Previous research has indicated that students often struggle to solve problems in chemistry for a variety of reasons including lack of prior knowledge, weak logical thinking skills, and working memory limitations. While content tests can provide a measure of prior knowledge, it is difficult to accurately measure logical thinking skills and working memory limitations. Measurements of working memory are generally qualitative in nature, but task-evoked pupillary response (TEPR) has recently been used as a correlate of the load placed on working memory during problem solving. The TEPR is a small, involuntary dilation of the pupil in response to mental effort. The purpose of this study is to investigate TEPR as a real-time measure of working memory load during tasks requiring logical thinking. Twenty participants completed several different digit span tests as well the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) test during which the TEPR was measured. Results of this study may help researchers and classroom teachers to better measure and understand the difficulties faced by their students.

Assessing working memory load during logical thinking by measuring the task-evoked pupillary response

251st National Meeting (2016)

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