How Real-Time Shared Gaze Visualizations Can Benefit Peer Teaching: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Real-time Shared Gaze Visualizations (SGVs) are a compelling way to encourage effective virtual teaching and learning interactions as SGVs can help to re-establish non-verbal social processes such as the attentional focus of group members. In this study, we look at a subset of data from a larger study (N=75) in which learners applied newly acquired knowledge about a microcontroller and programming to physical tasks with an instructor present as a support. We conducted a constant comparative analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) using dual eye tracking video footage gathered across three experimental conditions (i.e., SGV, Head-Mounted Camera, Webcam). This paper supports a key finding from the larger study (i.e., SGVs help instructors track learner cognitive state), and its contribution goes one step further to identify a property of tracking cognitive state: Just-in-time support (described in findings section). We discuss implications of SGVs in peer teaching and conclude with anticipated future work.