EYE-TRACKING STUDIES OF HOW INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY STUDENTS INTEGRATE TEXT AND FIGURES IN TEXTBOOK-STYLE MATERIAL

Geology education relies on visualization. Figures are a significant component of textbooks and other learning aids, but little is known about how students use figures while learning geology content. Coupling figures with descriptive text can enhance science learning under specific figure-text conditions; however, students may not actually pay attention to accompanying figures while reading text, and if they do, their attention to figures may not be at the point in the reading that would best aid learning. Some previous research has been conducted regarding text and figures, but little of the focus has been on adults, and none of the studies have centered on geology, leaving a need for studies involving how college student integrate text and figures while using textbooks and other introductory geology learning aids.

Eye tracking is a valuable tool for exploring students’ learning behavior. By bouncing infrared light off a participant’s eye and overlaying his/her gaze path on the material being examined, eye tracking can provide insight into how participants integrate text and figures while learning. With the aid of eye-tracking technology our investigation explores: 1) if the format of the text and figure on a page influences recall, comprehension, and amount of time spent studying the figures versus the text, 2) strategies students use when reading educational materials, 3) if certain learning strategies lead to more successful recall and comprehension than others, and 4) if eye tracking affects learning behavior.

Non-major, undergraduate college students from a large Introductory Geology lecture class were randomly assigned to one of three groups (referenced, integrated, or control) that differed based on the format of the text and figure on the page. All groups took a pre- and post-test. The referenced and integrated groups were exposed to the treatment; the control group was not. This study is still in progress, but preliminary data indicate that exposure to the treatment is associated with a significant increase in post-test scores from pre-test scores. Additionally, the majority of participants did not consider eye tracking to be intrusive. We therefore consider eye tracking to be a reliable method to explore student learning and to pursue our main questions.