Källan Berglund, Physics, WPI
Classroom climate, community among peers, and structural support are essential to a healthy and productive learning environment. As a queer, neurodiverse woman in physics, I always felt a lack of acknowledgment, knowledge, and dialogue about bias and allyship in academic environments. I created this presentation to address that need, and I have had great success beginning each of my courses with this presentation to establish awareness of common issues, provide baseline knowledge for healthy dialogue, and advertise follow-up resources. I introduce the concept of internalized/systemic biases, common manifestations, ways to respond, and tools for community building/wellness. Sharing some of my own experiences, and engaging students in peer-to-peer discussions, results in a remarkable increase in students opening up about their struggles and reaching out for support resources. This is an evolving presentation, and I welcome new insights from the WPI community. I am currently studying the impact of this presentation on students' sense of belonging, scientific identity, and overall course performance and am interested in conducting additional studies in other courses/departments.
Källan Berglund joined the Department of Physics as an Assistant Teaching Professor for the 2024/2025 academic year. She is researching quantum gravity, astrophysics, and physics pedagogy and is continuing her dissertation research on quantum-corrected black holes: building spacetime models, investigating their properties, and exploring potential predictions.
Presented by the Physics Department and the Morgan Teaching and Learning Center.