Science Expo 2014

Eid Mubarak to all Muslim Scholars and their families.

Expo Projects from Muslim Scholars can be handed in any time this week. Remember though that in order to be considered for Gauteng Regional Finals, your project must be evaluated by the Wednesday 30th of July 2014. Mr Conacher will be available on Wednesday from after school till 14:00, and could go on to 15:00 (If needed).

Our grateful thanks to the University of Pretoria (with a special word of thanks to Professor and Mrs Meyer) for their assistance with the judging of the projects, their input was amazing and we really appreciate them spending their time with us.

To the scholars that presented today, thank you for all your hard work, I trust you now realise that procrastination leads to crisis, and know you learnt a lot and also enjoyed sharing your knowledge with others. Remember you will do another Science Expo in High School, and lessons learnt today should be implemented then.

Our thanks go to Dr Evangelides, Mr McLeod and Mr Botha, as well as to the teachers, students and scholars from the College and the Preparatory School for coming and sharing with us.

Further thanks go to Mr Makhubela and his team for their efficient and supportive role in assisting us in with many of the unseen activities in preparing for today.

Grateful thanks to the parents and all the staff at Crawford and other schools that taught the Grade 6’s the skills they utilised today. Further thanks to Mrs Vos, Ms Naidoo, Mrs Baird and Mrs Swanepoel for them using Science Expo in a cross subject cross curriculum manner and to Mrs Joubert and Mrs Malan for their kind, friendly and efficient supportive role.

A weary but elated Mr C salutes you all.

Plagiarism Declaration

Please find the Plagiarism Declaration in dropbox, and include it with your EXPO project on Monday.

Same Genes ‘Drive Maths and Reading Ability

Same genes ‘drive maths and reading ability’

By Helen BriggsHealth editor, BBC News website

Twins at secondary school: How much do genes influence academic success?

The same genes drive maths and reading ability, research suggests.

Around half of the genes that influence a child’s aptitude for reading also play a role in how easily they learn maths, say scientists.

The study of 12-year-old British twins from 3,000 families, reported in Nature Communications, adds to the debate about the role of genes in education.

An education expert said the work had little relevance for public policy as specific genes had not been identified.

Past research suggests both nature and nurture have a similar impact on how children perform in exams.

Finding such strong genetic influence does not mean that there is nothing we can do if a child finds learning difficult – heritability does not imply that anything is set in stone ” – Robert PlominKing’s College London

One study found genes explained almost 60% of the variation in GCSE exam results.

However, little is known about which genes are involved and how they interact.

‘Not set in stone’

The new research suggests a substantial overlap between the genetic variations that influence mathematics and reading, say scientists from UCL, the University of Oxford and King’s College London.

But non-genetic factors – such as parents, schools and teachers – are also important, said Prof Robert Plomin of King’s College London, who worked on the study.

“The study does not point to specific genes linked to literacy or numeracy, but rather suggests that genetic influence on complex traits, like learning abilities, and common disorders, like learning disabilities, is caused by many genes of very small-effect size,” he said.

Children differ genetically in how easy or difficult they find learning, and these individual differences need to be recognised and respected, he explained.

“Finding such strong genetic influence does not mean that there is nothing we can do if a child finds learning difficult,” he added.

“Heritability does not imply that anything is set in stone – it just means it may take more effort from parents, schools and teachers to bring the child up to speed.”

‘Limitation’

The study adds to the debate about the role of genes in children’s educational attainment, said Dr John Jerrim of the Institute of Education.

But he said the “key limitation” was that the authors “cannot (and do not) tell us which genes are actually thought to influence children’s reading and maths ability”.

“Until researchers are able to identify the specific genes that are thought to influence children’s reading and math skills, and show that such associations are robust in numerous academic studies, then such work has little relevance for public policy,” he said.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28211676