Connecting female students through community engagement in physics learning

Yu-Hui Chang^1*, Yueh-Chang Li²

¹Center for Teacher Education, National Sun Yat-sen Universtiy, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
²Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University., Kaohsiung, Taiwan

* Presenter:Yu-Hui Chang, email:yhc@mail.nsysu.edu.tw

This presentation outlines a one-year journey focused on developing popular science activities to increase female involvement in physics. The initiative began with female learning coming together to form an informal community and explore gender issues, which unfolded in two phases aimed at examining possibilities and learning opportunities in physics education.

First, the team concentrated on motivating female undergraduate and graduate students with physics expertise to establish a female-empowered science community. Second, they developed learning materials designed to expand the community's influence and outreach to high school female students. Throughout this process, female members engaged in activities that allowed them to become role models and demonstrate leadership while advocating for their scientific interests.

Additionally, the team conducted interviews to gather feedback from female students regarding their reflections on gender issues and their increased awareness of gender dynamics in the STEM field. The findings highlighted the importance of diverse learning resources in physics education, emphasizing the need to explore scientific interests while providing opportunities for visibility and affirmation of engagement with science, which helps build scientific identity. Ultimately, establishing female learners' learning communities within educational institutions can effectively incorporate gender issues and foster supportive informal learning environments between universities and high schools.

Keywords: female learners, community engagement, physics learning