The group project assignment is also broken down into several parts for a more guided approach: at each checkpoint, groups are given constructive feedback on their understanding of scientific principles, their choice of references, and their ideas. Throughout this process, many students develop the ability to solidify and apply concepts presented to them during the classes, which further piques their interest in chemistry. This assignment culminates in either a video collaboration where students prepare their own demonstrations, or an informational poster presentation allowing the students to peruse and compare scientific literature to more general news articles. In group projects comprising about one third of their overall course grade, students are given the opportunity to investigate a specific food and cooking-related topic of interest to them. It is no easy feat to design a course where students with disparate academic perspectives can all enjoy the content and its pace of delivery. Since its inception, the course has seen student enrolment from diverse academic backgrounds ranging from engineering to the humanities to performance arts. Many of these demonstrations were adapted so that students could continue to attend the course at home without requiring specialized equipment and ingredients (such as the sous vide method, use of liquid nitrogen and others) 2. In addition, and as part of the 2020 CTFP in response to the online delivery of the course during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario, numerous demonstration videos were created in place of the in-class demonstrations. Thereafter, the scientific principles are conveyed to the students through the preparation of the agar ‘whites’ of the egg and the mango ‘yolk’ of the egg using reverse spherification with sodium alginate and calcium lactate 5. In this class, the topics of polymers, intermolecular versus intramolecular bonds, and diffusion are initially discussed. 1 shows the product of a ‘mango egg’ demonstration that is performed during a discussion of carbohydrates. Many of the demonstrations were created by graduate students in the Department of Chemistry in collaboration with the Chemistry Teaching Fellowship Program (CTFP) 4. They are incorporated to allow the students to appreciate the scientific method with familiar foods or techniques that they would use in their own kitchens. The demonstrations are the ‘bread and butter’ of the course and are meant to be fun and engaging, while offering the students a tasty treat. Each weekly 2-hour class is subdivided into a 90-minute interactive content discussion and a 30-minute food-based demonstration. The second section of the course delves into more complex chemical concepts. In the first section, the material covered is cumulative and student understanding is crucial for comprehension of the subsequent classes. The course is loosely divided into two main sections: first, the introduction (or re-introduction) of concepts such as atoms, ions, molecules, states of matter, stereochemistry, polarity, acids and bases, and electronic transitions and second, application of the aforementioned concepts to food macromolecules (such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and oils) and their reactivity. The modern kitchen course offers plenty of opportunities to explore fundamental chemical concepts within both in-person and online course delivery modes 2, 3. We believe that if chemistry concepts, which can often be perceived as overly complex and abstract, can be made accessible, inviting, and tangible to our students, they will feel empowered and more confident when making judgements or forming opinions about the societal impacts of science. The course aims to demystify the subject of chemistry by conveying key concepts through the medium of food. Given that food and cooking are an integral part of everyday life, they represent a natural starting point for connecting the familiar actions we perform in the kitchen to the fundamental principles governing our physical world. Translating these skills into a broader context is critical as society continues to face pressing issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the global climate crisis, in which awareness and acceptance of scientific methods in decision-making are required. As a course targeted towards students who are not formally trained in the natural sciences, our goal is to deepen their ability to think critically, to identify reputable sources of information and to ask important scientific questions.
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