Investigating students' allocation of attention while reviewing solutions to physics problems

Eye-tracking methodologies in PER enable researchers' insight into the focus of a student’s attention at any given time during a physics task. This study aims to understand how the allocation of attention impacts student interpretation of solutions to physics problems. During a think-aloud interview, we used eye-tracking to examine the allocation of attention while a student reviews a solution to a mechanics exam question along with written feedback given by the instructor on the solution. Various eye-tracking metrics were analyzed. Additionally, K-means clustering analysis was used in an attempt to identify different classes of behaviors on these tasks related to eye-gaze. Results from both of these analyses are discussed in this talk.

Our findings can inform the broader understanding of how students evaluate their own work and receive feedback from instructors.