Lesson Plan Series: Reflections on Gender & Physics: Published within the Strategic Partnership “Diversity in the Cultures of Physics”

Abstract

In this volume we present a collection of 7 lesson plans to explore the gender imbalances in science and particularly in physics. The aim of these teaching units is to understand how gender inequalities are constructed and reproduced during the interactions in the labs and class rooms while doing physics. On the one hand, the students will learn to uncover the often unconscious processes which lead to underrepresentation of women in physics at all levels. On the other hand, the basic structural dynamics linking gender effects in science and society are taken into account. The lesson plans have been designed and tested as a part of the International Summer Schools “Diversity in the Cultures of Physics”. This project is funded by DAAD / Erasmus+ since 2016, when a Strategic Partnership was formed to enhance the situation of female junior scientists. Scientists from the physics departments at Freie Universität Berlin, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, the University of Manchester, the University of Sheffield and Uppsala Universitet joined this co-operation. Each lesson plan represents a teaching unit of 180 minutes that comprises discussion topics, references for reading materials and other resources, and interactive learning tasks. Taken together, the lesson plans provide the material for a full course on gender & physics covering a set of key issues based on research in science studies. Parts of the lesson plans can be integrated in either general courses on interdisciplinary gender studies or specific courses on gender in STEM. Individual units can supplement social and natural science courses, that wish to point out specific gender dimensions in a reputedly gender neutral field of knowledge production. The resources can be used in classrooms from undergraduate level onwards.