The eye tracking method is a way to observe subjects’ attention and cognitive processing while they are performing a task. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among high school students’ science self-efficacy (SSE), prior knowledge (PK), attention location, and cognitive processing. A total of 25 (18 males and 7 females) 11th graders conducted an online laboratory regarding Boyle’s Law. Then, they were asked to design an experiment to investigate the relationship between two variables of the gas law chosen by themselves. The participants’ visual attention was recorded using Gaze Tracker. Data related to PK, the achievement test, SSE, and eye movement were collected. For the data analysis, we identified two look zones: the task-related zone and the less task-related zone. Independent t-test and effect size analyses were conducted to compare scores on the worksheet, the posttest, designing the experiment task, total fixation duration in each zone, and percentage of total fixation in each zone between students with high and low SSE, and also between students with high and low PK. The results showed that the high PK group and the high SSE group had a significant difference in the posttest compared with the low PK group and the low SSE group. Meanwhile, the effect size analysis suggested effects of PK and SSE on the designing experiment task. Moreover, the high SSE students had a significantly higher number of fixations and longer fixation duration in the task-related zone while designing a new experiment. SSE was moderately and negatively correlated with the amount of time spent fixating in the less task-related zone including the chat room and the lab manual. The low PK students also paid more attention to the less task-related zones. Suggestions for laboratory design and future research are provided.

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