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Although Dr. Greene manages to say a lot in this article, the importance of convincing a student to "want to learn" resonated most with me. I think that this point extends beyond science education, and I hope I don't get too far off track.
I had a hard time keeping up once I started college. Students were strangely enthusiastic and mastered material quickly and thoroughly. It took me a few months to realize my problem. I had been taking a passive approach to my classes - I would sit and listen and write words down and hope that my brain retained it. I found that this is a tough habit to break.
If a teacher can persuade a student to take a genuine interest in the subject matter, she has saved herself a boatload of work. People who have passion for an subject will actively pursue further knowledge. I imagine that pride, as well as interest, drives them to do so. When I have been able to convince myself that I really want to know something, I take satisfaction in the hours of study that follows. My guess is that interest in a subject creates sort of a positive feedback cycle: you decide that you want to learn more, then you do, then you feel like maybe you're not so dumb after all, and you keep gulping knowledge because it makes you feel good about yourself.
Because our education system has traditionally set standards of competency for students to attain, it makes sense that teachers are largely concerned with throwing information at their classes. I would say you can "own" knowledge the same way you own property. When you're renting an apartment, you don't have much attachment to the place. When you own a house, you can really appreciate it. Similarly, students seem to enjoy learning most when they feel that they are, on some level, teaching themselves.