Using Eye Gaze to Reveal Cognitive Processes and Strategies of Engineering Students When Solving Spatial Rotation and Mental Cutting Tasks

Autor/inn/en	Hsing, Hsiang-Wen; Bairaktarova, Diana; Lau, Nathan
Titel	Using Eye Gaze to Reveal Cognitive Processes and Strategies of Engineering Students When Solving Spatial Rotation and Mental Cutting Tasks
Quelle	In: Journal of Engineering Education, 112 (2023) 1, S.125-146 (22 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Hsing, Hsiang-Wen) ORCID (Bairaktarova, Diana) ORCID (Lau, Nathan)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1069-4730
DOI	10.1002/jee.20495
Schlagwörter	Eye Movements; Cognitive Processes; Problem Solving; Engineering Education; Spatial Ability; Learning Strategies; Accuracy; Task Analysis + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Augenbewegung; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Problemlösen; Ingenieurausbildung; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Learning methode; Learning techniques; Lernmethode; Lernstrategie; Aufgabenanalyse
Abstract	Background: Spatial problem-solving is an essential skill for success in many engineering disciplines; thus, understanding the cognitive processes involved could help inform the design of training interventions for students trying to improve this skill. Prior research has yet to investigate the differences in cognitive processes between spatial tasks in problem-solving to offer learners timely feedback. Purpose/Hypothesis: In this study, we investigated how different spatial tasks change the cognitive processes and problem-solving strategies used by engineering students with low spatial ability. Design/Method: Study participants completed mental rotation and mental cutting tasks of high and low difficulty. Eye-tracking data were collected and categorized as encoding, transformation, and confirmation cognitive processes. The adoption of either a holistic or piecemeal strategy and response accuracy were also measured. Results: Mental rotation was found to have a higher number of fixations for each cognitive process than the mental cutting task. The holistic strategy was used in both difficulty levels of the mental cutting task, while the piecemeal strategy was adopted for the mental rotation task at a high difficulty level. Only encoding fixations were significantly correlated with accuracy and most strongly correlated with strategy. Conclusion: Encoding is an important cognitive process that could affect subsequent cognitive processes and strategies and could, thus, play an important role in performance. Future development in spatial training should consider how to enhance encoding to aid students with low spatial ability. Educators can utilize gaze metrics and empirical research to provide tailored and timely feedback to learners. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01