Last month in this space, I encouraged each of you to be the best biology educator you can be. But what does that mean? What is a good biology educator?

Being a good educator does not happen by accident. Anyone can teach, but a good teacher displays key characteristics that are found both in and out of the classroom. Being a good teacher requires three essential qualities: expert knowledge of the subject matter, the practice of "reflective teaching," and passion.

Studies on effective teaching have consistently and clearly identified one trait that forms the foundation of good teaching: expert knowledge of the subject matter (Woolfolk, 2004; Pendred, 2006). Expert knowledge can be acquired by being a good preservice biology teacher, dedicated to obtaining the necessary biological knowledge to be on the cutting edge of the discipline. I believe that each of us would agree that teachers who...

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