Representation matters in Physics

Some of the hesitance that our students have about studying science is this misconception that you can only "do science" if you're "smart enough." Humanizing those that pursue science and their path to a STEM job helps more students consider doing the same.  A Twitter account called @RealScientists has a new curator each week to share their particular corner of science with the world. They have a whole week to talk about their specific job, the path they took to get there, publications, unique and funny memories, what they wish everyone knew about their field, etc. Some hashtags have gone viral to show the human side of scientists like #PregnantintheField with which female scientists share pictures of themselves with baby bumps while carrying out field research. The universal #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob hashtag gets really funny when scientists get a hold of it.

While most of us recognize that people come in all different shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds outwardly acknowledging it is important in your classroom. In a time when many are feeling less welcome in our own spaces (work, home, country, etc) it is vital that we actively work to recognize marginalized groups in our fields and help to lift their voices.

On June 4th a new Twitter account @500QueerSci was launched with the purpose of bringing awareness of LGBTQ+ people working in STEM related jobs during the annual Pride Month. Their goal was to reach 500 personal stories and by mid July were at 630 biographies. People can submit their abbreviated biographies, pictures and social media links to be added to the catalog. The full list is found on their companion website 500QueerScientists.com.

The resource is amazing and as many have said when they first tweet their own featured biographies  they wish such a thing had been available when they were young. It serves as a reminder to young LGBTQ+ people interested in science that they are not alone and that can be life changing.

I recently went back to the website hoping to find a search bar to type "physics" into so that I could have a list of many LGBTQ+ people with backgrounds or jobs in the fields  of physics. I could not find one so I tweeted at @500QueerSci and asked:

@500QueerSci is there a plan in the works to make the stories searchable by field? I would love to be able to show my students some specific stories of 🏳️‍🌈scientists in related fields to what I teach.

— Bree BarnettDreyfuss (@BarnettDreyfuss) July 13, 2018

They responded that such a feature was in the works but in the meantime offered to find such profiles for me. Below are the names and links they provided:

1. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
2. Izzy Jayasinghe
3. Giampiero Mancinelli
4. Axiel Yael Birenbaum
5. Nicole Ackerman
6. Tzula Propp
7. Shawn Cole-Woods
8. Kelsey Collier
9. Carlos Arguelles
10. Aidan Robson
11. Ana Barbara Rodriquez Cavalcante
12. Beck Strauss
13. Kerstin Nordstrom
14. Tessa Carver
15. Christopher Aubin
16. Robert Newberry
17. Jost Migenda
18. Andrew Princep
19. John Barentine
20. Mackenzie Warren
21. Katie Mack
22. Ashley Spindler
23. JJ Eldridge
24. Stephen Lawrence
25. Alysa Obertas
26. Nick Geitner
27. Andrew Welsh
28. Georgia Squyres

So I have a list, now what? I intend to use it. I've seen several lessons and activities in the last year promoting learning about diverse modern scientists, not just the "dead white guys" we find in our textbooks. Depending on your school and community's comfort level you could do a few things with such a list; and the same could be done for scientists of color and women. 

• Whenever a particular field comes up in class, say astrophysicist, feature an LGBTQ+ person or person of color instead of whoever is at the top of a Google search list. 
• "Profile a scientist" activities are already usually limited to exclude the few that everyone already knows about like Einstein or Curie or Tesla. If you're going to set restrictions for who they can't research you may find yourself just producing a list from which students have to choose. And look at that, you have a class set (or almost) of physics related names right up there! How convenient!
• You can present the list in its entirety, or the full website, for students to explore st their own pace. You can lead a discussion or offer reflection time for students to think about the featured scientists' paths through education and the hardships they may have endured for being LGBTQ+, why their visibility is important, etc. 
• Make posters of the featured physics related persona biographies to display in your classroom or school all year.
• Feature an LGBTQ+, woman and/or person of color that is in the STEM field each week in your classroom. 

There are lots more things you could do to help expose your students to a more diverse world of STEM, but that should be a start! I encourage you to read through the biographies above and more to learn more about our very diverse and large STEM community. If you have any other fabulous lessons to share please let me know!

Edit: I was able to add a few more resources I could not find the first time around thanks to recent AAPT plenary Frank Nochese:

The hashtag #ActualLivingScientists is used by all kinds of, well, actual living scientists, to share information about their work and why its cool. Several teachers print out some of these profiles to make displays in their classrooms or around

Heather Waterman @WatermanPhysics makes a daily doodle on her board about a scientists from an underrepresented group. I have a minor in art and I still don't know if I could draw a scene every day that was this good!

177:180 Marine Zoologist Mary J. Rathburn 🦐🦀#dailydatedoodle #womeninSTEM #WomeninSTEAM https://t.co/Y0WGcV4TCQ pic.twitter.com/bTcO6LWIdR

— Heather Waterman (@watermanphysics) June 13, 2018

March for Science: Dean's Whys and Wherefores

When murmurs of The March for Science began circulating, I raised my antennae. When the date was announced, I booked a hotel room in DC and burned a bushel of frequent flyer miles to reserve round trip flights on Southwest.

I harbored a strongly-held personal opinion that I needed to be part of it. In the early days of planning, it wasn't obvious that there would be satellite marches. The groundswell of support made satellites a reasonable speculation. Still though, I wanted to be at ground zero.

As the days and weeks passed, others have been eloquent about why this march needed to be held. Why a fist needed to be raised. Why voices needed to be heard.

There were also the predictable backlashes to this backlash. Every call to action--real or virtual--is guaranteed to produce axe-grinding finger-waggers. "You need to not do that thing you intend to do; instead, you need to take up arms for my cause. If my cause wins, the world will be free of all problems—this one included!" This is the internet-generation's version of "Follow me; I'll make your crops grow!" I cast those aside and pressed on.

Another flavor of marginalization that often arises among the complacent comes in the form of the innocently dismissive question, "What do you hope to accomplish?" No matter how insightful the answer, the follow-up will be to suggest that you could accomplish those goals without a high-profile march/protest. Valid responses to the question vary, and bear a modicum of uncertainty. The question is intended to put participants on the defensive. The hoped-for change will not materialize immediately at the conclusion of the march, so the march was pointless.

As a seasoned debater, I never take such obvious bait. Instead, I prefer to turn the question around. I know—with absolute certainty—exactly what would be accomplished by not marching. Acceptance of an Administration that has made an enemy of science. Sweeping budget cuts for research. Denial of settled science. Ceding leadership in science and technology to China and India. Tacit approval for going full bore in the destruction of the environment in the US and around the world.

Science is undeniably the single best method that humans have developed to determine the truth of the reality in which they live. It's success is unmatched by any other method ever devised.

Right now, science is under attack. And it's losing. The American voters spoke in November, and the minority elected the anti-Science narcissist actively favored by Vladimir Putin. The Vice-President and the Secretary of Education are Creationists. The President thinks Climate Change is a tactical political concoction of the Chinese. The chief of the EPA has long been an enemy of environmental protection.

So we march to support the principles of science. Principles that helped make the United States a great nation.

A nation makes an enemy of science at its own peril. Some nations have done so. They are not nations many American is eager to migrate to.

My friend, Neil deGrasse Tyson, says it much better than I do.



In my next post, "The Day Of," I'll tell the story of my Earth Day 2017 in Washington, DC: The March for Science.

Reliant Robin Revisited

To accommodate a school-day administration of the PSAT this Wednesday, classes will meet for 20 minutes. What can you do in 20 minutes? Last year, I developed a mini-lesson around Top Gear's segment on the Reliant Robin.

I added a few questions to that lesson this year. I feel best when there are a nice, round 10 questions.

Access the video here (I recommend downloading videos for classroom use):
Top Gear's Reliant Robin

Oh, and I did figure out how to post the video here for additional convenience. Isn't it nice to learn?

Updated question set and answer key:
Rolling through Roundabouts in a Reliant Robin @ TPT

What do you do with a 20-minute class session? Let me know in the comments.

Lesson for a 20-minute class

Many of our students took the PSAT today at school. After the testing period, we ran periods 1 through 6 at a little more than 20 minutes each.

So we watched and answered questions about Top Gear's segment on the three-wheeled Reliant Robin.

The video is here: Wimp.com—Top Gear's Reliant Robin. The full segment—shown on the Wimp page—is 14 minutes; shorter edits can be found elsewhere (YouTube, etc.). I couldn't figure out how to embed Wimp's video into streaming here.

The questions are here: Rolling Through Roundabouts in a Reliant Robin @ TPT.

Pearls of Water demonstration

Pearls of Water demonstration - Get set...demonstrate for Demo Day 2014

Another gem from the United Kingdom's National Stem Centre.

Your Life in Pi

Nathan Shields, Washington's 2011 PAEMST awardee in mathematics, made a nice video explaining the consequences of the nature of the numerical value of pi. Take a look and be amazed!

Your Life in Pi

"The good ole days weren't always good...

And tomorrow's not as bad as it seems."
Billy Joel
"Keeping the Faith"

Here's an interesting eye-opener from Slate:
Five Misconceptions About Teaching Math and Science

In brief, the myths are
1. American schools have been in decline over the past 30-40 years.
2. Low-performing students simply lack math/science aptitude.
3. Curriculum reform is the key to higher achievement.
4. We need massive recruiting efforts to attract college students to the profession.
5. Only top math/science students should be allowed to teach these subjects.

Refutation of the last one hits it out of the park. But the whole piece is well argued.