Race and Physics Teaching
Articles from The Physics Teacher, September - December 2017
This cover image evokes the theme of this fall's special collection: "Race and Physics Teaching." The relay runners, shown over a rich backdrop of iconic physics images, appear in many shades and varieties of body types to reflect the inherent non-binary nature of race and gender, subjects that are far too often treated as strictly binary. What aspects of this mosaic speak to you as a teacher?
Editorial Introduction
In their editorial, Unique voices in harmony: Call-and-response to address race and physics teaching, Geraldine L. Cochran and Gary D. White observe:
We all have privilege. Some of the privilege we have is by choice and we put forth effort to attain, such as the privilege that comes with our level of education. Other privileges we have may be the result of no effort on our part;we may have privileges based on the country where we were born, the race with which we identify or are identified by others, or the language we first learned to speak, among other things. For many, we have a sense of pride in the privileges that come with the things we worked to attain such as our level of education. It can be a little harder to grapple with the privileges that were handed to us, so to speak. It is even harder to come to terms with the reality that the privileges that were handed to us influenced our ability to gain things for which we may have worked hard to obtain.
Articles in This Collection
Teaching About Racial Equity in Introductory Physics Courses, Abigail Daane, Sierra Decker, and Vashti Sawtelle
Puerto Rico: Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Physics Teaching,Wilson J. González-Espada and Rosa E. Carrasquillo
Learning to Do Diversity Work: A Model for Continued Education of Program Organizers, Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer, Simone A. Hyater-Adams, and Daniel L.Reinholz
The Chi-Sci Scholars Program:Developing Community and Challenging Racially Inequitable Measures of Success at a Minority-Serving Institution on Chicago's Southside, Mel S. Sabella, Kristy L. Mardis,Nicolette Sanders, and Angela Little
Common Challenges Faced by Women of Color in Physics,and Actions Faculty Can Take to Minimize Those Challenges, Angela Johnson, Maria Ong, Lily T. Ko,Janet Smith, and Apriel Hodari
Integrating Conversations About Equity in "Whose Knowledge Counts" into Science Teacher Education, Rosemary S. Russ
Living Ethnoastronomy: Discovering the Connectedness of the Human Spirit Beneath the Night Sky, Richard Paul Hechter and Nayif Awad
Unveiling Privilege to Broaden Participation, The Physics Teacher 55, 394 (2017), Rachel E. Scherr and Amy D. Robertson
Perspectives on the Indigenous Worldviews in Informal Science Education Conference, The Physics Teacher 55, 456 (2017), Apama Venkatesan and Adam Burgasser
Additional Resources
Race and Physics Teaching Continued May 2020-January 2021
Race and physics teaching, and the fair: A call to all physics educators for manuscripts on a rarely discussed topic, by Gary White. The original call for manuscripts, published in The Physics Teacher.
Addressing Underrepresentation: Physics Teaching for All, by Moses Rifkin, This paper an important contribution to the subject from The Physics Teacher, part of the inspiration for the call for papers,
Supporting and Enhancing Diversity and Inclusiveness in AAPT (PDF) -- Report accepted by the Board of Directors on February 18, 2017.
Statement on Fisher v. University of Texas (2016) by the AAPT Committee on Diversity published in The Physics Teacher 54, 326 (2016).
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