Fitting Regression Lines to Scatterplots: The Role of Perceptual Heuristics

Relations in data are described and analyzed by fitting a regression line to the data. The graphical equivalent is a line fit to a scatterplot, typically via the least squares fit. How do people visually fit a line or recognize the best fitting line for a scatterplot? The present research proposes that people use a set of perceptual heuristics – point capture, early point, balancing points and balancing distances. Experiments 1 and 2A found that participants with no training in regression drew a line and chose the best fitting line, respectively, using those heuristics, especially balancing points. The application of the heuristics was sensitive to the structure of the graphs and influenced the error in drawing the regression line. Participants in Experiment 2B who had received formal training in regression were less likely to apply the heuristics and more likely to choose a line based on the least squares fit. The discussion focuses on the value of cognitive/perceptual analyses of graph reading and proposes methods to help people overcome biases produced by the application of these perceptual heuristics.

STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO WORK WITH GRAPHS IN PHYSICS STUDIES RELATED TO THREE TYPICAL STUDENT GROUPS

Graphs are often used to represent mathematical functions, to illustrate data from social and natural sciences, or to specify scientific theories. With increasing emphasis on the development of scientific research skills, the work with graphs and data interpretation are gaining in importance. The research involved an eye-tracking experiment conducted to evaluate student work with graphs in physics. Eye-movement data were recorded using the GazePoint eye-tracker. A total of 40 third-year grammar school students participated in the research. These students were allocated into three groups by a physics teacher. These groups were called PLUS, AVERAGE and MINUS. The PLUS group showed excellent results in education and included gifted physics students. The MINUS group was composed of the opposite end of this cognitive spectrum, whose members made the most mistakes in graph reading. The aim of the experiment was to find the differences between students allocated to these three groups and to evaluate whether the allocation based on the teacher’s experience, long-term observations and the students’ previous achievements was sufficient. The results showed that students from all three groups had problems with reading graphs in physics. According to the eye-movement data, several students who had been incorrectly assigned to groups were identified. Keywords: education in physics, gifted children, graph, eye-tracking, experimental study.

A Survey on Contribution of Data Mining Techniques and Graph Reading Algorithms in Concept Map Generation

Concept maps are a pictorial representation of concepts found in data and it shows relationship between concepts. These Concept map help us to understand the whole data content, makes it easily readable and memorable. They are used to deliver complex data in an understandable form (map, tree, graph, etc), which is used for a better understanding and decision making for researchers and business, etc. This paper discusses the recent researches about concept maps and data mining techniques, and graph reading algorithms used for concept map generation.

Exploring Differences Among Student Populations During Climate Graph Reading Tasks: An Eye Tracking Study

Communicating climate information is challenging due to the interdisciplinary nature of the topic along with compounding cognitive and affective learning challenges. Graphs are a common representation used by scientists to communicate evidence of climate change. However, it is important to identify how and why individuals on the continuum of expertise navigate graphical data differently as this has implications for effective communication of this information. We collected and analyzed eye-tracking metrics of geoscience graduate students and novice undergraduate students while viewing graphs displaying climate information. Our findings indicate that during fact-extraction tasks, novice undergraduates focus proportionally more attention on the question, title and axes graph elements, whereas geoscience graduate students spend proportionally more time viewing and interpreting data. This same finding was enhanced during extrapolation tasks. Undergraduate novices were also more likely to describe general trends, while graduate students identified more specific patterns. Undergraduates who performed high on the pre-test measuring graphing skill, viewed graphs more similar to graduate students than their peers who performed lower on the pre-test.

VARIOUS KINDS OF PROBLEMS IN AN ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM ASSESSMENT WITHIN AN INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS COURSE FOR CHEMISTRY MAJORS

An assessment is described in the introductory physics course for chemistry major students with the focus on solving problems from the electricity and magnetism. The experiences are summarised, obtained during the academic years 2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 from a multiple-choice test passed by 390 chemistry majors at the Faculty of Science in Olomouc. Various kinds of quiz problems were used, which can be divided into three categories: conceptual questions, numerical questions, questions with chart reading and interpretation. In the study assessment data are summarised and the score difference, achieved in the mentioned problem categories, is identified. The results did not prove that conceptual problems were more difficult for the set of students, but it is suggested, that students are more successful in the whole test to reach better scores in graph reading questions. Keywords: chemistry majors, physics course, university students.

PENILAIAN PEMAHAMAN REPRESENTASI GRAFIK MATERI OPTIKA GEOMETRI MENGGUNAKAN TES DIAGNOSTIK

Abstrak: Tujuan penelitian adalah mengembangkan dan menerapkan tes diagnostik pilihan ganda tiga tingkat untuk mengukur pemahaman representasi grafik mahasiswa terkait esensi inkuiri sains dan materi optika geometri. Penelitian menggunakan metode campuran melibatkan 83 mahasiswa calon guru fisika di satu LPTK Sumatera Utara. Instrumen tes diagnostik terlebih dahulu didesain kemudian disempurnakan selama proses, direvisi, dan digunakan untuk mendeteksi dan menilai pemahaman representasi grafik mahasiswa calon guru fisika. Instrumen tes telah dikembangkan untuk dapat mendiagnosis dan memperbaiki kesalahan-kesalahan yang dilakukan calon guru fisika terkait dengan keterampilan mengonstruk grafik, menemukan kesulitan-kesulitan dalam membaca dan menginterpretasi grafik. Analisis data dilakukan secara kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Hasil studi menunjukkan pembacaan grafik dan keterampilan menginterpretasi grafik calon guru fisika masih belum memadai dan juga kemahiran dalam menganalisis grafik bergantung pada jenis grafik dan level atau tipe pertanyaan yang dikembangkan. Kata Kunci: representasi grafik, optik geometri, diagnostik tes ASSESSING OF UNDERSTANDING GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION CONTENT GEOMETRICAL OPTIC USING DIAGNOSTIC TEST Abstract: The purpose of this study is to develop and apply three tier multiple choice diagnostic test to measure student’s understanding of graphical representation about essential features of inquiry and content geometrical optic. The study was conducted using mixed methods and carried out with 83 prephysics teachers at a University of Teachers Education in North Sumatera. The diagnostic instrument was designed and then progressively refined, revised, and implemented to detect and assess student’s understanding of graphical representation. Test instrument was developed to diagnose and correct the mistakes made by pre-service physics teachers about construction graphic skills, difficulties in the reading and interpretation graphical representation. The results of this study showed that graph reading and interpretation skills of pre service teachers were inadequate and also their graphing analysis varies depending on the type of graph and level type of question was developed. Keywords: graphical representation, geometrical optic, diagnostic test

INTRODUCING SELF-REGULATED LEARNING INTO EARLY PHYSICS TEACHING IN SERBIA: DESIGN, INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A MULTI-STAGE SEQUENCE OF HOMEWORK AND CLASSWORK

Applied research, carried out to examine the possibility of improving students’ understanding of heat phenomena through multi-stage homework and teacher-supported classwork assignments, is described. These assignments, designed within the theoretical framework of self-regulated learning, enable students to overcome errors and doubts from the individual problem solving stage by peer interaction and teacher feedback and to reflect on individual and group learning experiences. They also promote the development of students’ self-efficacy, critical consideration of information and error detection, making individual and group learning processes more visible to students and teacher. This applied research was conducted in an intact grade VII primary school physics class in Serbia. Analysis shows significant progress in students’ understanding of the anomalous behavior of water and their ability to interpret a non-linear graph. The level of self-reflection outcomes depends mostly on the quality of teacher-supported group classwork. It is noted that students should improve expressive and critical thinking abilities. Key words: graph reading in school physics, home physics experiments, inquiry-based homework, self-regulated physics learning, textbook error detection.