since i started graduate school , i ve asked this question of my peers and professors alike . many point to an influential teacher . in fact , beth jones was one of my most influential teachers , so being recognized as a winner of the elizabeth w. jones award for excellence in education is especially meaningful to me . without a doubt , beth was also my all - time scariest teacher . if anyone did nt provide a well - reasoned , plausible , articulate answer , she did nt suffer the indignity in silence . she pointed out the flaws immediately and with gusto , whether in the classroom , the lab , or in a seminar . on the occasions i was able to earn a robin s right !  from her , it felt like the heavens opened and a beam of light streamed onto my head . in addition to influential teachers , an intense experience is often pivotal in the decision to pursue biology . these experiences often happen in a lab , where the person realized how curiosity could fuel determination and resilience . others point to a moment in which they felt that they had made a leap of understanding or saw something that no one else had yet seen . in essence , they had fallen in love with  doing biology .  in the 30 or so years of my probing , i have yet to meet anyone who says , i decided to be a biologist while i was listening to a great lecture .  instead , these moments of clarity were earned by their own actions , thinking , and struggles . the influential teachers were those who motivated this effort , who encouraged the hard work and  stick - to - it - ness if i think about the thousands of hours i sat in lectures as an undergraduate , it looks like i may have just been lucky . i made my way into biology almost in spite of how it was taught , not because of it . but , what about equally capable students who did nt have the patience or independent learning skills we did ? who have we lost to science because we emphasize facts over process ? years later , after the facts of biology are distant glimmers , they may still be able to call upon the process , the logic , and the utility of science to make important life decisions . one hypothesis for this state of affairs is that professors just do nt care about teaching . although professors do negotiate decreased teaching duties so they have more time for their research , i have never met anyone who did nt honestly care about her / his students learning , even if that caring was couched in complaints about what their students were nt able to do . it is therefore surprising that many faculty act as if they are ashamed that they care about teaching at all . for example , i systematically interviewed almost all of the faculty in my college about their teaching . i really care about my students and their learning , but none of my colleagues do . we seem to have inherited a culture that we perpetuate by consciously divorcing our teaching mission from our research mission and , in some cases , even from our own values . as a result we feel uncomfortable or even threatened if another person asks to sit in on our classes . we ca nt imagine that our colleagues would be interested in our teaching innovations or successes , or have suggestions on solving our teaching challenges . shrouded in the mantle of academic freedom , we view teaching as a personal rather than a public endeavor . we look at teaching as if it is about ourselves as individuals  what i choose to teach , how i choose to teach it  rather than how my course builds on and fits in with my students other courses . that is my simple proposition : to improve biology education , teach as if the only thing that matters is what your students are able to do , or do better , at the end of the course than at the beginning . first , by simply assigning readings and holding students accountable , you can relax a bit . that expensive textbook becomes your ally . because your students take a reading quiz at the start of monday s class so , your role moves from presenting biology concepts to creating a safe , exciting environment in which your students willingly wrestle with the implications of those concepts and apply them to real , unanswered problems that biologists face . through your homework assignments , in - class activities , and exams you are also conscious that your job includes helping your students build skills that will be critical for success in biology and elsewhere : working effectively in a team ; communication skills ; information literacy ; critical thinking skills ; problem solving skills ; all of the so - called  soft skills  that are actually more difficult to master than the hard facts . through most of the class period , you wander through the room , checking in with each group of students , listening to their ideas , critiquing their thinking , making suggestions for improvements , helping them to navigate the research literature . from time to time , you call the class together so groups can share potential solutions , critique them , and build on them . after all , the sum of human knowledge is in the air around you , available almost instantly via google . so instead of lecturing , you can model how a skilled biologist navigates this vast ocean of facts , ideas , false leads , and outright untruths . in the  doing biology classroom , your relationship with your students feels more like your relationship with the researchers in your lab . you are their mentor , the person who expects excellent work , and who does nt pull your punches when they do nt deliver the quality you and your discipline expect . robin wright has transformed biological education at the university of minnesota , ensuring that biology is taught in ways that improve student understanding and allow them to become independent thinkers . david kirkpatrick , university of minnesota because it s no longer about you , you no longer have to ( try to ) give a compelling lecture about meiosis that holds the attention of a room full of 18-year - olds who have electronic devices and are nt afraid to use them . your job is to create a problem about meiosis that is so compelling , delicious , and authentic that they work diligently during class to apply what they know about meiosis to solve it and , if they havent figured it out in time , will continue even after class is over . working through the problem , they do the hard , frustrating work of biology . some of them will fall in love with the work , but all will understand what that work requires . years later , after the facts of biology are distant glimmers , they may still be able to call upon the process , the logic , and the utility of science to make important life decisions . given the constraints on our time and resources , can we afford to teach in a way that is all about our students ? what about students who will not pursue biology as a career ? do they really need to learn the day - to - day , business - end of biology ? i believe that we cheat our students of understanding the beauty and limitations of science if we do nt teach biology to all students , regardless of major , in a way that reflects how biology is done . in fact , because there are so many more nonmajors , the total impact of a  doing biology the good news is that requiring students to do biology costs no more in time or effort than lecturing . for example , instead of preparing a lecture , you can require students ( major or nonmajor ) to read a chapter in the text and then work in a team to interpret research results related to those concepts . more importantly , investing teaching effort in what students themselves do , rather than what a lecturer says , produces more than just biology content knowledge : it strengthens students problem solving skills , their ability to be skeptical , their ability to think critically . teaching by lecture is akin to burying your money in your mattress ; it does nt yield any additional benefits . in fact , isolated and stuck in the mattress , the money becomes worth less and less as inflation whittles away its value , much as specific knowledge often becomes less valuable as new knowledge emerges . teaching by focusing on what students do is like investing in a low - risk stock ; your investment in each student will grow as they themselves do . most of us will likely have greater impact on biology through our work in the classroom than our work in the lab . so , choose the approach that will leave the largest impact , the richest legacy . a simple proposition
the genetics society of america s elizabeth w. jones award for excellence in education recognizes significant and sustained impact on genetics education . 
 consistent with her philosophy of linking research and education , the 2014 awardee robin wright includes undergraduate students in all of her research . 
 she seeks to teach how to think like and to actually be a biologist , working in teams and looking at real - world problems . 
 she emphasizes a learner - centered model of classroom work that promotes and enhances lifelong skills , and has transformed biology education at the university of minnesota through several efforts including developing the interactive , stimulating foundations of biology course sequence , encouraging active learning and open - ended research ; supporting the construction of active learning classrooms ; and establishing student learning outcomes , standards that measure biology education . 
 she serves as founding editor - in - chief of coursesource , focusing national effort to collect learner - centered , outcomes - based teaching resources in undergraduate biology .