"A Glimpse of Light" - An educational proposal for inclusive science teaching.

Despite efforts to increase diversity in STEM fields, gender disparity persists, particularly at the critical point of transition from high school to university. To address this, a project has been designed by the Research Group on Physics and Astronomy Education at the University of Padua to develop and implement orientation actions for high school students, with a focus on improving inclusivity and self-efficacy in STEM. The project involves two 12th-grade groups from a linguistic high school in Italy and consists of a series of activities exploring scientific concepts related to the concept of light while also promoting inclusive learning. The "Design Your Own Problem" assessment tool will be implemented to evaluate the impact of the project by measuring how students integrate their identities into scientific contexts. Moreover, the Physics Self-Efficacy Questionnaire will be used to assess students' confidence in performing Physics-related tasks. By incorporating inclusive and interactive learning practices, this project aims to improve science identity in students and change negative attitudes towards STEM disciplines.