Investigating eye tracking metrics involved in organic chemistry question - solving processes of pre-service science teachers

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate pre-service science teachers' question-solving processes in organic chemistry using eye-tracking technology. The study involved 51 students from a science education programme at a state university. The findings showed that participants' attention, visit duration, and frequency varied according to cognitive load, problem complexity, and prior knowledge. Despite focused attention to some questions, substandard performance suggested superficial conceptual understanding and inadequate visuospatial processing. After accounting for participants and questions as random effects and correcting for multiple comparisons, no robust differences in eye-tracking metrics were observed for achievement, anxiety, or grade level. A positive correlation was found between fixation duration and success, while a high total visit duration did not guarantee success, suggesting that attention quality may be more important than its duration in determining success. The regression analysis revealed no significant overall relationship (R = .500, R & sup2; = .25) between eye-tracking metrics and organic chemistry test scores (F (7, 43) = 2.050; p > .05). Similarly, eye-tracking metrics did not significantly predict (R = .336, R & sup2; = .11, p > .05) organic chemistry anxiety levels (F (7, 43) = .783; p > .05), with the model explaining limited variance.