We do science through empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism. Each of these components aid in the prediction and the control of a natural phenomenon. Our job as science educators is to help our students to develop an understanding for this logic.

TAs and lectures who teach the introductory series for majors have the objective of facilitating the tools for them to understand how science works. In the first portion of these series, they learn how to build blocks of life where they learn terms such as osmosis, diffusion, photosynthesis; while in the second portion, they learn how to integrate these blocks of life at a system level. Here they talk about plant transpiration and blood circulation while revisiting those term from the first portion.

Besides introducing a handful of topics to our students, it is crucial to analyze our teaching methods. It is pointless to lecture students if they are not seeing the big picture. In order to build a community of learners, students need to be engaged with the material we are presenting to them. It will depend on the educator how to get the students attention. As a TA, I try to relate things to the real world, maybe by using a story, experience, or even a meme. There are different levels of engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) and if we address each one of them we could increase our chances to sustain our student’s engagement. It is not always going to work, but it is worth the try!