The PERU and LGBT+STEM Interest groups are co-hosting this month's PER speaker, Dr. Brianne Gutmann, to present her talk on teaching ethics in the physics classroom. Join us this Friday!
Speaker: Dr. Brianne Gutmann, Post-Doctoral Scholar at Texas State University
Time: Friday Nov 13th at 10am MT
Location: https://utah.zoom.us/my/ramonbarthelemy
Title: Factors which enable and limit student reasoning about ethics, science, and society in the classroom
Abstract: Physics has greatly impacted society, both in solving problems and perpetuating harm. Yet we rarely train physics students to grapple with their responsibilities to society. The absence of direct discussions about the intersections of science and society in classrooms reinforces the idea that physics is purely objective and removed from societal impact or influence. At Texas State University, we have designed and implemented units about ethics, science and society in three different contexts: a modern physics course, an observational astrophysics course, and a multi-disciplinary course entirely focused on this topic. In each of these contexts, we have scaffolded student discussions around large-scale ethical issues related to STEM. In this talk, I will draw on my experiences participating in this work as an instructor and a researcher. I will highlight factors that enable and limit student engagement, and consider implications for instruction.