TY - JOUR
T1 - THE EFFECTS OF EPISTEMIC BELIEFS IN SCIENCE AND GENDER DIFFERENCE ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SCIENCE-TEXT READING
T2 - AN EYE-TRACKING STUDY
AU - Yang, Fang Ying
AU - Huang, Rui Ting
AU - Tsai, I. Ju
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - The primary purpose of this study was to explore not only the effects of epistemic beliefs in science on science-text reading but also the gender differences in epistemic beliefs and the reading process. The interactions between gender and epistemic beliefs during reading were also explored. A total of 25 university students, 13 male and 12 female, were paid to participate in the study. The scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs) questionnaire was used to probe the subjects’ epistemic beliefs in science, while the eye-tracking method was employed to record their science-text reading process. It was demonstrated that the participants in the study had developed sophisticated SEBs. Complicated SEBs were associated with higher cognitive attention to the reading of data-related information but less mental effort to fact, scientific explanations, and the microview photos. As for the gender difference, female students displayed less mental effort in comprehending scientific explanations, but attended more to data and the microview graphic. It is argued that female learners are better at processing textual information. Interactions between SEBs and gender were found and discussed.
AB - The primary purpose of this study was to explore not only the effects of epistemic beliefs in science on science-text reading but also the gender differences in epistemic beliefs and the reading process. The interactions between gender and epistemic beliefs during reading were also explored. A total of 25 university students, 13 male and 12 female, were paid to participate in the study. The scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs) questionnaire was used to probe the subjects’ epistemic beliefs in science, while the eye-tracking method was employed to record their science-text reading process. It was demonstrated that the participants in the study had developed sophisticated SEBs. Complicated SEBs were associated with higher cognitive attention to the reading of data-related information but less mental effort to fact, scientific explanations, and the microview photos. As for the gender difference, female students displayed less mental effort in comprehending scientific explanations, but attended more to data and the microview graphic. It is argued that female learners are better at processing textual information. Interactions between SEBs and gender were found and discussed.
KW - epistemic beliefs
KW - eye movements
KW - eye tracking
KW - gender difference
KW - science-text reading
KW - scientific epistemological beliefs
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U2 - 10.1007/s10763-014-9578-1
DO - 10.1007/s10763-014-9578-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84908009614
SN - 1571-0068
VL - 14
SP - 473
EP - 498
JO - International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
JF - International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
IS - 3
ER -