Attention guidance during example study via the model’s eye movements

Research has shown that guiding students’ attention guides their thought, and that attention can be communicated via eye movements. Therefore, this study investigates whether such a procedure can further enhance the effectiveness of examples in which a solution procedure is demonstrated to students by a (expert) model. Students’ attention was guided by showing them not only the model’s problem-solving actions on the computer screen, but also the model’s eye movements while doing so. Interestingly, results show that combined with a verbal description of the thought process, this form of attention guidance had detrimental effects on learning. Consequences for further research on attention guidance and instructional design are discussed.