in my last year of graduate school i had the opportunity to teach at inner city schools in denver .
i really enjoyed the experience of translating science for the students and teachers ; it was challenging and engaging , and each individual and group was different .
when i was growing up , my mother would tell me i was going to become a translator for the united nations .
i have no idea where she got the idea , but she was partly right ; i ended up translating science !
s point of view i would be a failure because i m not a faculty member running a lab at an r1 university , but the work i ve done has had a huge impact on science literacy worldwide .
someone with a ph.d . can become a high school teacher , a community college teacher , or a teacher at a primarily undergraduate institution or become a lawyer or a science writer ; there are so many careers where ph.d .- level science training is a huge asset in bringing accurate scientific understanding to the world .
faculty also need to acknowledge that there are nt nearly enough jobs at r1 universities for all the graduate students they train , so supporting students who have different career interests is critical .
the field of genetics is never still ; we are constantly making new discoveries that not only push science forward but also affect human health and disease .
genetics is becoming more and more relevant to people on a personal level . in the past
, some people might have needed to understand a bit of genetics if they served on a jury , for example .
now many people need genetics education to understand their own health care ; they need to know what genetics can and ca nt tell them about their future .
last year i was on a panel about genetically modified foods for the league of women voters .
i found that there was a lot of misinformation that people are reading and forming opinions about .
genetics is permeating popular culture and everyday life , so we need to be aware of the opportunities we have to bring accurate science to the public .
you do nt need to understand english to get something from our content ; visualizations of science take us beyond language .
judging posters at science fairs is a great way to get experience talking to students at a level that s appropriate for them and also makes scientists more accessible .
! you can also talk to school groups , doing hands - on activities with your children s classes , for example . or go to public events and speak about gmos .
it s not easy , but talking to people , conveying the excitement of discovery , making science accessible , making a career in science envisionable 
the sites are used in virtually every country in the world . partly that s because you do nt need to understand english to get something from our content ; visualizations of science take us beyond language .
the genetic science learning center had one of the first science education sites on the internet , back in 1995 , and then in 2001 we produced our first animated piece . since then we ve tried to stay at the cutting edge of educational resources online .
we aim for a multilevel learning approach , so users learn about key concepts in the multimedia items ( which we find engage the most people ) , while those who want more in - depth content can move on to the  learn more  pages .
we also try to address current issues that havent made it into textbooks yet , but that teachers and the public want to explore  topics like stem cells , epigenetics , cloning , and the human microbiome .
one of the reasons we ve been so successful is that when we develop the materials we bring together many stakeholders with different types of expertise . for most of the modules ,
we start with a summer institute with teachers from across the country , scientists , and our team of curriculum developers , instructional designers , and multimedia developers .
the teachers learn about the science from the scientists and then work in groups over several stages to identify the key concepts and learning goals .
the teachers suggest ideas for learning experiences that would help people achieve these goals , and our team takes these wonderful ideas and makes them happen .
we evaluate all our materials with classroom testing . for those modules where there are comparable materials to use as controls , we conduct small randomized control trials . for example
, we were able to show that our epigenetics materials led to higher learning gains than content from nova science now .
but when you re trailblazing , it s hard to find comparable materials that will make it a fair test !
so in many cases we instead measure short - term learning gains using pre- and post - testing as well as 2-week retention .
dr . stark has pioneered innovative approaches and resources that have transformed the accessibility of genetics education .
we re developing some exciting apps to help people explore how their senses work . in a larger effort , we re developing a 6-week high school unit on genetics and evolution that engages students in the science practices of working with data and argumentation .
we also have new materials on  food to fuel  that look at food from the point you put it in your mouth , to how it s broken into macromolecules , to how energy is either used or stored in our bodies .
we ve found that biology teachers often start their courses by having students think about how best to learn for class .
so these new materials will be useful for that because they address some really critical topics about learning 
how you really ca nt multitask , or drive and text and e - mail at the same time , for example !
 tour of the basics  was our first animated piece that came out in 2001 and we are now totally redoing those materials .
the fundamental concepts of genetics have not changed since then , but how we teach them has changed , and the look and feel of what people expect from online resources has changed dramatically .
we re very excited about this project because the old tour of the basics is still one of the most highly used pieces on the site .
it shows that people really do need a basic introduction to the key concepts in genetics .
 the genetics society of america s elizabeth w. jones award for excellence in education recognizes significant and sustained impact on genetics education . 
 the 2015 awardee , louisa stark , has made a major impact on global access to genetics education through her work as director of the university of utah genetic science learning center . 
 the center s learn.genetics and teach.genetics websites are the most widely used online genetic education resources in the world . in 2014 , they were visited by 18 million students , educators , scientists , and members of the public . with over 60 million page views annually , learn.genetics is among the most used sites on the web . 
How Did You First Become Involved in Science Education?
Why Is Genetics Education So Important?
Why Have the 
How Do You Test the Effectiveness of the Websites?
What Projects Are You Working on Now?