Principles for Curriculum Design while Teaching about Ethics, Physics, and Society

Physics has greatly impacted society, both in solving problems and perpetuating harm, yet we rarely provide opportunities for physics students to grapple with their responsibilities to society. The absence of direct discussions about the intersections of science and society in classrooms can reinforce the idea that physics is purely objective and removed from societal impact or influence. This messaging can justify students' disengagement from social responsibility, leave them unprepared to use ethical reasoning in their careers, and isolate students who feel commitment to their communities. Although many instructors value these types of conversations, their implementation in the classroom can be daunting. From research across three course contexts which included ethics discussions (a modern physics course, an observational astrophysics course, and a multi-disciplinary STEM ethics course), we identified features which supported students in building comfort, competence, nuance, and agency around complex ethical issues in physics. This talk will share these curricular design features, as a framework to support other instructors in developing and implementing lessons about the intersections of science and society in their physics classrooms.