Optical simulation serves as an important bridge connecting course teaching with scientific research, providing a solid foundation for scientific research to back feed teaching. Based on years of teaching experience, this paper proposes multiple efforts to revamp the teaching approach in response to the challenges encountered in the curriculum. Firstly, several classical cases of light wave propagation under different conditions are introduced to guide students in understanding the main ideas and characteristics of optical simulation as a scientific research tool from simple to complex. Secondly, the calculation methods under different physical models are connected to help students better understand the differences and processing of various optical field propagation calculations. Finally, by integrating knowledge learned from other courses, several examples are provided to inspire students to consolidate their foundations and apply the knowledge they have learned comprehensively in an analogical manner. These teaching reforms have effectively solved some postgraduate teaching issues and have shown good results in practical teaching for postgraduate students with weaker foundations in their first year, thus also having certain reference value for cultivating outstanding undergraduate students.