Setting Heuristics for Eye-Tracking Assessment on Divisibility Rules

Abstract

True/false questions are one of the basic question types widely used in assessments. Although true/false questions are easy to construct and take little time to be answered, there is a high probability of learners guessing the correct answer. A correct answer to a true/false question is not an indication that a learner fully understands the concept being tested. That said, an incorrect answer does not necessarily mean that the learner does not understand the concept being tested. There may be another reason why the learner gave an incorrect answer. Specifically, when a teacher uses true/false questions to assess learners on divisibility rules, the teacher has to ensure that learners use their knowledge to determine the answer. Therefore, careful compilation of the dividends for an assessment can contribute to determining whether the learner applied the divisibility rules correctly. Eye-tracking can be used to provide objective and quantitative information about the user’s intended gaze-patterns over a specific stimulus. Therefore, the gaze behaviour of learners can be used as an indication whether they inspected the appropriate digits of the dividend. It is suggested that (i) heuristics on compiling appropriate dividends, and (ii) setting minimum gaze requirements for attention levels per digit of the dividend for each divisor, could assist teachers in compiling effective true/false assessments to test learners’ knowledge of divisibility rules.