From strangers to lifelong friends: fostering community in a high school physics classroom

If I had to choose one word to describe my classroom, it would be community – a group of budding young physicists collaboratively working together to reach a common goal. This community is an extension of my first learning community: the physics teacher preparation program at Rutgers University. This community shaped my teaching philosophy and has been essential to my journey in physics education. As a high school teacher, I knew that I wanted my students to experience the same level of camaraderie and support from their peers. In this talk, I am going to share how learning physics in an accepting environment has helped my students step outside of their comfort zones and discover who they are as learners.