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Computer-simulated experiments have been gaining popularity over hands-on experiments in science education, given the availability of technology and the trend of distance learning. Past studies have focused primarily on comparing the learning outcomes and user experiences of the two experiment modes. In this study, we used an eye tracker to investigate the learning processes involved in manipulating hands-on and computer-simulated experiments, and the effect of prior knowledge and experiment mode on eye movements. A total of 105 undergraduates completed either mode of experiment to learn about pulley mechanics. Participants were asked to read relevant concepts before conducting the experiments to ensure they had basic knowledge about the subject matter. Results showed that the learning outcome of experimentation was affected by prior knowledge but not experiment mode. As for eye movements, the two experiment workstations were divided into nine functional regions. The findings revealed that eye movements in most regions were affected by the experiment mode, but not prior knowledge. The simulation group had shorter total fixation durations and smaller pupil sizes than the hands-on group, implying a lower cognitive load in learning in computer-simulated experiments. Lag sequential analysis and entropy analysis were conducted on cross-regional fixation transitions. The results revealed that participants in hands-on experiments tended to make more diversified fixation transitions across regions, whereas those in simulated experiments showed a higher level of concentration in the spatial pattern of fixation transitions. While sequential analysis offers insights into important fixation transitions on a regional level, entropy analysis allows for a more macro perspective on the overall transition distribution and facilitates conventional statistical modeling that takes individual differences into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although AR technology seems to be promising for helping students learn complicated and abstract concepts, whether the positive effects of this new technology can be applied to the learning of three-dimensional geometric concepts, and what factors might mediate its effectiveness are questions worth further investigation. This study used the eye-tracking method to examine middle school students' learning of three-dimensional geometric concepts with AR-based instruction in comparison with a group of students who learned via paper-based instruction. Motivation and conceptual achievements were assessed using the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) questionnaire and Geometry Achievement Test (GAT), respectively. The results showed that while AR learners performed the same as the paper-based learners in the post concept test, the two groups differed significantly in terms of their motivation orientations and visual attention patterns. AR students were more satisfied with and engaged more in the corresponding instruction. To explore in-depth the effectiveness of the AR system, the AR participants were divided into improved and unimproved learners. The former displayed higher confidence in and perceived greater relevance of the AR instruction. Their attention to and engagement in the simple geometric concepts was higher. Correlation and regression analyses indicated that the performance of paper-based learners was affected by their visual attention, while the performance of the AR learners was predicted by their beliefs in the relevance of the material to the learning goals. Noticeably, for the AR learners, their motivation was significantly associated with their visual attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an online contextualized test for assessing students’ understanding of epistemic knowledge of science. In addition, how students’ understanding of epistemic knowledge of science interacts with learner factors, including time spent on science learning, interest, self-efficacy, and gender, was also explored. The participants were 489 senior high school students (244 males and 245 females) from eight different schools in Taiwan. Based on the result of an extensive literature review, we first identified six factors of epistemic knowledge of science, such as status of scientific knowledge, the nature of scientific enterprise, measurement in science, and so on. An online test was then created for assessing students’ understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science. Also, a learner-factor survey was developed by adopting previous PISA survey items to measure the abovementioned learner factors. The results of this study show that; (1) by factor analysis, the six factors of epistemic knowledge of science could be grouped into two dimensions which reflect the nature of scientific knowledge and knowing in science, respectively; (2) there was a gender difference in the participants’ understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science; and (3) students’ interest in science learning and the time spent on science learning were positively correlated to their understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this study was to explore not only the effects of epistemic beliefs in science on science-text reading but also the gender differences in epistemic beliefs and the reading process. The interactions between gender and epistemic beliefs during reading were also explored. A total of 25 university students, 13 male and 12 female, were paid to participate in the study. The scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs) questionnaire was used to probe the subjects' epistemic beliefs in science, while the eye-tracking method was employed to record their science-text reading process. It was demonstrated that the participants in the study had developed sophisticated SEBs. Complicated SEBs were associated with higher cognitive attention to the reading of data-related information but less mental effort to fact, scientific explanations, and the microview photos. As for the gender difference, female students displayed less mental effort in comprehending scientific explanations, but attended more to data and the microview graphic. It is argued that female learners are better at processing textual information. Interactions between SEBs and gender were found and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There were two purposes in the study. One was to explore the cognitive activities during spatial problem solving and the other to probe the relationship between spatial ability and science concept learning. Twenty university students participated in the study. The Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test (PVRT) was used to assess the spatial ability, whose items were divided into different types of problems with respect to the rotation angles and levels of plane invisibility. The eye tracking technology and the interview technique were employed to analyze subjects' the online cognitive processes and problem solving strategies. Students' concept gains were examined by content analysis after reading a science report. The result shows that, first, the interview analysis shows that students of different PVRT performances employed different problem solving strategies. Second, rotation angles as well as levels of plane invisibility inserted significant effects on the online processes and performances of the spatial problem solving. Third, the accuracy performance of PVRT was correlated with eye movement patterns. At last, it was found that concept performance was not correlated with PVRT performance but associated with spatial memory and problem solving strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored the types of errors found in Google Translate (GT) Chinese-to-English translations and, based on those error types, proposes strategies for optimizing the performance of GT. Seven abstracts written in both Chinese and English from seven articles published in English Teaching and Learning in 2017 were selected as the materials. The researchers compared the GT translations to the English abstracts written by the original author(s) and analyzed the problems in the translations. The problematic translations consisted of grammatical errors (35%) and lexical errors (65%). Relatedly, we propose nine specific strategies to employ when writing Chinese abstracts to be translated into English using GT. According to the strategies, we suggest that users (1) avoid native language-specific expressions, (2) maintain the use of original English terminologies in composing Chinese abstracts, and (3) enhance logical relations and expressions for the discipline-specific discourse community. Further analyses revealed that 99% of the 69 identified problems in the GT translations of the seven abstracts could be avoided by using the proposed strategies. A conceptual framework for the collaboration between GT and GT users is proposed and pedagogical implications are discussed., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestOn behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)