Eye-Movement Modeling of Integrative Reading of an Illustrated Text: Effects on Processing and Learning

Integrative processing of verbal and graphical information is crucial when students read an illustrated text to learn from it. This study examines the potential of a novel approach to support the processing of text and graphics. We used eye movement modeling example (EMME) in the school context to model students’ integrative processes of verbal and pictorial information by replaying a model’s gazes while reading an illustrated text on a topic different from that of the learning episode. Forty-two 7th graders were randomly assigned to an experimental (EMME) or a control condition (No-EMME) and were asked to read an illustrated science text about the food chain. Online measures of text processing and offline measures of reading outcomes were used. Eye-movement indices indicated that students in the EMME condition showed more integrative processing than students in the No-EMME condition. They also performed better than the latter in the verbal and graphical recall, and in the transfer task. Finally, the relationship between the duration of reprocessing the graphical segments while rereading the correspondent verbal segments and transfer performance was stronger in the EMME condition, after controlling for the individual differences of prior knowledge, reading comprehension, and achievement in science. Overall, the findings suggest the potential of eye-tracking methodology as an instruction tool.