Learners' eye movements during construction of mechanical kinematic representations from static diagrams

• Static diagrams with arrows affect mechanical kinematic representations.
• Arrows on diagrams provide perceptual information and benefit cognitive processing.
• Arrow and non-arrow groups had different eye-movement patterns on the diagram.
• A well-designed diagram benefits formation of a better kinematic representation.

We investigated the influence of numbered arrows on construction of mechanical kinematic representations by using static diagrams. Undergraduate participants viewed a two-stage diagram depicting a flushing cistern (with or without numbered arrows) and answered questions about its function, step-by-step. The arrow group demonstrated greater overall accuracy and made fewer errors on the measure of continuous relations than did the non-arrow group. The arrow group also spent more time looking at components relevant to the operational sequence and had longer first-pass fixation times and shorter saccade lengths. The non-arrow group made more saccades between the two diagrams. Analysis of transition probabilities indicated that both groups viewed components according to their continuous relations. The arrow group followed the numbered arrows whereas the unique pathway of the non-arrow group was to compare the two diagrams. These findings indicate that numbered arrows provide perceptual information but also facilitate cognitive processing.