The answer is simple: Dr. Wynne is an absolutely incredible teacher. She is capable of taking a potentially alienating, math-ridden (math strikes fear into the hearts of liberal arts enthusiasts like myself) subject like Biology and presenting it in a manner that makes it immediately relevant to her students. She avoids conventional lecturing and opts for hands-on, problem-based learning grounded in real-life application.
The following section is comprised of a brief interview I conducted with Dr. Wynne. I approached her with a desire to understand what made her one of my favorite teachers despite the fact that I encountered her within the boundaries of a discipline I made a great effort to avoid. Also, with her permission, I have included pictures demonstrating a few ways that she transforms a subject that, at the introductory level, usually requires rote memorization and fact regurgitation into an interesting, relevant, and rewarding learning experience.
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| Dr. Cynthia Wynne and company passing out exams |
Q: How long do you typically spend lecturing during a standard class? How do you make your lectures interactive and interesting?
A: I like it when students participate, and ask questions, so I often try to teach the material by answering student questions. I find that students actually will ask enough questions, and ask the "right" questions, so that I can cover most of the material just by answering the questions. I think of these moments as "teachable moments." When students ask questions, that is when the answers will be relevant to them. So instead of saying, "we will get to that soon," I just go ahead and address it then.
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| Just another day in Dr. Wynne's lab |
A: [I assign] the Independent Research Project in lab, in which students design their own project to carry out based on their hypothesis.
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| A 2012 Trip to Claytor Lake- 15 students accompanied Dr. Wynne to Claytor Lake to save, count, and identify stranded mussels. |
A: My best quality as a teacher is that I really love my students! I love Biology, too, which doesn't hurt, but I love my students more than the subject!
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| Dr. Wynne's DNA Fingerprinting Lab- students take their own DNA samples and analyze them. |
A: I do use hands-on approaches, but I don't think they are very unique. I pretty much use the approaches that other teachers use. I try to give as much positive feedback as possible, which might by a little unique. For example, sometimes I ask a yes or no question, and when a student answers wrong, I will say "you are close," instead of you are wrong. That always gets a good laugh. In lab, when students are wrestling with a challenging problem, I am usually more hands off than hands on. I will watch, and encourage, but I try not to step in and do the work for the student. I will support them as much as I can, but (even though it would often be easier and faster for me to just do it) I let the student figure it out by themselves if they can. If they can't, I give hints and tips until they can.
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| One of Dr. Wynne's students trying sauteed mealworms in class |
A: I do have a learner-oriented classroom in the sense that I do let students choose, to some extent, what they learn and when they learn it. Since I have a limited time to cover any given chapter, the parts that get covered are the parts that students ask questions about. I kind of let students lead the learning in that way. If we don't have time to cover everything in the chapter, I don't worry too much. I figure if they need that information in the future, they can Google it.
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| Students holding a tarantula in Dr. Wynne's lab |
Thus, Dr. Wynne's success as a professor is multifaceted. Rather than committing an hour and a half three days a week to "sage on the stage" lecturing, she encourages students to maintain agency over their learning process by providing a comfortable classroom environment and encouraging them to ask questions. Her students engage in problem-based learning where possible; Dr. Wynne's Independent Research Lab encourages students to choose their own topics for exploration, identify and evaluate the knowledge they already have and the knowledge they need, and use critical methods and research to come to a sound conclusion. In this project, her students are not only learning about their chosen topics through methods they select, but they are learning to critically analyze their own knowledge in a given subject and how to improve it.
Perhaps the most compelling element of Dr. Wynne's pedagogical approach is her ability to create memorable, rather, unforgettable educational adventures. In my experience, no teacher provided this amount or style of hands-on, active learning experiences after her sections of Biology. Dr. Wynne does not rely on a rigid attendance policy to ensure active, engaged participation from her students. Instead, she ensures that each class session promises fascinating, unique methods of learning, questioning, and internalizing topics that could otherwise be written off as flashcard material.
Dr. Wynne's sincere passion for her subject and for teaching, combined with genuine love and concern for her students, frames her pedagogical approach and cultivates successful learning and enthusiastic engagement within her students. Problem-based instructional methods and a student-oriented classroom merge seamlessly with her fervor for her educating students within her discipline.
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