STEP UP: National Movement to Change the Culture of High school Physics Teaching-Learning and inspiring Young Women to Pursue Physics

In the US, nearly half of students taking physics in high school are women, but only a fifth of the students interested in physics majors in college are women. Given this persistent issue, the STEP UP project (www.stepupphysics.org) has launched a nationwide initiative in the US to mobilize and help high school physics teachers better engage women in physics by disrupting narrow perceptions of physics and promoting supportive classroom cultures. This talk will present some of the research evidence and theories used by STEP UP to develop, assess, and promote strategies that facilitate the physics identity development and future physics intentions of young women. These evidence-based strategies are being used by physics educators as part of the national campaign, which has grown to include a network of five thousand physics teachers, faculty, students, and community members, to inspire a new generation of women physicists. (Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1720810, 1720869, 1720917, and 1721021).