Seaver College Professor Krista Lucas Earns Biology Teaching Award

Krista Lucas, an assistant professor of teaching of biology at Seaver College, recently earned the Four-Year Section Biology Teaching Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). This honor celebrates educators, like Lucas,  who make learning science accessible and fun through innovative pedagogical tactics. 

 “Earning this award is one of the greatest honors of my career,” says Lucas. “The NABT works with incredible teachers from kindergarten level all the way through college. It was very encouraging to receive this award from a professional organization with such talented breadth.”

In her role at Seaver College, Lucas teaches general education lab sciences as well as introductory biology major classes. This course load puts her in contact with a wide variety of undergraduate students—both those who are interested in the sciences and those who are not. With this broad demographic, Lucas ensures that her curriculum supplies students with real-world skills that will benefit them outside the classroom. 

“Everyone needs to be able to have some sort of fluency with science,” explains Lucas. “I want my students to be able to determine what a good source is, and I want them to see that the course content extends beyond class.” 

Students apply these vital skills by completing a final project centered on scientific news literacy. They begin by typing in the phrase, “a new study says,” into a search engine. From there, they find an article highlighting a topic they are interested in and begin digesting not just the science itself but also the primary source the conclusions are based on. This investigative process challenges undergraduates to separate the hard science facts from the more easily understood, headline-worthy findings. By engaging students in this search for concrete sources and evidence, Lucas demonstrates the importance of academic inquiry.

With the Four-Year Section Biology Teaching Award, the NABT celebrates the inventive ways Lucas makes biology a widely accessible subject. In order to secure the honor, an educator must be nominated, complete an application, and supply multiple letters of support. The NABT originated this specific award in 2005, making Lucas its 20th recipient.

“Students rarely remember all the facts and small details from a course, but they will remember the major lessons,” says Lucas. “I am always thinking about my nonscience majors and how they might interact with my course content later on.”