To do the rigorous and creative work necessary to transform our spheres of influence.
To develop classroom and departmental environments that push back against isolation and promote belongingness.
To support ourselves, our colleagues, and our students as we all strive to be our best and most authentic selves.
What world is possible if we create classrooms for physics and astronomy students that are inviting instead of exclusionary, supportive instead of harmful? How will we all change if we create space for both the rigor of our discipline and the wonder that draws us to study the physical workings of our universe?
Creative Physics
In my work as a Cottrell Scholar, I developed Creative Physics: an Embedded Creativity Curriculum for Introductory Physics. We routinely use the term “creative problem solving” in physics, but rarely link the creative practices we use in science with the creative and generative self we all possess (DeHann 2017). This curriculum is designed to help students build a bridge between their creative selves and their physics selves, developing a stronger and more complete sense of physics identity, that also combats isolation and promotes belongingness. A stronger sense of physics identity and belongingness are both tied to persistence and resilience in physics (e.g., Johnson 2012, Sawtelle et al. 2012, Trujillo & Tanner 2014).
Creative Physics has four main components:
daily sketchbook prompts:
These 5 minute response exercises have students reflect on their practice of physics (developing metacognitive skills) and provide low-stakes opportunities for students to bring their imagination and creativity into the classroom.
meeting your muse:
This exercise, completed in pairs, helps students identify what they need to activate and support their creative (meaning generative and productive) self, or their “muse”. The exercise ends with students visualizing a manifestation of their muse to help focus their energy and efforts.
visual thinking strategies:
At its core, Visual Thinking Strategies is about unlocking students’ curiosities and natural skills of observation, pattern recognition, and application of prior knowledge. Students are led through a series of questions to analyze a photo or artwork, reinforcing their ability to discern information without additional background or being “taught” what the photo or artwork is about. Then the students repeat the exercise with a complex physics diagram for a subject they haven’t yet studied in class.
imaginative expression final project:
Rather than only allowing students to represent their experience of physics through equations, homework sets, and exams, this project invites students to create an expression of their experience of a physics topic from the class in a way that is utterly unique to them. Project brainstorming is scaffolded through journal/sketchbook responses and a few short check-in assignments. The final projects are shared with the class, varying from original songs about electrons traveling around a circuit, to interactive computer models of vector fields, to board games using kinematic equations to move pieces, to reports on the electronics of defibrillators. Project share day is always everyone’s favorite day of the course.
Students that experienced Creative Physics at Colorado College all show the same high level of physics identity and belongingness at the end of the course, meaning there is no statistical difference in the scores between men and women and white students and students of color (Gosnell et al. 2024, in prep). This suggests that incorporating creativity exercises and creating space for students to develop a more complete sense of physics identity may be one solution addressing inequities in our field.
I have spoken about Creative Physics as an invited speaker at the.Astronomy conference, KIPAC at Stanford University, and the American Astronomical Society meeting. If you would like to invite me to speak your institution or meeting about the power of thinking expansively in our classrooms, please reach out.
If you would like to implement Creative Physics in your classroom, please click here.