Watching Paint Dry
Project Essential Questions:
How does the structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic and macroscopic levels determine its physical, chemical, and biological properties with emphasis on their use in building construction?
How do the design of buildings, selection of building materials, construction process and use of a building affect the overall sustainability of a building project and the user experience in the building?
How does the structure of matter on the atomic, molecular, microscopic and macroscopic levels determine its physical, chemical, and biological properties with emphasis on their use in building construction?
How do the design of buildings, selection of building materials, construction process and use of a building affect the overall sustainability of a building project and the user experience in the building?
Reflection Questions and Student Responses:
Question 1: What new information did you learn through doing this project? I am interested in 1-2 paragraphs summarizing your new understanding of your topic. I am particularly interested in your new understanding about the two Essential Questions(located at the bottom of this document).
I am expecting more than general or vague statements like “I learned about steel/concrete”or “I learned how paint is sustainable”. Instead, explain what you learned like “I learned why steel is stronger when carbon is included….” or “I learned that composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions because….”
From this project, I gained a new understanding of how paint can really affect humans in many different ways. From the chemical to the physical to psychological, paint is way more than just delicious eye candy. My specific role in this project was to design the psychological piece of paint. The chemicals in paint affect the brain waves, the nervous system, and hormonal activity within humans. This leads to brain responses otherwise known as emotion. Colors in longer wavelengths tend to be more stimulating than those of shorter wavelengths, causing the brain to respond to different colors in different ways. Warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow trigger higher arousal emotions, such as love, passion, anger, and happiness. Cool colors such as blue, green, and violet tend to invoke sadness, calmness, and indifference.
To add on, I also thought it was pretty interesting that different shades of color can have effects on your mood as well. There are four basic color groups, including pale, neutrals, whites, and deeps. The pale category usually creates an environment comfortable and easy to live in and colors to complement that, including lavender, ballet pink, and sky blue. The neutral category are the colors that go beyond blacks and browns. The whites category consist of cream, eggshell, ivory, navajo white, vanilla, etc. Deeps are often a more bold choice of color. These bold colors include violet, ruby, onyx, etc. Although this information did not make the final cut for the project, I still find it very interesting that the depth of the color can have effects on those brain waves as well.
Question 2: What new skills, dispositions, or lessons did you learn from this project?
This could include learning a new software program or new skills in a program you were familiar with, learning how to work better in a group or how you can avoid certain pitfalls of group work in the future, learning how to budget time or money on a project etc. Be specific and show the growth you made as a person/student through the work you’ve done.
Honestly, from this project, my biggest take away was probably that I work better alone or do not work well with certain people. My group, for instance, did not really work as much of a group. We did not get together much to work on things for this project. We maybe got together for a little while and sorted out what each of us needed to do, and then we would just go our separate ways. There was a lot of miscommunication and in some situations, no communication at all, which I found to be frustrating, considering I am so much of a planner. That and the fact that I was pretty confused for the majority of work-time on this project, but when I asked my partners for clarification, they would say they didn’t know or didn’t understand either. It just felt like a challenging topic/project to do and honestly, I wish that I would’ve just done one on my own. I probably would’ve had a better understanding and have learned more if I had done that.
If I’m being honest, I did not put as much work into this project as I could’ve. I tried to give it my all and do as much as I could but I would say it was definitely not an equal amount of work for all three of us and I believe I deserve a lower grade because of that. The only part of the project I did was the psychology and the exhibition prototype statement. I think that part of the reason why I didn’t necessarily do as much as I could’ve is mainly because I was just confused. I work significantly better with a step-by-step process, which this project (my group) was lacking. My group and I divided up all of our roles and psychology was my role. When I felt ready enough with that, I had my partners look over it, made some refinements, and had them look it over again. Once that part was done, I had no clue what to do next. When I asked my partners, they again said they didn’t know either, causing me to feel a little stuck. I definitely should’ve taken on a role of leadership there and found something to do, which I did not do. Because of this, I feel I did not get as much out of this project as I had hoped. Given the opportunity again, I would probably choose to work alone, or work with someone who works similarly to the way I do.
Question 3: Next year I intend to repeat this project, with a major difference being that several student projects will actually be permanently installed in the new building. As part of the project, I intend to have this year’s juniors (aka YOU) present their prototypes to next year’s juniors as a starting point for the project. As I begin planning for next year’s fall semester and project work, what can I do to make the learning experience as engaging and meaningful as possible for those students? I value hearing about the aspects of the semester and project you felt were engaging and meaningful as well as aspects of the semester or project that you felt were uninteresting, confusing, or could otherwise be improved.
Specific feedback with concrete suggestions for improvement or about what aspects of the course to keep unchanged are most valuable to me. You are not being assessed on whether you say you liked this project. You are being assessed on the depth of thought your response displays, your specific claims and how you support them.
This project was meaningful in the ways that this is our new building. This is the building I am graduating from and that is pretty huge and important. It was pretty cool to learn about the types of materials used as well as actually go visit the construction process while this beautiful building was being created. However, there were some things in this project that I felt didn’t work. As I stated in a previous response, I work better with a step-by-step process which I felt this project was lacking. I find it helpful for me and I find I have a better final piece when a step-by-step comes into play. As for how to better this, I would structure this project in a more efficient way by making a 1, 2, 3 step process, incorporating dates for when to start/stop the piece they are currently working on. For example, step 1. pick your topic 1/10/2022-1/12/2022, giving them two days to pick a topic. Giving those dates for when to start/stop a piece of the project, I feel, is very important, as it can help with organization and efficiency. Although not every student thinks the same, I believe a more structured, step-by-step, will help the students and this project run smoother.
Question 1: What new information did you learn through doing this project? I am interested in 1-2 paragraphs summarizing your new understanding of your topic. I am particularly interested in your new understanding about the two Essential Questions(located at the bottom of this document).
I am expecting more than general or vague statements like “I learned about steel/concrete”or “I learned how paint is sustainable”. Instead, explain what you learned like “I learned why steel is stronger when carbon is included….” or “I learned that composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions because….”
From this project, I gained a new understanding of how paint can really affect humans in many different ways. From the chemical to the physical to psychological, paint is way more than just delicious eye candy. My specific role in this project was to design the psychological piece of paint. The chemicals in paint affect the brain waves, the nervous system, and hormonal activity within humans. This leads to brain responses otherwise known as emotion. Colors in longer wavelengths tend to be more stimulating than those of shorter wavelengths, causing the brain to respond to different colors in different ways. Warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow trigger higher arousal emotions, such as love, passion, anger, and happiness. Cool colors such as blue, green, and violet tend to invoke sadness, calmness, and indifference.
To add on, I also thought it was pretty interesting that different shades of color can have effects on your mood as well. There are four basic color groups, including pale, neutrals, whites, and deeps. The pale category usually creates an environment comfortable and easy to live in and colors to complement that, including lavender, ballet pink, and sky blue. The neutral category are the colors that go beyond blacks and browns. The whites category consist of cream, eggshell, ivory, navajo white, vanilla, etc. Deeps are often a more bold choice of color. These bold colors include violet, ruby, onyx, etc. Although this information did not make the final cut for the project, I still find it very interesting that the depth of the color can have effects on those brain waves as well.
Question 2: What new skills, dispositions, or lessons did you learn from this project?
This could include learning a new software program or new skills in a program you were familiar with, learning how to work better in a group or how you can avoid certain pitfalls of group work in the future, learning how to budget time or money on a project etc. Be specific and show the growth you made as a person/student through the work you’ve done.
Honestly, from this project, my biggest take away was probably that I work better alone or do not work well with certain people. My group, for instance, did not really work as much of a group. We did not get together much to work on things for this project. We maybe got together for a little while and sorted out what each of us needed to do, and then we would just go our separate ways. There was a lot of miscommunication and in some situations, no communication at all, which I found to be frustrating, considering I am so much of a planner. That and the fact that I was pretty confused for the majority of work-time on this project, but when I asked my partners for clarification, they would say they didn’t know or didn’t understand either. It just felt like a challenging topic/project to do and honestly, I wish that I would’ve just done one on my own. I probably would’ve had a better understanding and have learned more if I had done that.
If I’m being honest, I did not put as much work into this project as I could’ve. I tried to give it my all and do as much as I could but I would say it was definitely not an equal amount of work for all three of us and I believe I deserve a lower grade because of that. The only part of the project I did was the psychology and the exhibition prototype statement. I think that part of the reason why I didn’t necessarily do as much as I could’ve is mainly because I was just confused. I work significantly better with a step-by-step process, which this project (my group) was lacking. My group and I divided up all of our roles and psychology was my role. When I felt ready enough with that, I had my partners look over it, made some refinements, and had them look it over again. Once that part was done, I had no clue what to do next. When I asked my partners, they again said they didn’t know either, causing me to feel a little stuck. I definitely should’ve taken on a role of leadership there and found something to do, which I did not do. Because of this, I feel I did not get as much out of this project as I had hoped. Given the opportunity again, I would probably choose to work alone, or work with someone who works similarly to the way I do.
Question 3: Next year I intend to repeat this project, with a major difference being that several student projects will actually be permanently installed in the new building. As part of the project, I intend to have this year’s juniors (aka YOU) present their prototypes to next year’s juniors as a starting point for the project. As I begin planning for next year’s fall semester and project work, what can I do to make the learning experience as engaging and meaningful as possible for those students? I value hearing about the aspects of the semester and project you felt were engaging and meaningful as well as aspects of the semester or project that you felt were uninteresting, confusing, or could otherwise be improved.
Specific feedback with concrete suggestions for improvement or about what aspects of the course to keep unchanged are most valuable to me. You are not being assessed on whether you say you liked this project. You are being assessed on the depth of thought your response displays, your specific claims and how you support them.
This project was meaningful in the ways that this is our new building. This is the building I am graduating from and that is pretty huge and important. It was pretty cool to learn about the types of materials used as well as actually go visit the construction process while this beautiful building was being created. However, there were some things in this project that I felt didn’t work. As I stated in a previous response, I work better with a step-by-step process which I felt this project was lacking. I find it helpful for me and I find I have a better final piece when a step-by-step comes into play. As for how to better this, I would structure this project in a more efficient way by making a 1, 2, 3 step process, incorporating dates for when to start/stop the piece they are currently working on. For example, step 1. pick your topic 1/10/2022-1/12/2022, giving them two days to pick a topic. Giving those dates for when to start/stop a piece of the project, I feel, is very important, as it can help with organization and efficiency. Although not every student thinks the same, I believe a more structured, step-by-step, will help the students and this project run smoother.
Artifacts Relating to Project:
Chemistry of Food and Cooking: Instant Pot vs Convection Oven Chicken Piccata
Reflection
Question 1: How did your cooking process transform your food macroscopically
and affect the food's overall characteristics?
The chicken in the instant pot turned out to brown more than the chicken cooked in an oven. This is mainly because of the oil used in the pressure cooker. The chicken was sautéing in pairs of two in about 1 tbsp. of oil, causing the chicken too easily brown in the bottom of the pressure cooker. The ingredients were added to the instant pot separately, while all of the ingredients were combined together in the oven. This played a role in appearance of the chicken because the oven chicken was cooking with all of the juices, making it more challenging to brown the chicken.
In addition, the instant pot chicken held more moisture because of the enclosed environment the pressure cooker provided. This plays a role in the macroscopic characteristics by the chicken appearing more appetizing and just all around more moist. The moisture content was help together well in the instant pot chicken, creating the perfect chicken piccata.
and affect the food's overall characteristics?
The chicken in the instant pot turned out to brown more than the chicken cooked in an oven. This is mainly because of the oil used in the pressure cooker. The chicken was sautéing in pairs of two in about 1 tbsp. of oil, causing the chicken too easily brown in the bottom of the pressure cooker. The ingredients were added to the instant pot separately, while all of the ingredients were combined together in the oven. This played a role in appearance of the chicken because the oven chicken was cooking with all of the juices, making it more challenging to brown the chicken.
In addition, the instant pot chicken held more moisture because of the enclosed environment the pressure cooker provided. This plays a role in the macroscopic characteristics by the chicken appearing more appetizing and just all around more moist. The moisture content was help together well in the instant pot chicken, creating the perfect chicken piccata.
Question 2: In what way(s) is cooking and doing science similar and in what way(s)
are they different? How are a cook and food scientist similar or different?
Cooking and doing science are thought to be very different. After all, one uses dangerous chemicals and the other uses delicious substances that tickle your tastebuds. However, if you really think about it, doing science and cooking a fantastic meal are one and the same. You make your hypothesis, you gather the ingredients needed for your experiment, you do the experiment, then you see the results. This process works for a day in the lab or a day making pastries.
Food scientists often get mistaken for cook scientists when in fact, the two are very different. A food scientist gets a degree in food science while a cook scientist (culinary arts) focuses on the preparation of food. They both deal with food, however, a food scientist focuses on bringing the masses to food while the culinary arts focuses on the individuality of food preparation.
Informational Source: https://adashofscience.com/2013/03/14/food-science-vs-culinary-arts/
are they different? How are a cook and food scientist similar or different?
Cooking and doing science are thought to be very different. After all, one uses dangerous chemicals and the other uses delicious substances that tickle your tastebuds. However, if you really think about it, doing science and cooking a fantastic meal are one and the same. You make your hypothesis, you gather the ingredients needed for your experiment, you do the experiment, then you see the results. This process works for a day in the lab or a day making pastries.
Food scientists often get mistaken for cook scientists when in fact, the two are very different. A food scientist gets a degree in food science while a cook scientist (culinary arts) focuses on the preparation of food. They both deal with food, however, a food scientist focuses on bringing the masses to food while the culinary arts focuses on the individuality of food preparation.
Informational Source: https://adashofscience.com/2013/03/14/food-science-vs-culinary-arts/