Eye tracking : Comparative study of the professional vision of university supervisor trainers and pre-service teachers in initial training for secondary education

The professional vision of teachers is of great importance, as it guides their pedagogical
actions and decisions during teaching situations. Van and Sherin (2008) identify two
complementary processes in professional vision: observation and reasoning from that
observation.
Using a video extract, the study compares the professional vision of university teacher
educators (UST; n=6) in French-speaking Belgium with that of the pre-service teachers (PT;
n=19) they train. The analysis uses a mixed-methods approach, focusing on two processes of
professional vision. Using an eye-tracker (GazePoint GP3HD), observation is assessed using
oculometric indicators (fixations, visits and first views) to identify the subjects observed and
the visual strategies employed. Regarding reasoning, verbal utterances are categorised to
highlight the focal points and cognitive processes engaged by the UST and PT, following
Vifquin and Frenay (2018).
The results indicate significant differences between UST and PT, although both groups
provided descriptive comments in approximately half of the cases. Analysis of the eyetracking data revealed that the PT and UST exhibited comparable visual interest in the teacher
on the screen (39% and 22,9%, respectively). However, there was a notable difference in the
subjects of the comments and their frequency. PT commented on the teacher 4,1% of the time,
in comparison with 32% for UST. Furthermore, UST employed dynamic visual strategies,
characterised by more frequent revisits (significantly by the T tests) and shorter fixation times
than PT. This results in more varied and balanced objects of observation in the UST, indicating
a potential gap between observation and reasoning in the PT.
The results make it clear that there are significant differences between the professional vision of UST and PT. The significance of these findings is further enhanced by the dearth of research on UST and the pervasive use of videos in teacher training.