Visual Attentions on the Exhibition Panels of Science Museum between Gifted and Non-gifted Elementary Students

The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of gifted and average students’ visual attention in explanation panel at science museum. Eye Tracker was used to collect eye movement data from students visual attention. The subjects were targeting total 20 students of 10 gifted students and 10 non-gifted students in 6th grade elementary students who had no limitation in gaze tracking with prior content. In order to analyze the characteristics of the gaze movement of visual attention panel, the statistical data of gaze-plot, heat map, fixation count and fixation duration were compared and analyzed. The results when comparing the fixation count, fixation duration of gifted students and average students, gifted students showed a significantly more numbers and longer times in the number of fixation count and fixation duration, and gifted students showed more frequent gaze saccades between experience exhibits and explanation panel than average students. In other words, results showed gifted students are more focusing on the explanation panels than average students and have more active interaction between the experience exhibits and explanation panels. In addition, among the total areas of interest, there were a great number of eye fixations of the students in the explanation panels where both video and voice are provided and fixation duration was longest. This can be interpreted that the students are more interested in the explanation panels presented with voice and video. This study is different from previous researches in the aspect that it provides quantitative data about gaze movement difference between gifted students and average students using eye tracker and also could be helpful to the development of science museum which is a place of non-formal education.