WHAT WE LEARNED ON THE DNA BOOTCAMP
Michelle Leonard reflects on the first DNA Bootcamp – and we share details of the new Bootcamp starting soon. Hands-on experience is the best way to learn, so if you’ve been meaning to get to grips with DNA for a while, read on
DNA Detective Michelle Leonard reflects on the first-ever Bootcamp
DNA Bootcamp Tutor, Michelle Leonard
Teaching my DNA Bootcamp for Family Tree was a richly rewarding experience that gave me licence to create a deeper dive into DNA education than is ever possible within the confines of one-off webinars.
As a professional genealogist and DNA detective I spend a large proportion of my working life honing techniques for using DNA for family history purposes and subsequently coaching others on how to get the most out of their DNA results either one-onone or via groups and webinars.
I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed this course. As a retired teacher and someone who has worked as a teacher trainer, I can certainly confirm that Michelle is a very talented tutor. Jill
Planning the experience
As anyone who may have watched one of my webinars will know, I pack a lot into the allotted time! I'm so passionate about my subject that there's always so much I want to convey, and too little time in which to do it, so the additional time the Bootcamp afforded me allowed me to structure and delve deeper into all the key techniques I love to teach and made for a liberating experience.
I enjoyed the process of building the Bootcamp from the presentation slides to the course materials and especially choosing the practical tasks I hoped would enhance the learning experience for the bootcampers!
Putting it into practice
Practical hands-on application is hugely important when it comes to learning how to use DNA for genealogy; I
It was such a delight to work with Michelle and the DNA Bootcamp students. Each week Michelle put us through our paces, setting us tasks and challenges to go away and employ in our own DNA research, and she was excellent at making us feel that no question was too stupid (which is a great relief when it comes to DNA). It was really exciting hearing of people’s discoveries as the weeks went by, and surprisingly emotional too at times – really at the heart of family history. I loved every minute of it.
Helen Tovey, Editor, Family Tree
always say ‘doing’ is the way to learn and don’t be afraid of making mistakes as they are stepping stones to getting it right! I was really pleased with the way bootcampers embraced the tasks and it was great to see and hear about those lightbulb moments happening as they got stuck into working with their own DNA results.
Sharing experiences
I work on DNA mysteries, such as unknown parentage cases, on a daily basis and it’s so exhilarating when I finally experience that ‘eureka’ moment when the last pieces of the jigsaw puzzle come together and I have the answer! I’m passionate and enthusiastic about coaching others and my number one goal was to see the bootcampers making practical advancements with their own DNA research, solving their own mysteries and having their own personal ‘eureka’ moments. It was such a joy to see their confidence grow throughout the course and to receive emails detailing the successes they had gained from using my teaching and techniques!
A time to reflect
Another aspect of the Bootcamp that I felt was particularly important was the alternate week follow-up sessions; instead of diving straight into more new content, it was good to pause, take a breath, talk over the previous week's learning and answer any queries related to that content. There were some excellent questions at times and it was fun to interact with everyone in a relaxed way. It's nice to see faces and hear voices but we also made it clear that it was equally fine to stay off camera and just listen in if preferred; it was all very flexible.
Learning at your own pace
I was also really impressed with the hub page the Family Tree Magazine team produced behind the scenes to house the Bootcamp and I know it was invaluable to students to have access to recordings of all of the sessions to revisit. Many told me they watched a section of the webinars, put
This course has really helped me understand a bit more about genetic genealogy and it’s taken my research in new directions. I’ve got a few ancient brick walls now tantalisingly close to being broken as well as breaking a brick wall in my partner’s tree. I’m so pleased and it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable course too. Claire Thank you for the very informative sessions. I have certainly learnt so much from doing the Bootcamp. Although I couldn’t attend the Zoom sessions I found the recorded sessions were available without any fuss. Patricia
the teaching into practice using their own DNA results and then carried on to the next section. Everyone learns at a different pace and it’s important to go at your own speed. I strongly encouraged this model as I feel it is the best way to truly soak in the knowledge and gain realworld success. While I aimed to pack a large punch with the volume of information in each webinar session (it is a Bootcamp after all!) I designed everything with this kind of bitesize learning in mind at the same time. The opportunity to access all of the recordings for three months after the end of the course was also a very popular addition.
Finally, it was a pleasure to work with Family Tree. I loved being able to share my passion for DNA testing for family history with such a fantastic group of enthusiastic students and I look forward to doing it all again very soon both with a re-run of the original Bootcamp (but over more weeks, and with an accompanying DNA Bootcamp Workbook too!) and a future brand new follow-up course because there s always more to say and learn about using DNA for family history!