Cognitive load plays an important role in the ability of learners to process information and convert it to long-term memory. There are many factors that can affect the amount of cognitive load on the learner, in turn hindering the formation of long-term, meaningful memory.  Our research group has been working on strategies to measure changes in cognitive load and has developed a reliable and valid method using changes in heart rate.  In the current study, undergraduate, organic chemistry students were asked to predict the product of reactions, the reactants of which were presented using two different representational motifs – Lewis structures and skeletal structures.  This presentation will summarize the results of this study and focus specifically on how representational and structural details impact students’ cognitive load.

Comparative study of organic chemistry representations and students' cognitive load

249th National Meeting (2015)

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