Effect of representation format on conceptual question performance and eye-tracking measures (original) (raw)
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Influence of visual cueing on students' eye movements while solving physics problems
Proceedings of the Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications - ETRA '14, 2014
Overlaying visual cues on diagrams and animations can help students attend to relevant areas and facilitate problem solving. In this study we investigated the effects of visual cues on students' eye movements as they solved conceptual physics problems. Students (N=80) enrolled in an introductory physics course individually worked through four sets of problems, each containing a diagram, while their eye movements were recorded. Each diagram contained regions that were alternatively relevant to solving the problem correctly or related to common incorrect responses. Each problem set contained an initial problem, six isomorphic training problems, and a transfer problem. Those in the cued condition saw visual cues overlaid on the training problems. Students provided verbal responses. The cued group more accurately answered the (uncued) transfer problems, and their eye movements showed they more efficiently extracted the necessary information from the relevant area than the uncued group.
Computers & Education, 2014
Despite decades of studies on the link between eye movements and human cognitive processes, the exact nature of the link between eye movements and computer-based assessment performance still remains unknown. To bridge this gap, the present study investigates whether human eye movement dynamics can predict computer-based assessment performance (accuracy of response) in different presentation modalities (picture vs. text). Eye-tracking system was employed to collect 63 college students' eye movement behaviors while they are engaging in the computer-based physics concept questions presented as either pictures or text. Students' responses were collected immediately after the picture or text presentations in order to determine the accuracy of responses. The results demonstrated that students' eye movement behavior can successfully predict their computer-based assessment performance. Remarkably, the mean fixation duration has the greatest power to predict the likelihood of responding the correct physics concepts successfully, followed by re-reading time in proportion. Additionally, the mean saccade distance has the least and negative power to predict the likelihood of responding the physics concepts correctly in the picture presentation. Interestingly, pictorial presentations appear to convey physics concepts more quickly and efficiently than do textual presentations. This study adds empirical evidence of a prediction model between eye movement behaviors and successful cognitive performance. Moreover, it provides insight into the modality effects on students' computer-based assessment performance through the use of eye movement behavior evidence.
Several reasons have been proposed to explain students' incorrect answers to conceptual physics problems. Heckler [3] proposed with a perceptual basis: plausible and salient " eye catching " features in a problem capture students' attention. Once students attend to these perceptually salient features, less salient albeit thematically relevant features are not considered and students answer the problem incorrectly based on the salient features. To test this hypothesis we recorded eye movements of introductory physics students on 15 conceptual problems with diagrams. Each diagram contained areas consistent with documented novice-like answers and other areas consistent with the scientifically correct answer. We manipulated the luminance contrast of the diagrams to produce three versions of each diagram, which differed by the area with the highest level of perceptual salience. We found no effect of the salience on the correctness of students' answers. We also discuss how the salience manipulations influence eye movements.
Representations Based Physics Instruction to Enhance Students' Problem Solving
Physicists use multiple representations such as sketches, motion diagrams, force diagrams, graphs, and mathematical equations to represent concepts. This study probed the effect of utilizing multiple representations while learning physics and solving physics problem. The samples of this study are the first year of senior high school (in 2013) in Pontianak district-West Kalimantan. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied to identify students' representation, to analyze students' score and to acquire the effect of multiple representations after students learning the concept. The result shows that students who employed more than one representation such as motion diagram, force diagram while solving the problem got higher score than students did not. This indicates that multiple representations can be effective to enhance students' understanding of physics concept as well as problem solving skills.
Do Students' Eye Movements Reveal Their Strategies for Solving Physics Problems?
Research has shown that students use different strategies to solve physics problems. We tracked college students' eyes movements as they solved physics problems and compared their allocation of visual attention with the solution strategies that they used. Each problem had two graphs illustrating a situation and students were asked to find a quantitative solution, describing aloud their solution method. We coded each solution strategy as using equations, graphs, or both equations and graphs. These strategies align with the Johnson-Laird cognitive framework that categorizes student's as using propositional representations, mental images and mental models.
How do multimedia hints affect students' eye movements on conceptual physics problems
We investigated the effect of hint modality on students' eye movements on conceptual physics problems with diagrams. We recruited 57 students enrolled in a physics class for future elementary teachers. The participants were randomly assigned to conditions with no hints, visual hints, text hints, audio hints, and all possible hint modality combinations. We found that different hint modalities affect students' eye movements differently and the difference of students' eye movements relates to their problem-solving performance. The results of this study are different from the predictions based on Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). Our results suggest that the cognitive process in physics problem solving may not be fully explained by CTML and therefore more research might be necessary in this area.
The role of visual representation in physics learning: dynamic versus static visualization
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2017
This study aims to examine the role of visual representation in physics learning and to compare the learning outcomes of using dynamic and static visualization media. The study was conducted using quasi-experiment with Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design. The samples of this research are students of six classes at State Senior High School in Lampung Province. The experimental class received a learning using dynamic visualization and control class using static visualization media. Both classes are given pre-test and post-test with the same instruments. Data were tested with N-gain analysis, normality test, homogeneity test and mean difference test. The results showed that there was a significant increase of mean (N-Gain) learning outcomes (p <0.05) in both experimental and control classes. The averages of students' learning outcomes who are using dynamic visualization media are significantly higher than the class that obtains learning by using static visualization media. It can be seen from the characteristics of visual representation; each visualization provides different understanding support for the students. Dynamic visual media is more suitable for explaining material related to movement or describing a process, whereas static visual media is appropriately used for non-moving physical phenomena and requires long-term observation.
AIP Conference Proceedings, 2013
We investigate introductory physics students' difficulties in translating between mathematical and graphical representations and the effect of scaffolding on students' performance. We gave a typical problem that can be solved using Gauss's law involving a spherically symmetric charge distribution (a conducting sphere concentric with a conducting spherical shell) to 95 calculus-based introductory physics students. We asked students to write a mathematical expression for the electric field in various regions and asked them to graph the electric field. We knew from previous experience that students have great difficulty in graphing the electric field. Therefore, we implemented two scaffolding interventions to help them. Students who received the scaffolding support were either (1) asked to plot the electric field in each region first (before having to plot it as a function of distance from the center of the sphere) or (2) asked to plot the electric field in each region after explicitly evaluating the electric field at the beginning, mid and end points of each region. The comparison group was only asked to plot the electric field at the end of the problem. We found that students benefited the most from intervention (1) and that intervention (2), although intended to aid students, had an adverse effect. Also, recorded interviews were conducted with a few students in order to understand how students were impacted by the aforementioned interventions.
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, 2013
We investigate the effects of visual cueing on students' eye movements and reasoning on introductory physics problems with diagrams. Participants in our study were randomly assigned to either the cued or noncued conditions, which differed by whether the participants saw conceptual physics problems overlaid with dynamic visual cues. Students in the cued condition were shown an initial problem, and if they answered that incorrectly, they were shown a series of problems each with selection and integration cues overlaid on the problem diagrams. Students in the noncued condition were also provided a series of problems, but without any visual cues. We found that significantly more participants in the cued condition answered the problems overlaid with visual cues correctly on one of the four problem sets used and a subsequent uncued problem (the transfer problem) on a different problem set. We also found that those in the cued condition spent significantly less time looking at ''novicelike'' areas of the diagram in the transfer problem on three of the four problem sets and significantly more time looking at the ''expertlike'' areas of the diagram in the transfer problem on one problem set. Thus, the use of visual cues to influence reasoning and visual attention in physics problems is promising.