Analysing and Teaching the Optics of the Eye

Abstract: Human vision is one of the most important senses, but recently near-sightedness is growing among the population. To investigate this progression, the pheripery of the eye is being studied. Therefore, new methods are developed to examine peripheral vision. This study compares two such instruments: A newly developed for commercial use (Double-Pass) is tested against an established lab setup (Hartmann-Shack Dual-Angle). Measurements of mean focus and astigmatism were taken both foveally and peripherally on 15 people, to examine if the two instruments give the same values. The comparison between the systems shows that a correlation exists, but the data handling algorithm of the Double-Pass system can be fine-tuned to obtain a more consistent result. In addition to this, a university course in optics is investigated in order to develop a homework assignment to make the students engage with the course material and get more students to pass the course. The choice of task is based on the most challenging concepts of previous exams, focusing on peer assessment and formative feedback. From this, a material was developed with a typical exam task combined with a proposed solution that the students used to give feedback to each other. The material was test-run with two former students and updated based on their comments. The assignment was appreciated, but seeing a peer’s assignment can be stressful if the students themselves feel unsure about the material. This will hopefully be avoided when given during the course, where the students can discuss with each other. The upcoming course round will test the assignment with a whole class.