By: Mia Iwan, 8th Grade Physics Teacher, miwan@jfk.edu.mx

Sandra Patricia Gonzalez Lopez, Wade Campbell, Noor Al-Alusi, Alexander Bennett, Nidhi Santen, Xiao Xiao. This is a list of names that you likely don’t recognize. But, what about: Bill Nye, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Albert Einstein, Rick Sanchez, Isaac Newton, and Sheldon Cooper? Sound a little more familiar? Both of these lists are the names of scientists.The first list is the names of real, yet largely unknown, modern day scientists who are currently contributing to our growing understanding of the natural world. The second list is composed of the most recognized names of scientists, both fictional and real, that 8th grade physics students depicted when asked to complete a diagnostic drawing of a scientist (Figure 1). As evidenced by the drawings of my students, the lack of diversity of scientists represented in media and in science class has perpetuated a stereotypical and narrow representation of scientists as old white men with crazy hair and lab coats. As a science educator, it is my goal to change this perception by using a diverse representation of scientists to expand my student’s notion of who is a scientist to include a more accurate image, including themselves!

 

While the notion that the majority of scientists are “mad scientists” is false, the lack of diversity in the scientists pictured by students unfortunately is not. In fact, startling statistics from the Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics state that Hispanic Americans earned only approximately 3-4% of the PhDs in physics and astronomy awarded in 2012.  Additionally, women earned only 20% of bachelor’s degrees awarded in physics in 2014. Research shows that this underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM fields deters students in those groups from visualizing themselves as scientists and from pursuing careers in STEM. 

Despite these discouraging figures, recent data indicates that exposing students to counter-stereotypical beliefs about scientists can help change this trend in the future. According to the International Journal of STEM Education, “among Black and Latinx youth, for both female and male students, holding counter-stereotypical beliefs promotes intentions to enter particular STEM fields in which they are severely underrepresented” (Nguyen, Riegle-Crumb, 2021). As a science educator with a predominantly Latinx student population, I feel it is my duty to begin every school year by breaking down the stereotypes that act as barriers in science to encourage my students to see themselves as scientists. As Riley Black writes in their article “Why Representation Matters in Sciences”, “Being able to see a scientist who's like you can be incredibly important for young students, an indication that they can pursue and succeed in the fields that fascinate them” (Black, 2022). Guiding my students to more correct perceptions of scientists not only helps me by creating buy-in and intrinsic motivation within my students to learn the physics content throughout the school year; but it is also a small step in tackling the problematic and overwhelming lack of diversity in STEM fields. 

In response to this research, my first unit in physics class centered around the question “Who is a scientist?”. The learning objective was for my students to not only have a more realistic understanding of who a modern scientist is and what a day in their life is like, but also to better recognize themselves as scientists. To achieve this goal, I made it my mission to expose my students to a diverse and true to life representation of scientists from around the world. Two resources that were fundamental in helping me bring this to fruition were the websites “I Am A Scientist” and “Skype a Scientist”. The “I Am A Scientist” website was created with the vision that “Every student deserves a chance to see themselves in Science”. Using this website, my students were able to explore the stories of a diverse range of real world scientists and make connections between themselves and the scientists. The aptly named “Skype a Scientist” program connects scientists with classrooms across the globe through virtual meetings. This year, I was matched with an inspiring female, Latinx physicist from Mexico who is currently a doctoral student in Saudi Arabia. The opportunity to speak with and ask questions to a practicing scientist that my students could identify with was an invaluable experience for helping to expand their definition of a scientist (Figure 2). As an educator of a discipline that thrives when diverse minds come together, it would be a great loss for me to let an entire generation of potential scientists pass through my class without helping them realize that they too can contribute to the continuously growing understanding of our natural world.