NABT 2022 Announcements and Opportunities
The National Association of Biology Teachers is honoring John Jungck and Davida Smyth this year for their contributions to biology education. John is receiving the NABT Honorary Membership, the highest award conferred by the association, for his distinction in teaching, research, or service in the biological sciences. Full press release below.
Davida Smyth, Associate Professor of Biology in the Department of Life Sciences at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Texas and BioQUEST Board Member, is also being recognized with the Four-Year College & University Section Research in Biology Education Award. This award, sponsored by NABT’s Four-Year College & University Section, recognizes creativity and innovation in research that furthers our understanding of undergraduate biology teaching and education. These innovations may include, but are not limited to, scholarship and research in biology education.
The NABT Annual Conference is November 10-13, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
See below for BioQUEST-related opportunities and NABT's full press release for John.
Exciting NABT-related Opportunities
- NABT Awards lunch - NABT is proud to recognize the 2022 NABT Award Recipients during this celebration. We will honor exceptional biology teachers from all levels, and everyone is welcome to help us congratulate these remarkable professionals. If you are attending, wear your BQ shirt to the luncheon!
- Interactions in General Education Life Science Courses (IGELS) Workshop (11/10/2022 from 11:30am to 3:30 PM)
- Creating and Implementing Quantitative Biology Lessons with QB@CC, Beneficial for Both Faculty and Students Hands-on Workshop (11/11/2022 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm); QB@CC poster #: 28
Look out for the following BioQUEST folx:
- Sarah Prescott - President and Executive Director
- Sam Donovan - Director of Outreach and Strategic Engagement
- Stacey Kiser - Vice President
- Kristin Jenkins - former President and Executive Director
- John Jungck - former President and Executive Director
- Vedham Karpakakunjaram - QB@CC Co-PI
- Melanie Lenahan - QB@CC Facilitator
- Davida Smyth - Board Member
Are you going to be at NABT? Connect with us on social media through the BioQUEST and NABT accounts and watch the #NABT2022 hashtag where we will post any BioQUEST meetups during the meeting.
If you are presenting a workshop, poster, or talk you should consider publishing it in the QUBES OER Library. You will get a full citation with a DOI and your work will be easy to share with others.
Find more information about NABT 2022 programming here.
Dr. John Jungck Named 2022 NABT Honorary Member – NABT’s highest award.
Press release from NABT
It is a unique challenge to describe the impact of John Jungck's career on biology education. "Influencer" doesn't fully capture John's warmth and unwavering support as he encourages every learner and colleague he encounters. "Visionary" does not adequately convey the seismic impact of John's work. A 1994 article in Science is probably the closest when author Virginia Morrell described John as the "Godfather of Virtual Bio and Genetics Labs."
This year, the National Association for Biology Teachers is proud to name Dr. John Jungck as the 2022 NABT Honorary Member, the highest honor given by NABT. The Honorary Membership recognizes individuals who have "achieved distinction in teaching, research, or service." Even if you do not know John's name, you have benefited from his groundbreaking work in mathematical modeling, quantitative biology, and science education.
John describes himself as a "theoretical biologist who specializes in molecular evolution, evolutionary bioinformatics, image analysis, and mathematical biology education. My interests are deeply involved with various aspects of promoting interdisciplinary work: science, technology, and society; history, philosophy, and social studies of biology; art and science (STEAM – putting art in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics); numeracy (quantitative reasoning); Citizen Science and Participatory Democracy; international collaboration (International Union of Biological Sciences); mathematics and science education (PBL, collaborative learning, open-ended investigations, strategic simulations for learning long-term strategies of research, problem-solving, interdisciplinary education, progressive cyberlearning); and, promoting diversity and student retention."
It can be a lot to unpack unless you appreciate that one of John's fundamental qualities is identifying intersections (or making them happen into existence). John earned his BS in Biochemistry and Mathematics and MS in Genetics and Microbiology, both at the University of Minnesota. He then earned his PhD in Evolution, Molecular, and Cellular Biology at the University of Miami. He also has an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Minnesota.
John's experience teaching evolutionary biology led him to get involved in many organizations, including NABT. His service to NABT resulted in him being appointed editor of The American Biology Teacher in 1984. He also was NABT's formal representative to AAAS for many years.
In 1986, John co-founded the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, then at Beloit College. Working with Nils S. Peterson, CEO of From the Heart Software, John developed the "3 P's” (problem posing, problem-solving, and peer persuasion) in learning biology that is the bedrock of BioQUEST's approach to resource and network development. Interestingly, the 3P's were introduced not in a biology teaching journal but in Academic Computing in 1988.
After stepping down as the decades-long director of BioQUEST, John joined the faculty at the University of Delaware, where he is a Professor of Biological Sciences and Mathematical Sciences, the Inaugural Fellow of the Honors College, and Associate Director of the Institute for Transforming University Education.
Throughout his time at BioQUEST and now at the University, John has served as the editor for several journals, received awards and honors like being named a Fellow of AAAS, ACUBE, AIBS, and SICB, being a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand, and being a recipient of the Bruce Alberts Award from the American Society for Cell Biology and the T. H. Huxley Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution. He also has an award named after him. The John Jungck Prize for Excellence in Education is now given by the Society for Mathematical Biology.
"My aspiration as a biology educator has been to try to create a community devoted to making biology education more open and accessible so as to be more inclusive, collaborative, and supportive," said John in a statement. "As an evolutionary biologist and genetics educator, I believe that mathematics is a civil right that empowers students to become better citizens in a participatory democracy and socially responsible."
John's career changed how we teach biology. But as the letters of support for the honorary membership illustrated, John also changed why we teach biology. Words like "mentor," "connector," and "friend" really do get closer to describing John. And don't forget "Godfather."
NABT will officially recognize Dr. John Jungck at the 2022 Honors Luncheon during the NABT Professional Development Conference, where we can finally thank him for making (a least some of) us enjoy teaching math.
