Exploring cognitive processes of professional vision: The role of student-oriented goals and visual attention in preservice teachers’ reasoning about classroom interactions

Background Teacher professional vision (PV)—teachers’ ability to notice and interpret classroom events in instructionally meaningful ways—has been studied primarily in terms of professional knowledge and teacher expertise, while motivational factors remain underexplored. Moreover, prior research has typically examined noticing- and reasoning-related processes separately, despite their theoretical interdependence. Aims This study examined how student-oriented goals affect the depth of preservice teachers’ reasoning, and how, together with visual attention, they shape the interplay between PV-related processes. Sample The sample consisted of 51 preservice teachers. Methods In this multimethod study, participants watched three classroom video stimuli while their eye movements were tracked. Visual attention was assessed by fixation count and fixation duration on individual students. Before watching each video, participants were interviewed about their goals for individual students; after each video, they were interviewed about their reasoning regarding noticed student interactions. Results Linear mixed-effects models showed that fixation duration, but not fixation count, positively predicted reasoning quality across all videos. The presence of student-specific goals did not generally enhance reasoning, but effects varied by goal type: mastery goals were associated with more elaborated reasoning, whereas classroom management goals predicted more superficial interpretations. Conclusions Findings extend prior PV research by demonstrating that goal setting and sustained visual attention both contribute to the cognitive mechanisms underlying PV, shaping the depth of preservice teachers’ reasoning and sense-making. The study points to the value of integrating motivation and PV research, paving the way for future studies exploring noticing- and reasoning-related PV processes that underpin effective teaching.