Signal vs Noise

11 February 2022

When making a new video on any topic, I try to avoid reinventing the wheel. The topic for my classes this week is Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and I quickly found dozens of great video learning resources already available on YouTube.

Do we really need another video on this?

Can I explain this any better?

Am I amplifying signal or just adding to the noise online?

Even though PCR is casually referenced by every fictional doctor or detective that you see on TV, can students explain how it works in 3 sentences or less? Can they set up a PCR experiment from scratch in a new lab?

The reality is that making new learning resources is just as much about teachers’ professional learning as it is our students. In trying to find a new perspective for my own version of a PCR video, I learnt a lot more about confusing jargon, assumed knowledge, and common misconceptions. Even if the video doesn’t add anything else to the online conversation, I’ve learnt so much through this process. This is how I need to continually hone my craft as a teacher.

In the end I chose to focus on a practitioner’s perspective of a lab technique - how and why scientists set up a PCR reaction in the lab given all of the necessary ingredients. We cover PCR reagents, equipment, calculations, as well as visualising DNA through gel electrophoresis in the video below.

Jack.