Eye tracking in research on learning and instruction

Van Gog, T., & Jarodzka, H. (2010, July). Eye tracking in research on learning and instruction. Presentation at EARLI JURE ’10 conference, Frankfurt, Germany.In this professional development course, participants can get acquainted with what eye tracking is, how eye tracking can be used in research on learning and instruction, and how eye tracking data can be analyzed. In part one, we start by briefly describing the theoretical, physiological, and technical background of eye tracking. In part two, different ways of using eye tracking in research on learning and instruction will be discussed/demonstrated. Focus will be not only on eye tracking as a tool to study learning processes, but also on eye tracking as a tool to enhance learning processes. In the third part, different ways of analyzing eye tracking data will be discussed. We start with basics, like which event detection algorithm to use and with which settings. Next, we present common measures for different scenarios (e.g., reading, scene viewing, dynamic stimuli,…) and how to interpret them. Finally, we present novel, and more sophisticated scanpath similarity measures. In the last part, participants’ questions about the course and about the use of eye tracking (data) in their own research will be addressed