Grade-12 teachers at the school were keen to brush up on their knowledge of the Genetics syllabus content and to learn innovative techniques for teaching this content in resource-poor schools.

As the chickens in the school’s farm outside clucked and preened, the teachers manipulated their clay ‘chromosomes’ on the paper ‘cells and nuclei’. Genetic crosses were made and worksheets filled in. The participants enjoyed the hands-on teaching strategies and kept the presenters busy with questions until late on Saturday afternoon. Several requests were made for similar workshops in the districts where the teachers taught. 

The presenters were Ms Christa Havenga, Deputy Chief Education Specialist and Provincial Coordinator for Agricultural subjects in Gauteng, and Dr Mia Abrie, module coordinator for Agricultural Sciences Education in the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) programme of the UP Faculty of Education.