Eye-Tracking Informed Design of Instructional Videos: Aligning Student and Expert Attention to Improve Laboratory Tutorials

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The integration of multimedia tools has reshaped science education, yet the design of laboratory tutorial videos often relies on intuition rather than evidence of how students process visual information. Although experts can articulate critical procedural steps in laboratory tasks, an expert-generated tutorial video does not guarantee that students will notice the same elements. To address this gap, we used eye tracking (ET) to analyze how students visually engage with chemical instructional videos and how their gaze patterns differ from those of the instructor. On the basis of the results obtained, new second-generation videos were created, based on established multimedia learning principles, which were demonstrably better at instructing students on the correct execution of selected basic laboratory techniques than both the original videos and traditional text-based manuals. A diagnostic prestudy showed that only 28% of students could interpret the critical steps without visual support. The study then examined how to present critical steps. ET analysis showed that neither the initial video nor the text ensured that students noticed all of the critical steps. These insights into the application of established multimedia design principles to the redesign of the tutorial include reductions in visual complexity, targeted cueing, and a consistent visual structure that supported expert-like viewing patterns. The second generation ET validated videos were then tested, with new students achieving 87% correct execution. These results show that a video is effective not because it is a video but because it is designed and validated to ensure that no critical steps are missed. This study evaluates how multimedia learning principles can guide the design of laboratory tutorial videos using eye tracking to align student and expert attention and improve the procedural accuracy.