Teaching Double-slit Experiment with Modular Optical Experimental Instruments

Abstract

The Modular Optical Experimental Instruments (MOEI) are newly-designed laboratory demonstration tools which integrate a whole set of optical devices on a single board. The instructors can easily bring the MOEI to classrooms and demonstrate optical phenomena on projector screens. In order to investigate the impact of MOEI on the instruction of double-slit experiment, we investigated 134 undergraduate students with an open-ended experiment designing task. The Primary Trait Analysis (PTA) score suggested that students learning double-slit experiments with MOEI had better performance in selecting equipment and understanding the nature of science and showed more engineering thinking. The results also showed that students had a common misconception about the width of interference fringes, and MOEI was helpful to avoid it.