Resources

Early Childhood Experiences Can Change our DNA

Introduction

The future of education is going to be about investing more in early learning. We can use the science of epigenetics to understand why experiences early in life are so critical to learning, and to other important outcomes over the course of a lifetime. Epigenetics is a new and exciting field of research which is connected to a number of different areas of research. It's important for anyone interested in the fields of education, child psychology, family policy, and human development.

Early Childhood Experiences Can Change our DNA: The science of epigenetics shows us how our earliest experiences affect who we can become

Most people think that their future is something they control. But in fact, much of our destiny is already written into our DNA by the time we're less than 5 years old. The science of epigenetics - a new, hot area of research - shows that our experiences in early childhood shape how our DNA is expressed and how our genes play out. This means that what happens to us in childhood has a huge impact on our susceptibility to stress, our ability to love, and even our lifelong health.

Download the resource activity: "Early Childhood Experiences Can Change our DNA: The science of epigenetics shows us how our earliest experiences affect who we become" (scroll down and click the "download" button) and then watch the lecture video below!

Video Resource

Resource activities

Early Childhood Experiences Can Change our DNA: The science of epigenetics shows us how our earliest experiences affect who we become

Please check out this worksheet before watching the lecture on Epigenetics.

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Activity questions

Write down 3 experiences from your childhood that you think affected you. These could be 'moments in time' like the time you fell off your bike, or they could be longer-term experiences, like living with a parent who smoked.
Think about whether you think 'nature' or 'nurture' is more important in how kids turn out. Why do you think one over the other to be true?
Most of us tend to have a 'gut reaction' to the previous question about nature vs nurture. Can you think of 2 solid arguments to back up your choice? These should be fact-based and outside of your personal experiences.

Reflective questions

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Task 1

What are the key arguments, concepts, points contained within it?

Task 2

What are you struggling to understand?

What could you do to improve your understanding of these concepts/terminology etc.?

Task 3

What further questions has this resource raised for you?

What else are you keen to discover about this topic and how could you go about learning more?

Can you make any links between this topic and your prior knowledge or school studies?

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