Laser technicians are currently trained by about 25 programs situated in Community Colleges across the United States. The students are goal-oriented and practical with a modest background in mathematics and science. Curricula usually consist of a nearly equal mix of laboratory experiments and class room lectures. In general, Laser Electro Optical Technology (LEOT) students seem to be similar to the students who take algebra-based physics at college. Beginning Physics students have and finds that they confuse important concepts such as position and velocity or velocity and acceleration. Additional work shows that there is also confusion regarding optical systems. The concepts taught in the LEOT programs are similar to, but more complex than, those covered in a algebra-based physics course. They are further obscured by the difficulty the students have with the mathematical computations. No work has been conducted to identify conceptual difficulties in the LEOT area nor to devise practical approaches to overcoming them. It is quite evident that they must exist and that they limit the student's understanding of the material just as they do in the physics curriculum. Oregon Laser consultants proposes to study ways in which computer based ray trace program and spread sheets can be incorporated into the current LEOT curricula to model the concepts that cause these difficulties.
