based coding (i.e., Scratch) and Plugged and Unplugged activities were observed in high numbers in both categories of studies. CT assessment tools showed great variability. Efforts for standardization and reaching a consensus are needed in this regard. Finally, robotic systems have been found to play a major role in interventions over the last years.
Associations Between P300 Latency and Reaction Time on Event-Related Potentials in Children with Varying Levels of Fluid Intelligence Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Irini Dermitzaki, Panayiotis Patrikelis, Lambros Messinis, Eugenia I. Toki Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, 2025 Exploring cognitive abilities is necessary in educational contexts, where such insights shape decisions about student placement and teaching methods. Traditionally, educational assessments have been leaned on academic performance to guide decisions related to grading and student placement. This study examines the relationships among specific neuropsychological measures, namely the Event Related Potentials (ERPs), P300 waveform, reaction time, and fluid intelligence in children. Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) was utilized to assess intelligence levels. Based on their RSPM scores, participants were grouped into two categories: those with “high mental abilities” and those with “average mental abilities”. It was hypothesized that children with higher RSPM scores might display reduced P300 latencies and quicker reaction times, potentially reflecting greater neural efficiency. Electrophysiological data collected using ERPs, focusing on the P300 component. The results suggest a possible association between higher intelligence scores and shorter P300 latencies and quicker reaction times, which could support the concept of neural efficiency and the significance of cognitive speed in understanding intelligence. This investigation into the neuropsychological foundations of cognitive ability in children is in the same line with studies supporting how brain activity, connectivity, and processing efficiency vary. These differences could help develop educational strategies that are more tailored to individual cognitive processing styles.
The Implementation of the Askisi-SD Neuropsychological Web-Based Screener: A Battery of Tasks for Screening Cognitive and Spelling Deficits of Children Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Eugenia I. Toki, Filippos Vlachos, Stefanos K. Styliaras, Nikos Tziritas Education Sciences, 2025 The Askisi-Spelling Deficits (SD) neuropsychological web-based screener was developed to assess cognitive and spelling abilities in children, with an emphasis on the early detection of spelling disorders. This tool incorporates six tasks that evaluate cognitive domains, such as visual and auditory working memory, response inhibition, and spelling processing, providing a comprehensive framework for assessment. A study conducted with 264 Greek children, including 132 children with spelling deficits and 132 typically developing controls, aimed to implement this screening tool. Results indicated that the screener was effective, as children with spelling deficits showed significantly lower performance and longer response times across all tasks. The tool’s internal consistency was supported by split-half correlations (r = 0.64) and Spearman–Brown coefficients (r = 0.78). Nonetheless, certain limitations were identified, including the absence of latency data for specific tasks (Go/No-Go and working memory), as well as the screener’s cultural specificity, which might limit its applicability to other linguistic and orthographic systems. Future iterations should prioritize the inclusion of timing mechanisms for more detailed assessments and consider adaptations for use in languages with varying orthographic complexities. Expanding the demographic reach and conducting longitudinal validation studies would further improve its utility and generalizability. The web-based nature of the screener enables scalable and standardized administration, making it a practical and efficient tool for the early identification of spelling difficulties in children.
Validation of the Askisi-Lexia neuropsychological web-based screener: A neuropsychological battery for screening cognitive and phonological skills of children with dyslexia N. Zygouris, Filippos Vlachos, Stefanos K Styliaras, Grigoris D. Tziallas, Elias Avramidis Applied Neuropsychology Child, 2025 DSM-5 classifies dyslexia as a "specific learning disorder with impairment in reading", emphasizing deficits in phonological processing and letter knowledge. Children with dyslexia commonly exhibit challenges in reading accuracy, fluency, and associated cognitive deficits. Computerized neuropsychological assessments have gained prominence for their precision and control in evaluating cognitive abilities. This manuscript presents the validation outcomes of Askisi-Lexia, a web-based neuropsychological screener developed to assess cognitive and phonological skills in children. The screener effectively differentiated between dyslexic and non-dyslexic participants, with dyslexic children demonstrating significantly lower scores and prolonged response times across all nine tasks (five targeting phonological skills and four evaluating cognitive abilities). Additionally, Askisi-Lexia exhibited high sensitivity and specificity across all subtests. Reliability analysis revealed high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Notably, moderate correlations were observed between Askisi-Lexia and Test-A, a well-established traditional paper-and-pencil assessment, underscoring the screener's validity. These findings highlight the efficacy of web-based tools in assessing phonological and cognitive deficits associated with dyslexia. The study underscores the potential of web-based screening applications as practical, engaging, and efficient methods for dyslexia assessment. Such tools facilitate identification and intervention, contributing to significant advancements in educational and clinical practice for children with reading-related challenges.
The effectiveness of a reading and cognitive task-based Web delivered intervention program for children with reading difficulties Aikaterini Striftou, Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Filippos Vlachos, Panayiotis Patrikelis, Lambros Messinis Applied Neuropsychology Child, 2025 The present study aimed to investigate the improvement of reading ability and cognitive performance of children with reading difficulties through a Web application named "Poke the Reading Ability" (PtRA). PtRA is designed to assist the intervention of reading difficulties in Greek, a language that is more transparent than English. Sixty (60) children between nine (9) to twelve (12) years old (mean age 10.18 years). The baseline assessment consisted of two batteries of reading and cognitive abilities tests. Test-A, a Greek standardized psychometric tool and Askisi, a newly developed neuropsychological battery of tests are adopted to assess reading and cognitive performance. Both tools, were used in order to screen children's reading and cognitive performance before and after implementing the PtRA. The PtRA Web intervention consists of (a) tasks that focus on improving visual and auditory working memory, (b) tasks that improve phonological awareness and decoding, (c) tasks that are adopted to strengthen visual discrimination ability and (d) tasks that improve reading comprehension ability. Following the Web delivered intervention program the results revealed that the reading and cognitive abilities of children with reading difficulties were statistically significant improved in all 9 reading and all 3 cognitive abilities tasks.
New Tasks for a Dyslexia Screening Web Application Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Filippos Vlachos, Antonios N. Dadaliaris, Evangelos Karagos, Panagiotis Oikonomou, et al. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2020
The use of LEGO mindstorms in elementary schools Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Aikaterini Striftou, Antonios N. Dadaliaris, George I. Stamoulis, Apostolos C. Xenakis, et al. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference Educon, 2017
Learning difficulties screening web application Nikolaos C. Zygouris, Filippos Vlachos, Antonios N. Dadaliaris, George I. Stamoulis, Denis Vavougios, et al. Proceedings of 2015 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning Icl 2015, 2015
Teachers’ perceptions about digital storytelling and its pedagogical usage. The improvement of minority children’s classroom engagement E Beazidou, N Zygouris, K Botsoglou, E Kougioumtzidou, C Samantzis Education 3-13 54 (4), 873-886 , 2026 2026 Citations: 8
Children’s color trails test: Greek normative data and clinical validity in children with traumatic brain injury and attention deficit-Hyperactivity disorder L Messinis, E Aretouli, P Patrikelis, S Malefaki, A Ntoskou-Messini, ... Applied Neuropsychology: Child 15 (2), 192-199 , 2026 2026 Citations: 3
AI-Assisted Screening of Oral Reading in Primary School: Using Short Recordings to Flag Reading Difficulty in Greek Pupils M Tsolia, NC Zygouris, S Kamnis, SK Styliaras, E Beazidou, V Stamouli Digital 6 (1), 15 , 2026 2026
The use of the social robot NAO to enhance communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review of studies from 2013–2019 to 2020–2025 E Foykas, E Beazidou, C Karagiannidis, Z Nikolaos Technology and Disability 38 (1), 25-53 , 2026 2026 Citations: 5
Preparation for Inclusive and Technology-Enhanced Pedagogy: A Cluster Analysis of Secondary Special Education Teachers E Foykas, E Beazidou, N Raikou, NC Zygouris Computers 15 (1), 42 , 2026 2026
Prediction of Secondary-School Student Cognitive Performance in Informatics. DA Varsos, NC Zygouris, KM Kolomvatsos, AN Dadaliaris, G Dimitriou International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy 16 (1) , 2026 2026
From assessing to intervention: Machine learning prediction of reading and cognitive improvements of children with reading difficulties SK Styliaras, A Striftou, NC Zygouris, K Kolomvatsos, C Karagiannidis TechRxiv 2025 (1202) , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Computational Thinking in Primary and Pre-School Children: A Systematic Review of the Literature EA Paraskevopoulou-Kollia, CA Michalakopoulos, NC Zygouris, ... Education Sciences 15 (8), 985 , 2025 2025 Citations: 13
The effectiveness of a reading and cognitive task-based Web delivered intervention program for children with reading difficulties A Striftou, NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, P Patrikelis, L Messinis Applied Neuropsychology: Child 14 (3), 377-388 , 2025 2025 Citations: 6
Associations Between P300 Latency and Reaction Time on Event-Related Potentials in Children with Varying Levels of Fluid Intelligence NC Zygouris, I Dermitzaki, P Patrikelis, L Messinis, EI Toki Clinical and Translational Neuroscience 9 (2), 24 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
The Implementation of the Askisi-SD Neuropsychological Web-Based Screener: A Battery of Tasks for Screening Cognitive and Spelling Deficits of Children NC Zygouris, EI Toki, F Vlachos, SK Styliaras, N Tziritas Education Sciences 15 (4), 452 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Validation of the Askisi-Lexia neuropsychological web-based screener: A neuropsychological battery for screening cognitive and phonological skills of children with dyslexia NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, SK Styliaras, GD Tziallas, E Avramidis Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 1-17 , 2025 2025 Citations: 6
Utilizing Educational Robotics in Elementary School to Foster Problem-Solving Skills and Enhance the Teaching of History. K Aslanoglou, NC Zygouris, S Tsermentseli, E Beazidou, A Xenakis Pedagogical Research 10 (1) , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
Differences in children and adolescents with depression before and after a remediation program: an event-related potential study NC Zygouris Brain sciences 14 (7), 660 , 2024 2024 Citations: 7
Neural Networks for Assessing Reading Disabilities in School-Aged Children M Tsolia, NC Zygouris, K Kolomvatsos 2024 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 1-4 , 2024 2024 Citations: 1
Implementing a Web Application Screener for Preschoolers: Executive Functions and School Readiness. NC Zygouris, K Botsoglou, G Dimitriou, O Axelou, P Oikonomou, ... International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy 13 (6) , 2023 2023 Citations: 4
Interactive books for preschool children: from traditional interactive paper books to augmented reality books: listening to children’s voices through mosaic approach S Polyzou, K Botsoglou, NC Zygouris, G Stamoulis Education 3-13 51 (6), 881-892 , 2023 2023 Citations: 31
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND PRIMARY EDUCATION TEACHERS’PERCEPTIONS, IN USING DIGITAL GAMES AS LEARNING TOOLS. OBSTACLES AND FACTORS THAT LEAD TO THEIR EFFECTIVE USE E Kougioumtzidou, K Botsoglou, N Zygouris European Journal of Social Sciences Studies 9 (1) , 2023 2023 Citations: 1
Αξιολόγηση μαθητών δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης με δυσλεξία μέσω ηλεκτρονικού υπολογιστή G Stamoulis, A Panagopoulos, S Psycharis, N Zygouris, G Tzialas, ... 2023
Exploring the impact of digital games on elementary school students' cognitive and social skill development: A perception-based study E Kougiomtsidou, K Botsoglou, E Beazidou, N Zygouris International Scientific Educational Journal 11 (2) , 2023 2023 Citations: 3
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Internet addiction and loneliness AV Karapetsas, VA Karapetsas, NC Zygouris, AI Fotis Encephalos 52 (1), 4-9 , 2015 2015 Citations: 63
The use of LEGO mindstorms in elementary schools NC Zygouris, A Striftou, AN Dadaliaris, GI Stamoulis, AC Xenakis, ... 2017 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 514-516 , 2017 2017 Citations: 42
Differences in dyslexic students before and after a remediation program: A clinical neuropsychological and event related potential study NC Zygouris, E Avramidis, AV Karapetsas, GI Stamoulis Applied Neuropsychology: Child 7 (3), 235-244 , 2018 2018 Citations: 35
Internet gaming addiction. Reasons, diagnosis, prevention and treatment AV Karapetsas, VA Karapetsas, NX Zygouris, AI Fotis Encephalos 51 (1), 10-14 , 2014 2014 Citations: 35
Interactive books for preschool children: from traditional interactive paper books to augmented reality books: listening to children’s voices through mosaic approach S Polyzou, K Botsoglou, NC Zygouris, G Stamoulis Education 3-13 51 (6), 881-892 , 2023 2023 Citations: 31
A neuropsychological approach of developmental dyscalculia and a screening test via a web application NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, AN Dadaliaris, P Oikonomou, GI Stamoulis, ... International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP) 7 (4), 51-65 , 2017 2017 Citations: 30
Teaching concurrent programming concepts using scratch in primary school: Methodology and evaluation E Fatourou, NC Zygouris, T Loukopoulos, GI Stamoulis International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP) 8 (4), 89-105 , 2018 2018 Citations: 25
Screening for Disorders of Mathematics via a web application NC Zygouris, GI Stamoulis, F Vlachos, D Vavougios, AN Dadaliaris, ... 2017 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 502-507 , 2017 2017 Citations: 21
The implementation of a web application for screening children with dyslexia NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, AN Dadaliaris, P Oikonomou, GI Stamoulis, ... International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning, 415-423 , 2016 2016 Citations: 16
Computational Thinking in Primary and Pre-School Children: A Systematic Review of the Literature EA Paraskevopoulou-Kollia, CA Michalakopoulos, NC Zygouris, ... Education Sciences 15 (8), 985 , 2025 2025 Citations: 13
Learning difficulties screening web application NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, AN Dadaliaris, GI Stamoulis, D Vavougios, ... 2015 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL … , 2015 2015 Citations: 13
Adolescents and Internet Addiction: A research study of the occurrence AV Karapetsas, AJ Fotis, NC Zygouris Encephalos 49, 67-72 , 2012 2012 Citations: 13
ERPs in children and adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: Before and after an intervention program NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, GI Stamoulis Brain sciences 12 (9), 1174 , 2022 2022 Citations: 9
New tasks for a dyslexia screening web application NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, AN Dadaliaris, E Karagos, P Oikonomou, ... International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning, 263-271 , 2018 2018 Citations: 9
Event Related Potentials (ERPs) in prognosis, diagnosis and rehabilitation of children with dyslexia AV Karapetsas, NC Zygouris Encephalos 48 (3), 118-127 , 2011 2011 Citations: 9
Teachers’ perceptions about digital storytelling and its pedagogical usage. The improvement of minority children’s classroom engagement E Beazidou, N Zygouris, K Botsoglou, E Kougioumtzidou, C Samantzis Education 3-13 54 (4), 873-886 , 2026 2026 Citations: 8
Differences in children and adolescents with depression before and after a remediation program: an event-related potential study NC Zygouris Brain sciences 14 (7), 660 , 2024 2024 Citations: 7
ISDN2014_0399: Differences in brain activity of children with higher mental abilities. An Event Related Potentials study using the latency of P300 and N100 waveforms NC Zygouris, I Dermitzaki, AV Karapetsas International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience 47 (Part_A), 118-119 , 2015 2015 Citations: 7
The effectiveness of a reading and cognitive task-based Web delivered intervention program for children with reading difficulties A Striftou, NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, P Patrikelis, L Messinis Applied Neuropsychology: Child 14 (3), 377-388 , 2025 2025 Citations: 6
Validation of the Askisi-Lexia neuropsychological web-based screener: A neuropsychological battery for screening cognitive and phonological skills of children with dyslexia NC Zygouris, F Vlachos, SK Styliaras, GD Tziallas, E Avramidis Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 1-17 , 2025 2025 Citations: 6
