Genetics Day at Alpington Primary School

Peter Markham, JIC and Bob Cottell, Alpington Primary School

January 1997 was the day my scientist arrived! Peter Markham is a genetic engineer from the John Innes Centre. To maximise his visit I organised ‘Genetics Day’ for our two Junior classes. I spent time with Peter before the term started perfecting a battle plan.

Working with 60 children in the morning, I organised a sequence of practical fun activities, which picked up key vocabulary and concepts, and by putting them into communal use, allowed them to become familiar and acquire significance. Peter arrived later with a member of his research team and a car full of goodies. I led a short discussion with the children showing Peter what we had done, and then he took the children on from there. His presentation of over an hour held the children’s interest throughout. The children then spent 35 minutes working with Peter’s goodies. ‘I was a bit sceptical about Bob’s plans, ‘ Peter said ‘but they worked really well.’

I think Primary phase teachers sometimes have an obsession with ‘concrete experience’ which may cause the ‘big ideas’ of Science to be disregarded, the ‘big ideas’ that children should know about. With skilful teaching, young children respond incredibly well to explanatory models and theories. What makes things worse is the ‘Logical Empiricist’ view of Science that is promoted to teachers, and it is often overlooked that science is as much a story of passionate belief and personal commitment as one of investigative technique. If we are trying to turn ON children to Science, then we have to teach something of its majesty, not just tinker with its method.