Professional Societies and the Faculty Scholar mono6x.htm

Academic institutions are busily recon-figuring their biology departments and establishing novel programs that bring together researchers from multiple disciplines. Some of the most productive research areas in the life sciences, in fact, are at the interface between traditional disciplines. Thus, it should be no surprise that some of the most exciting advances in life sciences education are at the interface between scientists and science educators.

In classrooms and laboratories throughout the United States, undergraduate biology education is undergoing great change. Many people have already contributed substantially to these changes, and many others are exploring ways to build on that work. One such person is Dr. Paul H. Williams, a plant pathologist who, over the course of his professional career, has been actively exploring the interface between science and science education.

Dr. Paul H. Williams was the first recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award presented by the American Society of Plant Physiologists. Dr. Williams is known nationally for the “Wisconsin Fast Plants” program and “Bottle Biology,” in which he brings his research interests in brassica plants to instructional materials for teachers and students of all ages. Dr. Williams is an emeritus professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A past president of the American Phytopathological Society, he is a current member of the Education Committee of the American Society of Plant Physiologists. Dr. Williams is a founding member of the CELS Steering Committee.

Paul Williams has spent his entire professional career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first as a graduate student and then as a faculty member in the Department of Plant Pathology. Williams feels Aenormously privileged" for that long affiliation and grateful for the support of his faculty colleagues and university administration. Although he became an emeritus professor in 1997, he continues to develop rapid-cycling brassica plants as models for research and for his "Wisconsin Fast Plants" program, which uses the plants for biology exploration at all levels of education.

Like many academic researchers, Williams has periodically replotted the course of his activities. Each decade of his career, he noted, has been marked by productive activity in a given research area, followed by an opportunity to reflect and take a longer view of the field, and capped by a deliberate shift in focus. His research interests, while always connected to a cabbage breeding program and host-pathogen interactions, shifted from biochemistry and physiology to genetics and, more recently, to the relationships between genotype and environment as they influence phenotype.

Benefits of a teaching community
During his academic career, Williams benefited from a teaching environment that was characterized by continual mentoring and collegiality. "I was fortunate to be involved in the Biology Core Curriculum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 25 years," remarked Williams. An integrated biology program for students who select a rigorous series of foundational science and mathematical courses, the Biology Core Curriculum draws faculty from across the biological disciplines to teach on a voluntary basis. These faculty imparted a sense of community characterized by shared values: strong, individual commitments to student learning; a desire to experiment in their teaching; and an openness to sharing their own philosophies about pedagogy and curriculum.

"Dr. Marion Meyer, a zoology professor who participated in the Biology Core Curriculum for many years, shepherded my growth from an unimaginative teacher focusing on the compendium of existing knowledge toward sharing the excitement of learning with my students," said Williams. "After several years and several mixed successes, I became comfortable in sharing my excitement C dare I say passion C for doing science." Indeed, students leaving Williams' laboratories often remarked that they finally grasped why scientists found creative joy in their work.

In retrospect, Paul Williams credits this special teaching community for giving him the self-confidence to take risks with the curriculum. "I have learned that the vitality that comes from community and the validation of teaching as a scholarly and professional enterprise are powerful allies in sustaining my convictions," he said. He encourages others to either find or forge such a community at their own institutions and through their professional organizations.

Fortunate to have supportive colleagues who were committed to excellence in teaching, Williams introduced his research organisms C rapidly cycling stocks of brassica plants C as models for research and education that exemplified a hands-on, investigative approach. Buoyed by feedback from his students and by colleagues on other campuses who experimented with these "Wisconsin Fast Plants," Williams began to develop instructional materials for students of all ages. At that point, serendipity arrived in the form of Robert Haffner, a student assistant who helped care for Williams' brassica plants and was also a master's student with Dr. Jim Stewart, a professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at Wisconsin. Dr. Stewart taught science education courses for prospective precollege teachers and was eager to collaborate in the "Wisconsin Fast Plants" program to bring pedagogically sound, innovative materials to precollege classrooms. Indeed, this collaboration was probably essential for securing funds from the National Science Foundation.

Not unlike the climate at many academic institutions at that time, relations between the science faculty and the School of Education at Wisconsin were decidedly chilly. Nonetheless, Jim Stewart became a "boundary crosser," stepping into the culture of a scientist so that the complementary experience and rigor of the scientist and the science educator could synergize for the benefit of students. In hindsight, Paul Williams describes his willingness to invite a "boundary crosser" and, in turn, to become a "boundary crosser" as crucial to positioning himself at the richly productive interface that is characteristic of interdisciplinary activity.

The American Society of Plant Physiologists, and particularly the chair of its education committee, Dr. Ellen Weaver, validated Williams' early forays into using brassica plants as instructional materials by inviting him to present at its annual meetings and those of the National Science Teachers Association. From poster sessions to exhibits and sponsored workshops, the encouragement from professional societies led to an unexpected insight: namely, the recognition that teachers are eager for more of the stories that scientists normally share among themselves. Thus, Williams and other researchers took to storytelling, with careful attention to the use of appropriate language, to become acquainted with the boundaries and interfaces between scientists and science educators. By being receptive to teachers and their criticisms, Williams began to see how the highly specialized scientific language had been used to set science apart. "By partnering, teachers and researchers could craft a language to help integrate science more completely into the everyday life experiences of teachers and students," said Williams. "Through the appropriate use of language, the wonders of the natural world, as understood through science, can C along with other creative forms of human expression, such as art, music, and poetry C contribute to an understanding of human life."

An unbroken thread in Paul Williams' academic career C and, indeed, in the careers of many faculty C is his important role as an academic scientist attending to a spectrum that encompasses the generation of new knowledge, the integration of new and existing knowledge that leads to novel insights, and the communication of those insights toward public understanding.

Faculty interact with public constituencies through various avenues of human endeavor: some through the medical professions and their patients, others by contributing knowledge to plant and animal breeders and thence to the farming constituency, yet others by influencing policy makers and consumers. Through progressive transitions in his career, Williams has positioned himself at the stimulating and satisfying interface between his specialized discipline of plant pathology and a constituency of teachers eager to learn more about the insights he has to offer. "In fact, the many teachers that I have come to know over the past 10 years have been an enormous source of inspiration and stimulation to me," said Williams. "I encourage research faculty to get to know some science teachers as practicing professionals. Much can grow at the interface from such acquaintances."

Seven years ago, the Coalition for Education in the Life Sciences (CELS) was created as part of a nationwide effort to address science education reform. Individuals representing various professional societies came together to improve biology education, as described on pp. 14-15 of this monograph. Upon joining CELS, Paul Williams helped to develop a coherent framework for what students should know about the life sciences. Through the language of the "Issues-Based Framework for Bio 101," CELS organizers wanted to portray biology as a creative endeavor, integrated into life experiences, with relevancy and understanding that are crucial to bringing harmony to future generations.

"One of life's lessons is that each of us has a remarkable capacity to make a difference," said Williams. "We can point to particular individuals who have influenced us enormously. Perhaps we can become 'boundary crossers' ourselves. Certainly, working at the interface of science and science education has been tremendously rewarding for me."

Paul Williams has seen the power of synergy when people from various disciplines come together and share a vision. The same can be true in professional societies, when individuals representing diverse professional societies come together for a common purpose.

Lessons learned at the interdisciplinary interface: A profile of Paul H. Williams