Teacher Noticing: A Meta-Analytic Review of Eye-Tracking Studies

• In Event: Eye-Tracking Research on Teacher Noticing: Theoretical and Empirical Advances

Abstract

Purpose and theoretical framework
Teacher noticing is the ability of teachers to selectively attend to relevant events in a classroom situation (van Es & Sherin, 2002). This visual attention allocation is often measured with eye-tracking technology (McIntyre et al., 2017). One problem with eye-tracking research on teacher noticing is the typically small sample size.
Individual study findings are therefore likely to be influenced by sampling error (Gegenfurtner et al., 2011). Another problem is heterogeneity towards a number of theoretical, methodological and outcome aspects. On a theoretical level, previous studies differ in terms of their definition of noticing and their underlying theoretical conceptualization. On a methodological level, previous studies differ in their research design (longitudinal, cross-sectional, experimental, quasi- experimental), sampling (in-service teachers, pre- service teachers), the physical setting (real classroom, laboratory context), the social setting (individual task, student-student dyad, student-teacher dyad, small group context, classroom context), the visual stimuli used (photographs, videos, real scenes of one’s own or of another teacher’s teaching), and the knowledge focus (classroom management, classroom disruptions). On an outcome level, previous studies differ in their reported effect sizes on the development of pre-service teachers’ noticing and on any expertise differences between less experienced and more experienced teachers.

Research Questions
To account for effect size heterogeneity, the present study uses meta-analytic methods to systematically review and cumulate individual research findings.
Firstly, the goal was to systematically review past research on teacher noticing and professional vision and control for the bias of sampling error. Secondly, the goal was to estimate the extent to which methodological characteristics moderate differences in eye-tracking measures. Two research questions were addressed: (a) How do previous eye-tracking studies on teacher noticing differ in theoretical, methodological, and outcome-related characteristics? (b) To what extent do methodological characteristics moderate differences in eye movements?

Authors

• Özün Keskin, University of Augsburg

• Andreas Gegenfurtner, University of Augsburg

• Tina Seidel, Technical University of Munich

• Kathleen Stürmer, University of Tübingen