Shifts in student attention on algorithmic and creative practice tasks

Abstract

In mathematics classrooms, it is common practice to work through a series of comparable tasks provided in a textbook. A central question in mathematics education is if tasks should be accompanied with solution methods, or if students should construct the solutions themselves. To explore the impact of these two task designs on student behavior during repetitive practice, an eye-tracking study was conducted with 50 upper secondary and university students. Their eye movements were analyzed to study how the two groups shifted their gaze both within and across 10 task sets. The results show that when a solution method was present, the students reread this every time they solved the task, while only giving minute attention to the illustration that carried information supporting mathematical understanding. Students who practiced with tasks without a solution method seemed to construct a solution method by observing the illustration, which later could be retrieved from memory, making this method more efficient in the long run. We discuss the implications for teaching and how tasks without solution methods can increase student focus on important mathematical properties.