Pathways for Accelerating Change in Social Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in STEM Curricula

The Underrepresentation Curriculum (URC) is a free, flexible curriculum for STEM instructors to teach about injustice and change the culture of STEM. Using tools such as data analysis, hypothesis creation, and investigation, students look critically at science through the lenses of equity and inclusion. By comparing the general population to similar data describing scientists, students can explore issues of social justice in STEM. 

We encourage you to start with Unit 0 – Setting the Stage, a lesson that helps to prepare students for the curriculum and aims to productively frame future discussions .

Unit 1 – Laying the Foundation

Unit 1 – Subjectivity
Unit 1 – Why Does Representation Matter?
Unit 1 – Learning About Scientists’ Lives
Unit 1 – Data Analysis

Unit 2 – Gaining Relevant Knowledge

Unit 2 – Meritocracy
Unit 2 – Stereotype Threat
Unit 2 – Systemic Racism
Unit 2 – Systemic Sexism
Unit 2 – Racial Privilege and Affirmative Action
Unit 2 – Implicit Bias
Unit 2 – Multiple Identities
Unit 2 – Colorism (temporarily offline)
Unit 2 – Myth of the Model Minority (coming soon)
Unit 2 – Political Correctness and Microaggressions (coming soon)
Unit 2 – Overrepresented Groups (coming soon)

Unit 3 – Turning Knowledge into Action

Unit 3 – Brainstorming Actions
Unit 3 – Teacher-Led Action Projects
Unit 3 – Student-Led Actions Projects

Download a zip archive of all these lesson plans here.

The Underrepresentation Curriculum (URC) is a free, flexible curriculum for STEM instructors to teach about injustice and change the culture of STEM. Using tools such as data analysis, hypothesis creation, and investigation, students look critically at science through the lenses of equity and inclusion. By comparing the general population to similar data describing scientists, students can explore issues of social justice in STEM. 

A critical look at the history of physics—both in the field as a whole and in the pedagogical choices—elucidates why it is necessary to pay attention to social justice in physics education. Physicists have a longstanding aim toward objectivity and often deny the effects of culture on the field and its participants. In this chapter, we provide an overview of research and curriculum development on equity and social justice in physics and include examples for addressing the injustice present in the field today. We illustrate how instructors can introduce and integrate discussions of equity and social justice into physics curricula. We also share an example of how concepts in physics (e.g., optics) can be used to support students in identifying inequities and injustice (e.g., overrepresentation of blue eyes). To be clear, this work does not argue for a dichotomized teaching of social justice and physics. Instead, we call for the utilization of a social justice lens in teaching physics and the exploration of physics concepts to identify and address issues of inequity that exist within and outside of the field of physics.