Many of the formal professional development opportunities we experience as physics teachers are not designed to be physics-focused experiences. Rather, they are general in nature, or lacking in robustness, or both. In this talk, I will share how we can reimagine professional development to include social media as an informal means of professional growth. Social media groups for physics teachers offer real-time support for content-related instruction, (e.g., lessons, demonstrations, and laboratory activities), as well as support for pedagogical or philosophical shifts in thinking (e.g., assessment practices, instructional practices).  As the “physics family we chose,” social media groups for physics teachers provide a connection that allows us to grow professionally on our own schedule, to learn more about what we are passionate about and interested in, and to experience sustained mutual support beyond a one-day or single event.

A significant predictor of whether a teacher will maintain a major shift in instructional practice is whether the teacher has ongoing support for that change. In this talk, I will share how the communities I have built through social media have ensured that I have that support for making changes to my own instruction. Connections I made on Twitter not only helped me find new ideas for my classroom, but lead to deeper conversations including a virtual professional learning community (PLC), an organically organized virtual book study, and feedback on lessons I shared on a 180 blog. I will discuss how these experiences have helped to shape my instruction and have translated into in-person connections and experiences that have been important to my professional growth and in sustaining and deepening my efforts to make my instruction more equitable and more student-centered.

Everything from new labs, cutting edge technology to student behavior trends is shared on teacher social media. It can be intimidating seeing “highlight reels” of successes and can quickly become an echo chamber if you only follow those suggested for you by algorithms. Social media gives us the opportunity to expand our circle of influences and learn from different voices. Following teachers and scientists from different areas, backgrounds and fields of study can contribute much to your teaching. Sharing our difficulties, our ideas yet to be tried and our works in progress is also important as a community. There is a large body of knowledge across physics social media communities, spanning generations of teachers and decades of teaching experience, that can be leveraged on social media for everything from solving problems to identifying antique equipment. Everyone can learn from each other when we are open and willing to learn from each other.

Social media can be a powerful tool for physics teachers’ professional growth when used to connect with colleagues, especially for teachers who do not have other physics teachers geographically close to them. This interactive portion of the session will follow talks from three teachers on their use of social media and focus on strategies and tools to locate and participate in high school physics teacher communities on several popular social media platforms. The speakers will share some of our approaches and strategies, but participants will also have the opportunity to explore these platforms, share their own experiences using  social media to improve their teaching practice, and connect with other teachers interested in virtual communities and collaborations.