Teaching with TED: a curated set of TED Talks and discussion prompts for microbiology and cellular biology courses

Engaging students in biology courses can be enhanced through assignments that introduce research relevant to course content. Despite their potential, such assignments are often underutilized due to the time required to identify suitable research and to create assignments. Here, we address this issue by proposing the use of TED Talks as a resource for introducing research related to scientific topics commonly taught in undergraduate biology courses. The extensive TED Talk library offers numerous options, but selecting appropriate content can be daunting for instructors. Here, we provide a curated set of TED Talks and field-tested discussion prompts aimed specifically for Microbiology and Cellular Biology courses. These assignments were implemented in both asynchronous online and synchronous in-person formats using discussion board forums, although alternative assignment formats can be easily adapted. Student feedback about these activities indicates that TED Talks helped students connect classroom material to real-world applications and enhanced their overall learning experience. Overall, TED Talks are an enjoyable and versatile tool to diversify biology curricula, relate content to real-world issues, and improve student engagement and comprehension. Here, we provide a framework of TED Talks and discussion prompts that instructors can adapt to their courses.