Early Revelations of Great Teachers.

This article focuses on award-winning professors of United States, and discusses the moments that made them better in the classroom. According to the sponsors of the contest, the winners were chosen for their outstanding commitment to teaching undergraduate students and their influence on teaching. According to William R. Alexander, a professor of English language and literature at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, an incident, nearly 30 years ago, opened him up to trusting what goes on in the classroom. That experience helped shape a teaching career that in November 2005 won Alexander an award as one of the four U.S. Professors of the Year 2005. Carlos G. Gutierrez, a professor of chemistry at California State University at Los Angeles, made a discovery that has helped shape his approach: Teaching doesn't have to be a performance.