A FEW SECONDS OF EQUATION READING:A PROCESS MODEL OF EQUATION READINGAND ITS APPLICATIONS

摘要

A model, based on research using think aloud, memory recognition and recall, response time, and eyetracking methods, describes cognitive processes in equation reading. Equation reading involves (1) 300msec fixations during which the reader extracts features to identify the symbols -- numbers, operators,parentheses -- as attention shifts across 2 - 3 symbols, and (2) short saccades that often end on numbers.The reader identifies the end of a multidigit number by a space, leading her to identify a sequence ofnumerals as a one-, two- or three-digit number. Parentheses, rarely fixated and poorly recalled, help directthe flow of reading. Parenthetical expressions are solved and stored separately. Readers backscanapproximately as frequently they forward scan through equations, possibly to construct a representation ofthe equation structure as they read it. The model of the processes of equation reading by sighted persons hasbeen useful in designing an auditory browser for blind readers.