How Do Chemistry Experts And Novices Work With Conceptual Schemes?

Abstract

The level of professional competence is presumably related to task performance and eye movement strategies. We have studied eye movements in experts and novices in the process of solving chemical problems. The subjects in the study were chemists with two different skill levels: professionals with ten years of experience and university graduates. First, they read the text describing complex chemical processes and then analyzed their schematic representation and filled in the gaps found in the scheme, using separately presented answers. Eye movements were recorded using the SMI iViewX Hi-Speed 1250 tracker with head support. As a result, a characteristic oculomotor pattern associated with the analysis and completion of conceptual schemes was identified and described. Compared to reading a text, schemes were completed with longer “concentrated” fixations, and longer and faster saccades. The experts read texts and solved schematically presented problems faster and also had more correct answers. When reading texts, there was no difference in eye movements between the experts and the novices. Analysis of eye movements has shown that experts are characterized by shorter first fixations and longer fixations on significant areas of graphical tasks. Novices usually have longer first fixations and evenly distributed shorter fixations on different parts of the task. It was also found that experts make fewer transitions between areas of interests than novices. Several indices of eye movements showed that success was associated with faster overall orientation in the main pattern and more in-depth analysis of the response options presented.