Making the Hidden Visible: Building an Inclusive and Transparent Curriculum

The Physics Program of the George Washington University was revised to include explicit instruction and discussion on many aspects of being a physicist including ethics and mentorship; diversity, equity and inclusion; professional communication across audiences and genres; and explicit in-class discussion of graduate school applications and career paths in physics. After using this curriculum for several years, we will report on the adjustments made to the curriculum and the resulting experience. We will explain the context for these decisions, discuss the process of having these changes adopted by the faculty, and describe the implementation. We will share the curricular resources used in the hope of encouraging other programs to consider adopting a more explicit, inclusive approach to structuring their curricula and building scaffolding to support the success of all students.