It would be such an awesome coincidence if the study of Genomics was a spiral curriculum as a metaphor for the spiral double helix of the DNA being studied. Alas, I believe that the study of Biological Sciences and specifically of Genomics is more like doing a very large picture puzzle, but there is not image on top of the box. As teachers then, we assist students by helping them pull out a few pieces at a time to get an idea of what the picture looks like. The easiest pieces to pull out of the box are the edge pieces. As we put the edge pieces in place, and start to sort out a few of the inner pieces, the bigger picture starts to come into focus. Each teacher probably has a unique way of pulling the pieces out and laying them on the table. The order of the initial pieces does not really matter as long as some progress is made. Some students will need to see fewer pieces prior to conceptualizing the bigger picture. Overall however, we want all our students to be successful at the end of the course, knowing that at the high school level many of the puzzle pieces remain in the box to be pulled out in undergrad or even in post-graduate studies by only a few of the students. This blog will endeavor to examine various pieces of the puzzle on an ongoing basis. Anytime new pieces are produced (through research) which assist our overall understanding of genomics, I will do my best to make them available. Some of you may have ideas, suggestions and/or curricular approaches to the ideas presented. I encourage you to comment on the blog and share your information with other teachers in the province who are part of this Genomics network.