How well do primary school aged children understand, interpret and reflect on genetics?
Jess Oliver
About the project
鈥業 wanted to bring an interdisciplinary approach around genetics to these children, as was done in the module (鈥�).I wanted them to think not only about the facts of science and how it may affect them but also how it affects the people around them and society in general.鈥�
鈥楧uring [the activity] 鈥榗racking the code鈥� I was asked if the body does the same thing and so they clearly understood how our body is using DNA. 鈥楤ingo鈥� showed that children were thinking about what is inherited (鈥�) clearly they were thinking more in depth about their traits.鈥�
鈥榃hen the discussion started [about ethics], I initially got the response that yes it was a good idea to design people because 鈥測ou can make people look good鈥� (鈥�). However, as we talked more about the ethics of 鈥榙esigner babies鈥�, the children really engaged with why this could be a negative thing (鈥�). They came up with their own ideas such as designer babies 鈥榤ay take away their individuality鈥� and that if someone was not genetically modified and everyone else was then they may feel left out.鈥�
鈥�(鈥�) the results of this workshop support the hypothesis that young children can understand difficult and somewhat complex concepts that society is currently debating. They are indeed able to understand basic facts about genetics, interpret what DNA can be used for and reflect upon the risks and benefits of using it in different ways.鈥�
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