Effects of Eye Movements in Modelling Examples with Ambiguous Verbal Explanations on Visual Attention and Learning

This study examines whether visualization of a model’s\neye movements in modelling examples of electric circuit\nproblems with ambiguous and vague verbal explanations\ncould guide visual attention in learners’ and thereby\nenhance learning. Thirty-two participants were assigned\nto either the control or the EMME condition. Whilst the\nparticipants watched the video examples, their eye\nmovements were tracked and their visual attention was\nassessed. It was determined that participants in the\nEMME condition attended to relevant referenced areas\nmore often, longer and faster. But performance data\nindicated that participants in the control condition\nperformed better on new problems, especially transfer\nproblems. It is suggested the model’s interactions with\nthe visual stimulus in the videos, an element presumably\ninherent to procedural problem-solving tasks, could have\nfunctioned as an additional attention cue, complementing\nthe ambiguous and vague explanations. This potentially\nresulted in presentation of redundant and conflicting\ninformation in the EMMEs, hampering learning. It is\nrecommended to test this hypothesis in future research.