Linking information from multiple representations: an eye-tracking study

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Ana Sušac
• Author: Maja Planinić
• Author: Andreja Bubić
• Author: Katarina Jeličić
• Author: Marijan Palmović
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Science; (Department of Physics)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: NATURAL SCIENCES; Physics

Abstract (english)

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.

• Keywords (english): PISA; multiple representations; eye tracking; graphs
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review - international
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Frontiers in Education
• Numbering: vol. 8, 1141896
• e-ISSN: 2504-284X
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1141896
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:217:202327
• Publication: 2023
• Document URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1141896/full
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Public note: © 2023 Susac, Planinic, Bubic, Jelicic and Palmovic. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Received 10 January 2023. Accepted 19 June 2023. Published 31 July 2023.
• Created on: 2024-07-23 08:13:49