Physics Together: Engaging Young Women in Physics With STEP UP

Robynne Lock, Texas A&M University - Commerce

Only one-fifth of physics bachelor’s degrees in the US are awarded to women annually, and the representation of women in physics and most STEM fields at the undergraduate level has not increased for the past 10 years. Therefore, new efforts are needed to engage women in physics. Supporting women in physics is important not only for the sake of equality but to ensure the future of physics. Physics majors constitute a small minority of STEM majors. Biology and engineering each graduate approximate 100,000 majors per year, but physics only graduates 8,000. If women do not feel welcome or supported in physics, we are missing half of potential future physicists thus limiting the talent pool and the diversity of ideas brought into physics. STEP UP, an NSF-funded partnership between Florida International University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, AAPT, and APS, is a national initiative with the goal of encouraging more women to pursue physics bachelor’s degrees.

We focus our efforts on supporting high school teachers in encouraging young women in their physics classes. High school is often the first time students learn about physics as a distinct science and is also our last chance to engage many students in physics, as the majority of college majors do not require physics. Fortunately, nearly half of all high school physics students are young women. The fact that the representation of women in physics from college entrance through to the assistant professor level is approximately constant underscores the importance of intervening during high school. This is in contrast to biology and chemistry in which the percentage of women drops at each academic stage. High school teachers can be instrumental in encouraging their students to become physics majors. Class sizes tend to be smaller and contact time longer in a high school class compared to a college class, thus allowing teachers to build strong connections with their students. High school teacher encouragement to pursue physics can make the difference.

Women are outnumbered by men in physics five to one in the US for a myriad of reasons, not all of them well understood. Some might claim that women are simply not interested in physics. However, interests are shaped by society and culture. This is borne out by the range of representation of women in physics in different countries. For example, 60% of physics majors in Iran are women. Additionally, though young women and men perform equally well in high school physics, women tend to perceive physics as difficult and underestimate their own abilities. This may result in fewer women pursuing physics degrees. Leslie et al. found that the more difficult a field is perceived to be, the fewer women earn Ph.D.’s in that field¹. This low interest and low self-confidence are instilled by society from a young age and must be actively counteracted. Finally, the general public does not understand what physicists actually do and what can be achieved with a bachelor’s degree in physics. Physics contributes a great deal to society and improving the world. Many students want to do so in their careers, but do not know that physics opens that door.

STEP UP seeks to engage high school teachers in empowering the young women in their physics classes. This means discussing the influence of society and culture on students’ career decisions and also informing students of career opportunities available to physics graduates. Two lessons grounded in research have been created along with an Everyday Actions Guide. The Women in Physics lesson focuses on discussions on the current status of women in physics, unconscious bias, and students’ personal experience with bias. The goal of the lesson is to make young women aware of the societal and cultural influences on their interests, confidence, and career decisions so that they can consciously counteract them. The Careers in Physics lesson illustrates the variety of careers that are achievable with a physics bachelor’s degree. Students read and discuss profiles of modern day physicists whose careers align with their own interests. Most importantly, students create profiles for their future selves in which they used a physics degree to achieve their career goals. Careers in this lesson include medical physicist, prototype engineer, and financial analyst. Initial results indicate that these lessons are successful in helping students to see physics in their future and improving students’ recognition as physics people². Building recognition as a physics person is extremely important to recruiting students, especially women, into physics.

STEP UP is moving forwards in bringing as many high school teachers into the movement as possible. Our ambassador program empowers high school teachers to become leaders in their communities. University faculty can contribute to the movement by sharing information about STEP UP with local teachers and teacher networks and integrating the materials into their physics teacher preparation programs. Additionally, the lessons can be adapted for use in introductory college physics courses. Undergraduate and graduate students can support the movement by conducting outreach with local high school teachers. The power to energize the future of physics lies with high school physics teachers, and STEP UP provides teachers with the tools they need. Join the movement to engage thousands of high school teachers in this effort. Together we can change the face of physics.

To learn more about STEP UP and become a member, go to https://STEPUPphysics.org.

1. S.-J. Leslie, A. Cimpian, M. Meyer, and E. Freeland, Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines, Science 347, 262 (2015).

2. H. Cheng, G. Potvin, R. Khatri, L. H. Kramer, R. M. Lock, and Z. Hazari, Examining physics identity development through two high school interventions, 2018 PERC Proceedings [Washington, DC, August 1-2, 2018], edited by A. Traxler, Y. Cao, and S. Wolf, doi:10.1119/perc.2018.pr.Cheng.

Robynne Lock is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce. She researches physics identity, strategies to recruit students into physics, and gender. She is a 2017-2019 PhysTEC Fellow.

Disclaimer – The articles and opinion pieces found in this issue of the APS Forum on Education Newsletter are not peer refereed and represent solely the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of the APS.