The Physics of Living Systems Teacher (PoLS-T) Network: Building a community of practice to improve physics classroom outcomes

Secondary school physics teachers are often teaching out-of-field, out-of-certification and are often the only physics teacher in their school. As a result, physics teachers lack a sense of community and support in developing pedagogical content knowledge. The Physics of Living Systems-Teacher (PoLS-T) Network was established in 2020 to address salient challenges in secondary physics classrooms within a community of practice of teachers and education researchers. The Network has grown to include over 600 members across 40 countries. The PoLS-T Network organizes a Monthly Speaker Series, video resources, networking events to discuss the needs of physics teachers, and a yearly summer conference. In our presentation, we will share key insights about the type of support teachers in physics contexts need. Physics teachers in the Network care deeply about improving their students' access to quality physics education. Yet, a sense of isolation within their schools, lack of support for improving pedagogy, and equity gaps within the physics classroom limit the progress teachers can make. We plan to discuss our collaborative approach, which takes a community-of-practice model, to work with physics teachers to address specific classroom challenges and improve their students' learning.