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.

在这项研究中，我们使用了一种用于测量学生对光学的概念理解的研究工具，即几何光学概念理解测试2（GOCUT-2），以评估通过实验室实验，PhET模拟或YouTube视频补充课堂教学的影响。这项研究涉及卢旺达公立，城市中学的学生。该研究的初步发现表明，这些教学资源确实影响了学生的概念理解，并且这种影响在几何光学所涵盖的所有主题之间并不统一。MANOVA证明，学习成果最适合将传统物理实验室与数字工具相结合的学生。该分析还表明，最常使用物理实验室的学校更有可能表现出更大的概念理解力。当结合使用PhET模拟和YouTube视频资源时，我们观察到了类似的增长。在每种情况下，学生仍然表现出一些与镜头构成的图像绘制和解释有关的空白。我们建议老师通过开放教育资源（OER）来补充几何光学课程，包括PhET模拟和YouTube视频。