Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study
Eye tracking can provide valuable insights into how students use different representations to solve problems and can be a useful tool for measuring the integration of information from multiple representations. In this study, we measured the eye movements of 60 university students while solving two P...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1141896/full |
| _version_ | 1797768530185158656 |
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| author | Ana Susac Maja Planinic Andreja Bubic Katarina Jelicic Marijan Palmovic |
| author_facet | Ana Susac Maja Planinic Andreja Bubic Katarina Jelicic Marijan Palmovic |
| author_sort | Ana Susac |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Eye tracking can provide valuable insights into how students use different representations to solve problems and can be a useful tool for measuring the integration of information from multiple representations. In this study, we measured the eye movements of 60 university students while solving two PISA items that contain graphs taken from mathematics and science assessments with the aim of studying the difference in visual attention between students who correctly and incorrectly identify graphs from a verbal description. We were particularly interested in the differences in the integration of information from different representations (text, graphs, and picture) between students who were successful or unsuccessful in solving items. The results suggest that students who solved the items correctly tend to solve the items longer than their counterparts who did not solve the items correctly. Analysis of eye tracking data suggests that students who solved science item correctly analyzed the graph for significantly longer time and had significantly longer average fixation time. This finding suggests that a careful analysis of graphs is crucial for the correct solution of PISA items used in this study. Furthermore, the results showed that students who solved the mathematics item correctly had significantly higher number of transitions between graphs and picture, which indicates a greater integration of information from two different representations. This indicates that these types of items require a lot of time and effort to complete, probably because solving them requires a lot of steps, which is cognitively demanding. We also found that the average fixation durations for different representations may vary for different items, indicating that it is not always equally difficult to extract necessary information from different types of representations. The results of this study suggest that instructors may be able to improve their teaching methods by considering the importance of individual representations (e.g., texts, graphs, and pictures) and the integration of information from multiple sources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:54:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0088e74b1dd445d18fc6b45a9b27fb40 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-284X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:54:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-0088e74b1dd445d18fc6b45a9b27fb402023-07-31T17:21:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2023-07-01810.3389/feduc.2023.11418961141896Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking studyAna Susac0Maja Planinic1Andreja Bubic2Katarina Jelicic3Marijan Palmovic4Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Split, CroatiaDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Psycholinguistic Research, Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaEye tracking can provide valuable insights into how students use different representations to solve problems and can be a useful tool for measuring the integration of information from multiple representations. In this study, we measured the eye movements of 60 university students while solving two PISA items that contain graphs taken from mathematics and science assessments with the aim of studying the difference in visual attention between students who correctly and incorrectly identify graphs from a verbal description. We were particularly interested in the differences in the integration of information from different representations (text, graphs, and picture) between students who were successful or unsuccessful in solving items. The results suggest that students who solved the items correctly tend to solve the items longer than their counterparts who did not solve the items correctly. Analysis of eye tracking data suggests that students who solved science item correctly analyzed the graph for significantly longer time and had significantly longer average fixation time. This finding suggests that a careful analysis of graphs is crucial for the correct solution of PISA items used in this study. Furthermore, the results showed that students who solved the mathematics item correctly had significantly higher number of transitions between graphs and picture, which indicates a greater integration of information from two different representations. This indicates that these types of items require a lot of time and effort to complete, probably because solving them requires a lot of steps, which is cognitively demanding. We also found that the average fixation durations for different representations may vary for different items, indicating that it is not always equally difficult to extract necessary information from different types of representations. The results of this study suggest that instructors may be able to improve their teaching methods by considering the importance of individual representations (e.g., texts, graphs, and pictures) and the integration of information from multiple sources.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1141896/fulleye trackingSTEM educationvisual attentionmultiple representationsgraphsPISA |
| spellingShingle | Ana Susac Maja Planinic Andreja Bubic Katarina Jelicic Marijan Palmovic Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study Frontiers in Education eye tracking STEM education visual attention multiple representations graphs PISA |
| title | Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study |
| title_full | Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study |
| title_fullStr | Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study |
| title_short | Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study |
| title_sort | linking information from multiple representations an eye tracking study |
| topic | eye tracking STEM education visual attention multiple representations graphs PISA |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1141896/full |
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