PERC 2018 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Using eye tracking to identify instructive features of diagrams |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | Visual representations play an essential role in the learning of physics. Grounded cognition theory suggests that visual perception activates perceptual symbols that lead to construction of knowledge by the brain. Under this theory effective diagrams activate perceptual symbols that facilitate the construction of the correct physics concepts. Eye tracking was used to investigate student gaze patterns in a number of standard physics diagrams and compare them to modified diagrams that were perceptually enhanced with variations in color and size. Students viewed diagrams representing fluid flow in pipes, motion maps, and equipotential lines, and they answered questions about displayed variables. Eye tracking data indicated that students focused more on pressure gauges and fluid speed indicators with multiple arrows than on single arrow speed indicators or pipe size. In determining electrical potential differences, students primarily concentrated on the area between the two points of interest and not on the charges. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
| Session Time: | Poster Session II |
| Poster Number: | B101 |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Raymond Zich Illinois State University Physics Department Campus Box 4560 Normal, IL 61790 Phone: 309-438-7009 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Rebecca Rosenblatt Amber Sammons |
