Integrating Anti-Bias Education into Traditional Physics Teaching

Women and people of color remain dramatically underrepresented in physics and, along with other minority groups such as LGBTQ+ physicists, report experiencing hostile environments [1]. A case study of a physics department at a primarily white liberal arts college suggests why: classrooms and departments remain rife with unacknowledged bias and privilege, even when populated by well-meaning faculty and students. This manifests itself, for example, in the use of textbooks focused solely on the achievements of white men, widespread accounts of not-so-“micro”-aggressions, and the conflation of privilege with aptitude. A great deal of prior work has been done to identify and mitigate biases acting in the classroom [2]. We present an integrated approach in which anti-bias education is woven into a sophomore level Modern Physics course, via a series of readings, reflections, and activities alongside the conventional technical content. We also present our progress on developing a means of assessing the effectiveness of this approach in building a more inclusive department climate.

1. “LGBT Climate in Physics: Building an Inclusive Community,” APS, 2016.
2. For example: Daane, et al, “Teaching about Racial Equity in Introductory Physics Courses,” The Physics Teacher, vol. 55, 2017.