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In the early nineteenth century, the ideas of reform pedagogues gave rise to a didactic turn towards the visual that criticised an exclusive textual mediation of knowledge through books and lectures. To raise educational effectualness, teachers came under increasing pressure to incorporate high-profile media technologies into their lessons. Yet, top-down initiatives to implement new instructional technology often fell short of expectations when logistical and financial challenges and teachers' practices and preferences were not taken into account. However, most of the existing studies on the introduction and proliferation of high-profile educational technology in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Western education have focused on industry-led promotional efforts or governmental initiatives to introduce commercially produced media into the classroom. As such, they lend insight into the normative discourse surrounding the construction of the ideal of the tech-savvy teacher, but have mostly overlooked teachers' agency, as well as the difficulties teachers met in the implementation. This paper investigates how, between 1900 and 1940, Belgian secondary school teachers dealt with the tension between professional pressures and expectations on the one hand, and their individual preferences and possibilities on the other hand. It does so by comparing the discourse of educational media advocates and governmental actors with teachers' accounts of their visual media practices as documented in teachers' pre-class preparations and notes.

Visual representation in school textbooks plays an important role for physics teaching and learning. The integration of graphics with text has drawn attention of physics educators in recent years due to the close relationship between graphics and relevant text. The purpose of this study is to examine visual representation of optical content in three physics textbooks commonly used in China and Singapore. Based on a revised version of graphical analysis protocol, this study focuses on two aspects of visual representation: (1) presentation of graphics; and (2) integration of graphics with corresponding text. The content analysis approach was adopted as the research methodology with 115 graphics taken from the three physics textbooks being the analysis target. The results show that the three textbooks had considerable differences in terms of graphical presentations and that they contained a small percentage of high systematical representations. On integration of graphics with text, each textbook was found to be unique. Based on the results of this study, some recommendations are provided for visual representation in physics textbooks so as to enhance the effectiveness of textbooks on teaching and learning, such as highlighting physical and semantic integration of text with graphics.

Optics is a core field in the curricula of secondary physics education. In this study, we present the development and validation of a test instrument in the field of optics, the ray optics in converging lenses concept inventory (ROC-CI). It was developed for and validated with middle school students, but can also be adapted for the use in higher levels of physics education. The ROC-CI can be used as a formative or a summative assessment of students' conceptual understanding of image formation by converging lenses, assessing the following: (i) the overall understanding of fundamental concepts related to converging lenses, (ii) the understanding of specific concepts, and (iii) students' propensity for difficulties within this topic. The initial ROC-CI consists of 16 multiple-choice items; however, one item was removed based on various quality checks. We validated the ROC-CI thoroughly with distractor analyses, classical test theory, item response theory, structural analyses, and analyses of students' total scores at different measurement points as quantitative approaches, as well as student interviews and an expert survey as qualitative approaches. The quantitative analyses are mostly based on a dataset of N = 318 middle school students who took the ROC-CI as a post-test. The student interviews were conducted with seven middle school students after they were taught the concepts of converging lenses. The expert survey included five experts who evaluated both individual items and the test as a whole. The analyses showed good to excellent results for the test instrument, corroborating the 15-item ROC-CI's validity and its compliance with the three foci outlined above.

In this article, simple models of optical computing circuits (1 x 4 demultiplexer (DEMUX), 4 x 1 multiplexer (MUX), Boolean logic, and half-adder (HA)) are shown with mechanically controlled plane mirrors. Photographs of the proposed computational circuits are also shown. It is very useful for the school student to understand optical logic and Boolean algebra. It also shows that, computation can be possible with simple plane mirrors placed on the table. Here mirror movements are done with hand. The principle of operation of the circuits is based on reflection of light from plane mirrors. Optical devices which are used in this activity are all low-cost materials.

Plant leaves are green because they contain the green photosynthetic pigments, chlorophylls a and b. Popular science literature, and sometimes even textbooks, state that the greenness is caused by reflection of green light by chlorophyll. In the present study, we compared the reflectance spectra of green leaves to yellow or white leaves of the same species. Chlorophyll-deficient leaves reflected green light more efficiently than green leaves of the same species, which conclusively refutes the misconception. The data show that the green colour of leaves is caused by preferential absorption of blue and red light by chlorophyll, not by reflection of green light by chlorophyll. The data suggest that the cellulose of the cell walls is the main component that diffusely reflects visible light within plant leaves.

On April 14, 1912, the British passenger liner R.M.S. "Titanic" struck an iceberg. The ship sank in a fraction of the time designers had estimated following a worst case scenario. The purpose of this article is to examine the atmospheric refractive phenomena that might have played a significant role in obscuring the iceberg from "Titanic"'s two lookouts. We describe a way in which these phenomena can easily and inexpensively be brought to students in our introductory physics classrooms.

This article investigates the optics conceptions of 228 Thai high school students in grades 10-12 when they attempted to explain how an object can be seen both in general and in a completely dark room. To elicit students' conceptions precisely, their confidence in giving reasons for the final two diagnostic questions is also considered. The study indicates that these high school students still have beliefs and misconceptions about how an object can be seen and how the human eyes work. Only 6.57% (15 students) of all participants could use scientific principles and strong self-confidence to explain how an object can be seen and how human eyes work, answering all questions correctly and with appropriate reasons. The identified misconceptions are discussed and compared to the literature. The teaching implications for developing a conceptual understanding of how human eyes work under low light intensity levels are suggested and discussed.

We outline the basic theory behind white light interferometry and the workings of a typical light interferometer microscope. We study WLI images obtained for rough and smooth chrome steel spheres to illustrate the principle that curved rough surfaces can be imaged with such a device as long as the surface roughness is kept within certain limits.

In this experiment we have first determined the focal length of an equiconvex lens. We have observed that a real image can be formed by the lens on the same side of the source if the source is sufficiently strong. This is due to the reflection from the concave surface of the lens. We have measured these image distances for different object distances. From these measurements, we have determined the refractive index of the lens as well as its radii of curvature. The relationship between the object and image distances in the reflection from the concave surface of a lens as formulated here, is similar to the ordinary reflection from a concave mirror. However, the focal length, in this case, turns out to be smaller than that of a regular concave mirror of the same radius of curvature by a factor of two, for a lens of refractive index of 1.5.

Undergraduate physics laboratory exercises are very important in shaping students' attitude to science, especially for future teachers. Recently, it is necessary to look for ways to easily create large quantities of experimental sets, not only for institutional use, but also for sets that can be produced in large quantities and distributed for use in distance learning. In this paper, we briefly describe the various ways to support the teaching of wave optics, and then describe one of the possible methods for performing undergraduate spectroscopic measurements using a 3D printed spectroscope and light source.

The current pandemic era demands distance learning, including physics experiments on the topic of optics. One of the optical phenomena that needs to be explained in optic courses is fluorescence. This study offers a simple home experiment regarding the application of fluorescence, namely to identify the purity of olive oil using simple fluorescence imaging. This fluorescence imaging experiment used a 532 nm green laser as a beam source and a smartphone camera as an image capture detector. Olive oil samples were mixed with mineral oil to obtain various variations of olive oil purity. When the sample was induced with a laser, the laser beam path changed colour to orange due to fluorescence phenomena. This fluorescence effect was then captured in the form of images. Fluorescence intensity converted from the Grey value of the laser beam path image. The experimental results show a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and olive oil purity with a determination coefficient R[superscript 2] = 0.98. This experiment can be an offer to explain the application of fluorescence with activities carried out independently by tertiary-level physics students in their respective homes. This fluorescent imaging procedure can also be related in terms of its application in olive oil quality control.

Single slit diffraction and the thermal expansion of materials are common components of an undergraduate physics course, though these topics are often taught independently in both lectures and laboratory based courses. Higher levels of cognitive domains can be achieved by building on these established topics and combining them into a single experiment that also introduces new tools and techniques for data handling and analysis. Here we describe an experiment where the thermal expansion of a metal bar shifts an attached razor blade such that the separation between this blade and another fixed blade decreases. This decrease in blade separation allows for changes in the peak separation for single slit diffraction to be measured and the expansion coefficient of three metal bars (copper, steel and aluminium) is determined to good agreement with accepted values. The use of multiple peak fitting allows students to develop more sophisticated analysis techniques that are applicable beyond this experiment and are transferable to different areas of experimental physics.

The purpose of this study was to explore how students interacted with guidance to conduct a scientific inquiry in a physics simulation by using the eye-tracking techniques. The participants were 51 7th graders, and an eye-tracking system was used to record their visual behaviors and log data while they were using the simulation. As for data analysis, we first checked each participant's log data to examine whether they completed the requirement of the guidance, and then checked the correctness of her/his answer to the inquiry task. The participants were thus divided into two groups (correct vs. wrong), and the patterns of their visual behaviors were examined by a set of eye-movement indices, normalized heat maps and lag sequential analyses. The results indicate that both spatial distributions and temporal sequences of the participants' visual attention were associated with their performances on the inquiry task. Regarding the spatial distribution, the correct group tended to allocate more visual attention to the regions presenting the target phenomenon than the wrong group. Concerning the temporal sequence, the correct group tended to make more visual transitions among the content of the guidance, the relevant control panels and the target phenomena than the wrong group.

A new diagnostic instrument, the Conceptual Survey on Wave Optics (CSWO), was developed and validated on 224 high school students (aged 18-19 years) in Croatia. The process of test construction, which included the testing of 61 items on the total of 712 students is presented. The final version of the test consists of 26 multiple-choice items which cover basic conceptual aspects of interference, diffraction, and polarization of light at the high school level. The construction of the test and the evaluation of its functioning and validity were conducted using the Rasch model. The test construct was based on the increasing levels of cognitive complexity in accordance with the Webb's depth of knowledge model. The theoretical construct was empirically confirmed, and it suggests that the explanations of wave optics phenomena and their application to real-life situations are the most difficult aspects of high school students' understanding of wave optics. The results of the Rasch analysis suggest that the CSWO is a reliable diagnostic instrument suitable for administration as a post-test to high school students after instruction on wave optics and possibly also for university level students in some introductory physics courses.

The laser pointer has been widely used to demonstrate some simple optics phenomena, like reflection, refraction, total reflection, and diffraction. However, the rays of laser light cannot be seen in the air because the scattered light is too weak. Many physics teachers use milk or smoke to visualize rays of laser light in physics labs, but it is hard to demonstrate some experiments, such as diffraction. Recently, Velasco and del Mazo demonstrated an interesting experiment in which four optical phenomena could be visualized by using a rhodamine B solution. However, the color change of the laser beam (532 nm) is not easy to explain for students who have just learned optics. In this study, we developed a simple way of visualizing geometric optical experiments in water mixed with highlighter ink to eliminate the influence of color change. Our material list includes a green highlighter, a large transparent rectangular tank filled with water, a smaller transparent square container, a round acrylic plate, a prism, a concave acrylic plate, a beaker, and a CD grating.

A popular introductory physics laboratory experiment is one focusing on Snell's law. This is straightforward to complete with lasers and prisms, but here we present an alternative version that guides the students through some of the major historical developments, recreating and analyzing significant experiments. The discovery of Snell's law has a fascinating, winding, global history, and the sine relationship eluded some of the greatest minds in optics for more than a thousand years.

This paper proposes a simple method to design experiments for drawing the light paths at a lens to find its effective focal length and principal planes. In the designed experiments, long-exposure photography was used to record the light scattered using a moving sheet of paper, thus revealing the light path. According to the proposed experimental method, (1) the effective focal length of a lens and (2) the principal planes of a lens can be measured. Moreover, the system is easy to build, inexpensive, and can promote students' understanding of geometric optics by providing an intuitive physical phenomenon. The work is also of pedagogic interest as it reveals a new simple experimental method to find the principal planes of a thick lens and its effective focal length.

A simple measurement of the refractive index of a liquid has been performed using a spherical lens. This lens is a spherical shape flask containing the liquid under study. Parallel pointer laser beams are directed to the lens to obtain the back focal length of the lens. The focal point is determined visually or using the Tracker software to analyze the photo. The back focal length is investigated related to the radius of curvature of the lens and the liquid under study. The refractive index at [lambda] = 635 nm resulted from the photo analysis for water, ethanol and vegetable oil are 1.34 ± 0.03, 1.38 ± 0.05, 1.47 ± 0.06, respectively. This simple experiment is suitable for teaching.

In this study, it is aimed to develop practical teaching activities that can be used in optics teaching. For this purpose, a virtual laboratory environment was created in RayLab which is an application for design and simulation of optics on the iPad/iPhone. In this context, the dispersion of white light in the prism, the relationship between the refractive index and the wavelength of the light and the recombination of the dispersed white light were examined. It was seen that the virtual experiment results obtained in the activities are compatible with the theoretical results and the real experimental situations.

By building a schlieren optical system, the visualization of a 40 KHz sound wave is realized. By using the schlieren system, the demonstration of acoustic reflection, interference and diffraction can be easily realized. At the same time, the visual acoustic field provides another simple way for the measurement of sound velocity. In this paper, the experimental device is simple in structure and low in cost. The experimental content combines the optical and acoustic content, which can be used as the acoustic experimental content for undergraduate students.

In this study, we used a research tool for measuring students' conceptual understanding in optics, the Geometrical Optics Conceptual Understanding Test-2 (GOCUT-2), to evaluate the impact of supplementing classroom instruction with laboratory experiments, PhET simulations, or YouTube videos. This study involved students from public, urban secondary schools in Rwanda. Preliminary findings from the study indicate that these instructional resources did impact student conceptual understanding, and this impact is not uniform across all topics covered in geometric optics. A MANOVA demonstrated that learning outcomes were best for students who combined traditional physics labs with digital tools. This analysis also indicates that schools, where physics laboratories were most used, were more likely to exhibit greater conceptual understanding. We observed similar increases when PhET simulations and YouTube video resources were used together. In each case, students still showed some gaps related to drawing and interpreting images formed by lenses. We recommend that teachers supplement the geometric optics curriculum with open educational resources (OERs), including PhET simulations and YouTube videos.

This study explores the dynamic, interactive nature of digital drawings and writing in a knowledge building community in which students used a multimedia online environment--Knowledge Forum--to represent and advance ideas in the field of optics. The research employs a mixed-methods case study to collect and analyze multimedia notes created by 22 fourth-grade students. Graphical notes--notes containing drawings--included more idea units and more sophisticated ideas than non-graphical notes. Quality of drawing also correlated with idea improvement in Knowledge Forum notes, with ratings of idea improvement based on conceptual understanding of optics. Overall, findings revealed significant advantages of online drawing for Grade 4 students, with case-study analysis revealing the many ways in which graphics complement writing and contribute to knowledge building.

The integrated knowledge should be implemented to face the 21st-century era. Beside the integrated knowledge, mastery the concept and creativity also must be involved in order to enhance the quality of education. Thus, this research was aimed to investigate the effect of STEAM-Based Learning on Students' Concept Mastery and Creativity in learning Light and Optics. The method that used was a mixed method with convergent parallel design. The population in this research was 8th-grade students in private junior high school in West Bandung and the sample was one class of 8th grade. The school implemented Indonesian Curriculum 2013 in the teaching-learning process. The sampling techniques were convenience sampling. The number of participants in this research was 27 students. The quantitative data in this research was obtained through an objective test. The objective test was made based on Bloom's Taxonomy revision by Anderson. The qualitative data was obtained through the creativity rubric adopted from Creative Product Semantic Scale (CPSS) developed by O'Quinn and Bessemer. The dimension that was in creativity is novelty, resolution, and elaboration and synthesis. According to the research, students' concept mastery improved as much as 0.78 with category high improvement after the implementation of STEAM-Based Learning. For students' creativity achievement, in every dimension gained different result: 1) Novelty is categorized into good with 75.6%, 2) Resolution is categorized into good with 77.8%, and 3) Elaboration and synthesis are categorized into enough with 65.3 %. Overall, students' concept mastery and creativity in the implementation of STEAM-Based Learning in learning light and optic is categorized as good.

In the 21st century, the competence of instructional technological design is important for pre-service physics teachers. This case study described the pre-service physics teachers' design of optical spreadsheet simulation and evaluated teaching and learning the task in the classroom. The case study chose three of thirty pre-service teacher's course at Yogyakarta State University. A bonded system explored basic knowledge and integration ability of the pre-service teacher. In addition, peers assessed the simulated performance of pre-service teachers by using Spreadsheet-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (S-TPACK). Pre-service teachers transform the topic into a unique spreadsheet simulation. One of them designed with high complexity, but the others are not. However, they demonstrated different the intensity and integrity of teaching strategies, the depth of optical topics, and interactive spreadsheets. In the future, the design of instructional technology will need to pay attention to the basic knowledge of TPACK, problem-solving, and self-efficacy.

In this research, the development of the Optics Interest and Experience Scale (OIES) was discussed in the first stage, and the gender differences of prospective teachers in their interest and experience were explored with OIES in the second stage. The data were collected from 228 prospective teachers from eleven universities in Turkey. For content and face validity, a theoretical framework for the OIES was established by a detailed literature review and expert opinions were consulted. For the construct validity, the principal component factor analysis was used. The final form of the scale was composed of 33 items and had two main factors namely: 'experience' and 'interest'. A reliability analysis of the instrument revealed Cronbach-Alpha coefficients of 0.906 for the whole scale, 0.886 for the experience factor, and 0.851 for the interest factor. MANOVA analysis was conducted to explore gender differences in interest and experience scores of prospective teachers in geometrical optics. There was a statistically significant difference between males and females on the combined dependent variables. When the results for the dependent variables were considered separately, the only difference to reach statistical significance was experience such that females reported slightly higher experience in geometrical optics than males.

The wave nature of light has been widely demonstrated in a double-slit experiment, which has played a special role in physics teaching. When monochromatic light passes through the double-slit sheet, the diffraction and interference fringes can be observed in the far-field regime. The interference of light causes the beams passing through the two slits to interact with each other, but each slit still retains the diffraction characteristics of a single slit, so the result is a combination of diffraction and interference patterns.

In an earlier contribution in "Physics Education" (Bitzenbauer and Meyn 2020 "Phys. Educ." 55 055031 [see EJ1263541]), we presented a new teaching sequence on quantum optics on the secondary school level, and we reported on promising results of a first pilot study concerning its learning effectiveness. In the sense of design-based research, the developed teaching material is now being revised in several iteration steps and optimised through feedback from teachers from the field in order to favour the implementation of the new teaching approach to quantum physics in secondary schools. We present the design principles from the literature that our teaching material's development is based on and report on a survey of physics teachers' practical experiences with our teaching material.

We outline the physics involved in the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and modernise the usual textbook treatment by explaining how one can now obtain high-quality images with non-conductive specimens. As a concrete example of an application in biology, we provide several magnification series of a flea obtained using SEM.

In fall 2020, the Physics Department was tasked with coming up for a plan for optics, our one credit lab course. Because of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, our institution planned to offer a fully online fall semester, with no students residing on campus. The college announced the plan 5 weeks prior to the start of the semester. This paper will detail how optics was taught online using a hybrid format of delivery.

SSurfactants or surface-active agents are interesting groups of compounds with characteristic structures, allowing them to decrease the surface tension. A surfactant consists of a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. Typically, surfactant molecules aggregate into micelles at the critical micelle concentration. In this work, the concept of tautomerism has been successfully used for the determination of the critical micelle concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide using curcumin as a colored probe. The ratio between diketo and keto--enol tautomers of curcumin increases by increasing the concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide above the critical micelle concentration. This ratio can be monitored by measuring the absorbance ratio at A[subscript ?360]/A[subscript ?428]nm. The critical micelle concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was obtained from the inflection in the curve and was found to be 0.76 mM which agrees with the reported value.

Using polymerizable cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) paints, we prepare circularly polarized freestanding films that enable students to acquire a basic understanding of circular polarization and molecular chirality. The polymerized helical structures of CLC films can exhibit brilliant structural colors by selective reflection of visible light corresponding to their helical pitch. For the fabrication of freestanding and circularly polarizing films of various colors and shapes, students control helical pitch with the amount of chiral dopants and stabilize them by photopolymerization. On the basis of an understanding of the circularly polarized reflection of CLC paints, students can encode secret letters that are visible only with a specific circular polarizer.

Contribution: A do-it-yourself (DIY) light wave sensing (LWS) and communication project was developed to generate interest and clarify basic electromagnetic (EM) and wireless sensing/communication concepts among students at different education levels from middle school to undergraduate. This article demonstrates the nature of the project and its preliminary effectiveness. Background: Concepts in wireless sensing and communication are generally considered hard to comprehend being underpinned only by theoretical coursework and occasional simulations. Further, K-12 schools and small academic institutions may not have the resources necessary to produce tangible demonstrations for clarification. The consequent lack of affordable hands-on experiences fails to motivate and engage students. Intended Outcomes: The DIY-LWS is intended to make wireless concepts more understandable and less esoteric by linking fundamental concepts with student-relevant technologies, such as solar cells, visible lights, and smartphones. It is also intended to pique student interest by allowing them to personally assemble, operate, and explore a light-based wireless communication system. Students complete assessments before and after the project to quantify its effectiveness. Application Design: A preliminary assessment is used to determine the student base knowledge level and enthusiasm for wireless and related core topics. Students are instructed to assemble and test their own DIY-LWS hardware to provide a hands-on experience and stimulate further exploration. Short lectures are given to link conceptual ideas to the real-world phenomena students personally observed. Finally, students are reassessed to quantify any change in conceptual understanding. Findings: The DIY-LWS kits have been used in multiple events with students at different levels from secondary to high schools to college. As part of a triangulated assessment methodology, pre- and post-assessments revealed pronounced improvements (the number of correct answers doubled) in student understanding of EM concepts. Instructors observed tremendous interest and excitement among the students during and after the experiments.

This paper demonstrates the use of a smartphone as a low-cost multi-channel optical fibre spectrophotometer suitable for physics laboratory classes. A custom-designed cradle and structure support were fabricated using 3D printing. The plastic optical fibres were arranged and inserted into the hole of the cradle to guide the light to the rear camera of the smartphone. Here, we describe the multi-channel optical fibre-based smartphone spectrophotometer for measuring the spectra of different LED colours.

Fermat's principle states that a light ray refracted across different media will traverse the fastest path as the physics for Snell's law. A geometric proof of Fermat's principle will be demonstrated as an intuitive approach to learn high school geometry and physical optics. It will be proved explicitly by showing that all alternative paths need more traversal time to complete their journey.

This research aimed to design an instructional module to teach light diffraction by a grating to secondary students applying a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-integrated approach. Based on this approach, instructional management integrated the disciplines of physics and mathematics with engineering design process principles, while information searches, assessment, and evaluation drew on technology. The module involved working out a solution to the real-world scientific problem of constructing a spectroscope in the environment of cooperative learning. Upon completion of the module, the students were expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of light diffraction by the grating as well as problem-solving skills. To evaluate its effectiveness, the module was trialed on thirty 11th grade students in a Thai school in Pathum Thani, Thailand. The findings revealed that the implementation of the module enabled the students to achieve a statistically higher post-test score than that for the pre-test at the significance level of 0.05. As a result of the module, the students also exhibited a high level of academic development, as indicated by the class normalized gain of 0.82. Finally, the module was perceived by the students as being suitable for their level, offering them a chance to apply classroom knowledge to authentic problems and hence accumulating their hands-on experience, enhancing their problem-solving skills through the application of the engineering design process, and improving their team-working ability.

In the vicinity of a critical point, the impact of a substance's chemical identity is superseded by universal critical behavior for a number of physical properties, such as visible light scattering. In this classroom demonstration, students observe a single-phase critical mixture of partially miscible isobutyric acid + water (IAW) as the liquid-liquid sample cools down to its critical temperature. Students see the sample change from colorless and transparent, to pale blue, to white and turbid. This optical behavior is called critical opalescence. No pressure control is necessary for the demonstration since the system is a condensed phase, so the sample can be large (100 mL here) and suitable for classroom visualization. The experiment is easy to set up and highly repeatable because the critical temperature of the IAW system is just above room temperature. The demonstration can be used to show the difference in angular dependence for light scattering from a single-phase sample versus a two-phase sample containing a suspension of droplets, and also to segue to a conversation on why the sky is blue. Furthermore, the critical IAW sample may be incorporated into a quantitative classroom demonstration or laboratory project in which laser light scattering measured at 90° of incidence is used to calculate the correlation length amplitude [xi][subscript 0] of the IAW system and the universal critical exponent ?.

Behind the creativities and innovations in human history, there lie the humble practices of multidisciplinary studies that drive new revolutionary ideas and unconventional approaches. One such example is Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa"--one of the perennial portraits that bear witness to a transcendent level of creative art. It is one of his unique touchstones where he played with light and shade in such a way that both motion and emotion are entwined to the highest point of perfection in the ecstatic smile of the "Mona Lisa." By explaining how Leonardo created an unfathomable emotion in her smile and veiled her face by optics of uncertainty through the fusion of art and science, here we show why and how it can be considered as a prototype for multidisciplinary science education. The analysis of the inner details together with Leonardo's scientific epistemology advocates the importance of putting into practice repeated experiments and observations on widely diverse faculties for the emergence of innovative ideas, for the depiction of reality and for fostering creations.

In this communication, a remote experimental activity in chemical kinetics is described, taking into account the quantification based on the optical sensor of a smartphone. The objective pursued herein is to equip students with the appropriate tools and strategies required to empirically determine the parameters of the rate law including reaction orders, rate constant (k), frequency factor(A), and activation energy (E[subscript a]). Typical results of the proposed protocol are shown and discussed in the framework of the bleaching reaction of food dye allura red (RD40) and hypochlorite, as a representative example. A graphical approach of the concentration vs time data measured under the experimental condition where [RD40] « [ClO[superscript -]] (isolation method) suggests a first-order kinetics with respect to the dye. In addition, the analysis of the pseudo-first-order constant (k[superscript obs]) shows a first-order relationship with respect to ClO[superscript -]. In addition, using the two-point form ofthe Arrhenius equation, values of 3.22 × 10[superscript 7] s/M and44.55 kJ/mol were obtained for A and E[subscript a], respectively. Interestingly, all the kinetic parameters(reaction orders, k, A, and E[subscript a]) are on the same order of magnitude as those previously reported in the literature and acquired with more sophisticated and accurate equipment. This experience provides evidence that it is possible to proceed with remote experimental activities to deepen the collection and analysis of kinetic data during a pandemic.

The target of this study is to determine the minimum angle of deviation of a prism which is one of the optical experiments. Thus, the aim is to state the refractive index of a prism. In this context, the Tracker program, which might also be utilized in terms of distance education purposes, was preferred. The videos of the experiments were recorded with the help of a smartphone. The study showed that the refractive indexes of the prisms which were made of glass and acrylic with different apex angles could be determined with a high level of accuracy as a result of the analysis of videos which were recorded with two different methods. It is believed that the study provides insights for both the conduction of laboratory courses via distance education and for performing experiments for students who do not have access to proper laboratory equipment.

Single slit diffraction is part of many high-school physics curricula throughout the world. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether high-school physics teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia are adequately prepared to discuss with their students about various aspects of the single slit diffraction pattern, particularly about vertical length of diffraction fringes. To that end we conducted a written survey which included 57 high-school physics teachers. Besides asking teachers about students' difficulties in learning about single slit diffraction, we also asked them to specify their own difficulties with this topic and required them to solve a conceptual task. Almost every second teacher believed that vertical length of diffraction fringes can be increased by changing shape or width of the slit and only 1 out of 57 teachers managed to correctly answer why diffraction fringes become shorter when we move away from the central maximum. We concluded that physics teacher education programmes should be changed to develop understanding of both, horizontal and vertical aspects of the diffraction pattern. To that end it is useful to provide learning opportunities which encourage combining ray and wave model of light.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educational institutions to adjust their learning process to distance education or online learning. This paper explains how to teach optics during the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing project-based learning that can be supervised online. Students are instructed to design, characterize, and optimize droplet lenses to produce the highest possible lens resolving power by using the USAF-1951 test chart. To do project-based learning correctly, students must understand various optics concepts, such as the principle behind light propagation (Fermat's principle), determining focal lengths, compound lenses, lens aberrations, and lens resolving power. This paper also describes how to optimize droplet lenses to produce high resolving power with easy to handle and inexpensive materials.

Dark matter is one of the most intriguing scientific mysteries of our time and offers exciting instructional opportunities for physics education in high schools. The topic is likely to engage and motivate students in the classroom and allows addressing open questions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Although the empirical evidence of dark matter links nicely to many standard topics of physics curricula, teachers may find it challenging to introduce the topic in their classrooms. In this article, we present a fun new approach to teach about dark matter using jelly lenses as an instructional analogy of gravitational lenses. We provide a brief overview of the history of dark matter to contextualise our presentation and discuss the instructional potential as well as limitations of the jelly lens analogy.

Self-diagnosis activities require students to self-diagnose their solutions to problems they solved on their own by detecting and explaining their errors. Worked examples, a step-by-step demonstration of how to solve a problem, are often used to support students in self-diagnosis activities. However, studies indicate that students often fail to exploit worked examples in traditional self-diagnosis activities when simply required to self-diagnose their solutions. This study analyzes a new self-diagnosis activity developed by the first author to prompt students to effectively use worked examples when self-diagnosing: the written worked examples only constitute one part of a scoring rubric and the students are required to both self-diagnose their solutions and then self-score them. This activity was hypothesized to encourage students to exploit the worked examples more thoroughly, and by extension detect and learn from their errors to a greater extent than students administered the traditional self-diagnosis activities. Six 10th grade advanced physics classes completed a pre-test/intervention/post-test after finishing a unit in geometric optics. Students in each class were randomly assigned to the new self-diagnosis activity (83 students) or the traditional self-diagnosing activity (79 students). Students assigned the new activity detected and learned more from their errors than students administered the traditional activity. It is argued that more in-depth error detection contributed overall to students' learning by triggering a series of implicit steps that prompted them to self-regulate their cognitions in a way that provided opportunities to self-repair their naïve concepts.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inquiry-based laboratory activities on the students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS) in learning lights and optics topic. The method used in this research is quasi experiment. Sampling technique using random sampling to class and the samples were taken from grade 8 in one of junior high school in Bandung. The sample was 45 students, consisting of the experimental class (n = 24 students) and the control class (n=21 students). The experimental class is taught by inquiry-based laboratory activities, while the control class is taught by non-inquiry laboratory activities. The result of this research shows that the experimental class got N-Gain of 0.60, while the control class got N-Gain of 0.44, and both classes proven to have statistically significant different improvement.

The central roles that modelling plays in the processes of scientific enquiry and that models play as the outcomes of that enquiry are well established (Gilbert & Boulter, 1998). Besides, there are considerable similarities between the processes and outcomes of science and technology (Cinar, 2016). In this study, we discuss how the use of digital tools for modelling geometrical optics supports meaning generation. More specifically, it tests: a) the role of educational software "Law of Light Reflection" in the generation of scientific meanings, b) the factors affecting this meaning generation and c) the extent to which integrated physical concepts, strategies, cooperation and verbal interaction affect scientific meaning generation. The research methodology adopted for the purpose of compliance with these three dimensions is design-based research which enabled us to investigate the effectiveness and the dynamic interaction of the tool with the specific cognitive skills. In this study, we used a specially designed of open-software for modelling on geometrical optics phenomena. The use of digital tools for modelling is studied from two perspectives: inquiry based science learning and scientific meaning generation of the interactive dialogic interaction among 6 students who were assigned to two focus groups, in a public elementary school in Athens, Greece. In this context, we focused on 5 dimensions of analysis that concern inquiry and meaning generation, based on dialogic instances during the described episodes.

This paper analyzes the introduction of fundamental physics in design education as a pedagogical method that trains designers to create with the un-known. It studies how three workshops offered design students to work on: superconductivity in 2011, quantum physics in 2013 and light and optics in 2014. The authors observe that introducing physics in a design curriculum was thought in terms of an "a fortiori" education program that would help practitioners to come up with pertinent questions and responses even if they cannot comprehend all aspects of the problem. The authors looked at how the workshops were handled and suggest that the educational framework had five goals that correspond to a model of design: affective (how to cope with uncertainty), reflexive learning (how to cope with processes rather than contents), cognitive (how to cope with non knowledge), economic (how to cope with the industrial society of innovation), and political (how to cope with the equality of disciplines and "indiscipline").

We describe the design and implementation of a teaching-learning sequence that was started before the lockdown and was then transformed for distance teaching. A backward design approach was adopted in order to identify clear learning outcomes. The activities were outlined according to an inquiry-based learning paradigm, referring to research-based models. We discuss how these elements were relevant when redesigning the activities for distance teaching. In particular, we describe how we modified an 'application experiment' (measuring the thickness of a human hair) using a video-based activity, highlighting how this activity was designed in order to meet the original goals and outcomes. The results of the teacher's assessment and the students' self-evaluation suggest that the approach was meaningful and effective, and that the experience can provide useful hints also for teaching under regular conditions.

Although it originates from the ancient Greeks, optics still arouses a lot of scientific interest, mainly due to the technological innovation associated with it. One of its most interesting applications is related to optical metrology and the characterization of materials through optical techniques. While some of these processes can be explained in a simplified way using a few of the fundamental principles of physics, there are hardly any proposals whose objective is to discuss this topic at a basic level. Accordingly, we present a low-cost experiment that allows the characterization of surface roughness using the fractal dimension of the speckle pattern associated with the light scattered by a surface. For simplicity, the entire activity is adaptable to the most diverse school situations. Moreover, it allows the discussion of many fundamental physics concepts and provides students with an experience similar to that experienced by scientists.

Item banks are generally considered the basis of a new generation of educational measurement. In combination with specialized software, they can facilitate the computerized assembling of multiple pre-equated test forms. However, for advantages of item banks to become fully realized it is important that the item banks store a relatively large number of valid test items. In this paper, we demonstrate how the Rasch model is used for integrating new items into an existing wave optics item bank. First, we identified and applied a set of criteria for selecting 18 linking items from our initial item bank. In order to integrate 12 newly developed items, we combined the 18 linking items with the 12 newly developed ones into one test and administered this test to 106 postinstruction physics students from 4 universities in Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was determined that the 12 new items measure the same construct as items from the initial item bank. In addition, all items exhibited good item fit, item reliability was excellent and person reliability was fair. The ratio of standard deviations of linking item difficulties for the new test and existing item bank amounted to 0.89 and correlation of these difficulties amounted to 0.93 which indicated good linking precision. We could conclude that good linking precision can be obtained if linking items are chosen based on the following set of criteria: number of items, item fit, range and spacing of item difficulties, content representativeness, position in test form and interuniversity DIF contrasts.

Recognition of interference and diffraction patterns is a difficult task for both high-school and university students. Many students fail to observe important features of particular patterns and identify the differences among similar patterns. In this study, we investigated if performing students' investigative experiments can help high-school students in recognition of typical interference and diffraction patterns. Students in the experimental group were exposed to a teaching intervention that included five students' investigative hands-on experiments on wave optics whereas the control group had the standard lecture-based physics teaching. We measured eye movements of students from both the experimental and control groups while they were identifying patterns produced by monochromatic light on a double slit, single slit, and diffraction grating, and by white light on a diffraction grating. Students from the experimental group had a higher percentage of correct answers than students in the control group that indicated that students' investigative experiments had a positive effect on their recognition of interference and diffraction patterns. However, the low percentage of correct answers, even in the experimental group, confirms that distinguishing of the typical interference and diffraction patterns remains a difficult task for high-school students even if they had performed investigative hands-on experiments. Eye-tracking data showed that students from the experimental group had a shorter dwell on multiple-choice patterns, possibly because they were more familiar with interference and diffraction patterns and felt more confident in choosing the correct pattern. All students attended more to those patterns which they chose as the correct answer and that corroborates the previous findings. Overall, the results indicate that students' recognition of interference and diffraction patterns can be improved by introducing hands-on investigative experiments in the classroom.