Možnosti využití metody eyetrackingu ve výzkumu kompetencí historického myšlení na příkladu analýzy ikonografického materiálu

The empirical study focuses on perspectives in using eyetracking method which is based on tracking eye movements in the process of visual perception of verbal or iconic text and presents the results of a pilot study carried out in 2014. The aim was to test adequacy of research instrument to find out how a particular way of structural analysis of historical cartoon influences the quality of information produced by respondents in the process of its interpretation. Theoretical background is presented in the first chapter (the meaning of historical sources in the process of the development of historical thinking competence) and eyetracking possibilities in pedagogical research are outlined. Methods of data collection and their processing are described in the second chapter. Mixed research method was used, including audiorecording analysis of students’ verbal answers and statistic and visualized data processed by electronic measurement. 23 university students from the Moravian-Silesian region were used as a sample. Research results are presented in the third chapter – a suggestion of categorial system for cartoon interpretation, data visualization in heatmaps, gaze opacity maps a gaze plots and the most important quantitative data (differences in frequency and length of eye fixations during the test). Pilot study has shown that eyetracking can provide information about perception strategies applied in text interpretation, which may hardly be detected by other methods of research. The results indicate that respondents reach higher level of interpretation in case of structural analysis of historical cartoon than in case of unstructured analysis, in which verbal answers were limited to displayed personalities; important symbols, picture codes and wider historical context were neglected.