Comparison of Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Eye Movements in Non-experts and the Skill Transfer Effects of Gaze Guidance and Annotation Guidance

Methods for converting the tacit knowledge of experts into explicit knowledge have drawn increasing attention. Gaze data has emerged as a valuable approach in this effort. However, the effective transfer of tacit knowledge remains a challenge. No studies have directly compared the effects of gaze-based and annotation-based guidance or adequately examined their impacts on skill improvement after instruction. This study examined the effects of gaze and annotation guidance on the spatiotemporal characteristics of eye movements and the skill transfer of expert evaluation techniques in karate kata performances. 28 non-expert participants were assigned to three groups: a gaze guidance group, an annotation guidance group, and a control group. Participants were presented with instructional slideshows based on the expert's gaze data and annotations. Before and after instruction, participants were asked to evaluate karate kata performance videos performed by practitioners with different skill levels. The results showed that the annotation guidance group exhibited an effect of directing gaze toward the presented areas of focus, with a trend of increased total number of fixation areas. On the other hand, while the gaze guidance group was not encouraged to make fixations on multiple areas, the possibility of promoting peripheral vision was inferred based on measurements from the eye-tracking system. Regarding ranking results, 71.4% of participants in the gaze guidance group showed an improvement in ranking skills, with a trend toward better scoring ability compared to the other groups. This demonstrates the necessity of selecting appropriate methods based on instructional goals to transfer tacit knowledge effectively. Gaze-based instructional methods are expected to be versatile and applicable to karate kata and fields such as industry, medicine, and other sports.