The Practicing Professionalism Framework: Redefining "Physicist" To Reflect Inclusivity Within The Physics Community

Students sometimes perceive the physics community as an exclusive community that values innate intelligence, impressive research, and individuals who can assimilate into a white male-dominated culture. In fact, the physics community, broadly, values hard work, any research that advances our understanding of the physical world, and a spectrum of identities. By framing one course as an opportunity to practice multiple aspects of being a professional physicist, I provide an opportunity to change student perceptions of who is a physicist and what it means to be a physicist. This framework, called Practicing Professionalism, has two major aspects. First, the framework promotes rigor in developing traditional physics content knowledge and skill competencies through a growth mindset. Second, the framework allows for the natural inclusion of coursework that focuses on issues that professional physicists care about that do not typically fall into traditional physics courses such as diversity and inclusion. I will present the Practicing Professionalism Framework along with activities that I use to support this framework. I will present evidence demonstrating student's broadened and more inclusive definition of a physicist and the physics community.