‘Great Teacher’ Robin Cooper helps students see science beyond the classroom

This February, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association honored six recipients of this year’s Great Teacher Awards.

Launched in 1961, the awards are the longest-running UK recognition program for accomplished and passionate educators.

To receive the honor, teachers must first be nominated by a student. The UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Committee, in cooperation with the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa, then makes the final selection. Recipients receive a commemorative award and stipend.

Robin Cooper, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, is one of this year’s distinguished Great Teacher Award recipients.

Cooper has been a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences since 1996. As the director of undergraduate studies for neuroscience, he co-manages an interdepartmental program of nearly 600 students. A specialist in comparative physiology and neurobiology, Cooper has earned statewide and university-level recognition for his pedagogical contributions, including the UK Provost Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Kentucky Academy of Science Outstanding College/University Teacher award.

For Cooper, effective teaching goes beyond helping students memorize concepts from a textbook. It’s about showing them how those concepts come to life in the world around them.

Whether he’s teaching physiology, neurobiology or guiding students through a lab exercise, Cooper believes learning is most meaningful when students can connect classroom lessons to real-world applications.

“Instead of just teaching the content of the course, you really have to teach them that it integrates with real world situations,” Cooper said. “If it’s physiology, it all has a practical application.”

That philosophy shapes his approach in both the classroom and the lab. Cooper enjoys working closely with students in hands-on settings, where they can move beyond theory and experience discovery firsthand. Through laboratory research and practical demonstrations, he helps students see how scientific principles connect to clinical practice, research breakthroughs and everyday life.

A prolific mentor, Cooper has co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed papers with undergraduate students and has seen his high school mentees win awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair. His leadership in STEM education extends to his role as a co-principal investigator for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which focuses on improving STEM education in Kentucky. He is also the founder of a global “Citizen Science” initiative designed to engage K-12 students in original research.

Cooper holds a Ph.D. in physiology from Texas Tech University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Kentucky. He was named a Chellgren Endowed Professor in 2019 for his leadership in promoting undergraduate excellence.

To learn more about what makes Cooper a “Great Teacher,” check out the video and “Behind the Blue” podcast episode above. 

In the coming months, UKNow will continue to share stories featuring this year’s Great Teacher Award winners.

“Behind the Blue” is available via a variety of podcast providers, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to receive new episodes each week, featuring UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists, writers and the most important news impacting the university.

“Behind the Blue” is a production of the University of Kentucky. Transcripts for most episodes are now embedded in the audio file and can be accessed in many podcast apps during playback. Transcripts for older episodes remain available on the show’s blog page. 

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This podcast has been edited for time and clarity.