The Whole Meal Project
Project Description and Importance
For this collaborative biology and humanities project we explored the role of food in our lives, tried different styles of cooking and eating, prepared meals and began answering the essential question "should I eat that?" Every student followed a diet and for all of our meals we maintained a food journal documenting what we ate and how we felt. We cooked meals from this diet, eventually mastering one that we prepared and served at exhibition. We did this project to educate ourselves on the history, culture and economics that related to our diets and to share this knowledge in an original cookbook.
Reflection
What did you learn during this project that has stuck with you? What was the most significant thing you learning during The Whole Meal Project? Please be specific.
I learned so much during the Whole Meal project. I learned content including history, writing tips and biology concepts. I also learned many skills that I will take with me next semester and the rest of my academic career. I learned how to communicate well with others, multi-task and cooking skills. The most significant things that I learned during the Whole Meal project was flexibility, responsibility and cooperation. I learned this throughout the project by cooking, cleaning and planning.
Describe your role in supporting your group with the menu, dietary/nutritional explanation, and photography. What grade would you give yourself for this work?
Since I am in honors humanities and biology I had more jobs than the average student. For my Whole Meal project biology jobs I contributed the idea to do an Italian theme because we all loved and agreed on a theme for all of our dishes. I also wrote the first draft of my group’s dietary explanation and helped James with the micro and macro photography. I helped cook, clean and buy ingredients. Overall, I worked hard, participated and had fun doing so. I think I deserve an A for all of the work that I have done for this project and exhibition.
Which project activities were the most significant to you? Why?
I think that the most significant project activities were talking to my guests at exhibition because this was my opportunity to share everything that I have learned. I also think that it was very significant to practice cooking so that we knew what we were getting ourselves into. If we did not practice cooking, we would have not learned that the pasta should only be in the pot for five minutes because it continues to bake while it is in the oven.
What were the most challenging aspects of the project for you? Why?
I think that the most challenging aspect of this project for me personally was managing my time. I had a lot of work to do for honors, the recipe book and the math exhibition so I had to be mature and responsible and make time for biology components of the Whole Meal project. I found myself rushing towards the end of the project but luckily I finished everything on time and our guests loved our menu and dishes.
Describe your role in supporting your group on the day of exhibition to ensure you would have the food prepared, cooked and ready on time for your guests. What could you have done differently? What grade would you give yourself for your work with your food group?
I had a few major roles in supporting my group on the day of exhibition to ensure that our food was prepared and cooked ahead of time and ready on time for our guests. To lift the weight of having to make dessert in class I cooked our cake at home the night before. This saved us lots of time and gave us more time to interact with our guests when they arrived. I do not know what my group could have done differently because everything was on time and not rushed. I am so proud of my group’s work leading up to exhibiton so that none of us were stressed. I would give myself an A for my participation in cooking because I made the cake and was hands on and assisting our head chef the entire time.
Which piece of work during this project best represents your strongest work? Explain why/how this particular piece represents your best.
The piece of work during the Whole Meal project that best represents my strongest work would probably be our dietary explanation. I think that my writing flowed nicely, gave factual evidence and included personal experience on the vegetarian diet. The paper was professional and compared to the model work, I think my group reached and exceeded the par.
What about this project do you think will stick with you?
I believe that the thing that will stick the most with me from this project is the skills that I encompassed. I have learned perseverance from the diet, practice from cooking, communication from working with my group and an overall responsibility. This was a very busy two weeks and I made sure to constantly check in with my group and teachers to make sure I was always productive. I think everything that I learned from this project will help me in the future and I have gained so much knowledge from the people I have been working with.
For this collaborative biology and humanities project we explored the role of food in our lives, tried different styles of cooking and eating, prepared meals and began answering the essential question "should I eat that?" Every student followed a diet and for all of our meals we maintained a food journal documenting what we ate and how we felt. We cooked meals from this diet, eventually mastering one that we prepared and served at exhibition. We did this project to educate ourselves on the history, culture and economics that related to our diets and to share this knowledge in an original cookbook.
Reflection
What did you learn during this project that has stuck with you? What was the most significant thing you learning during The Whole Meal Project? Please be specific.
I learned so much during the Whole Meal project. I learned content including history, writing tips and biology concepts. I also learned many skills that I will take with me next semester and the rest of my academic career. I learned how to communicate well with others, multi-task and cooking skills. The most significant things that I learned during the Whole Meal project was flexibility, responsibility and cooperation. I learned this throughout the project by cooking, cleaning and planning.
Describe your role in supporting your group with the menu, dietary/nutritional explanation, and photography. What grade would you give yourself for this work?
Since I am in honors humanities and biology I had more jobs than the average student. For my Whole Meal project biology jobs I contributed the idea to do an Italian theme because we all loved and agreed on a theme for all of our dishes. I also wrote the first draft of my group’s dietary explanation and helped James with the micro and macro photography. I helped cook, clean and buy ingredients. Overall, I worked hard, participated and had fun doing so. I think I deserve an A for all of the work that I have done for this project and exhibition.
Which project activities were the most significant to you? Why?
I think that the most significant project activities were talking to my guests at exhibition because this was my opportunity to share everything that I have learned. I also think that it was very significant to practice cooking so that we knew what we were getting ourselves into. If we did not practice cooking, we would have not learned that the pasta should only be in the pot for five minutes because it continues to bake while it is in the oven.
What were the most challenging aspects of the project for you? Why?
I think that the most challenging aspect of this project for me personally was managing my time. I had a lot of work to do for honors, the recipe book and the math exhibition so I had to be mature and responsible and make time for biology components of the Whole Meal project. I found myself rushing towards the end of the project but luckily I finished everything on time and our guests loved our menu and dishes.
Describe your role in supporting your group on the day of exhibition to ensure you would have the food prepared, cooked and ready on time for your guests. What could you have done differently? What grade would you give yourself for your work with your food group?
I had a few major roles in supporting my group on the day of exhibition to ensure that our food was prepared and cooked ahead of time and ready on time for our guests. To lift the weight of having to make dessert in class I cooked our cake at home the night before. This saved us lots of time and gave us more time to interact with our guests when they arrived. I do not know what my group could have done differently because everything was on time and not rushed. I am so proud of my group’s work leading up to exhibiton so that none of us were stressed. I would give myself an A for my participation in cooking because I made the cake and was hands on and assisting our head chef the entire time.
Which piece of work during this project best represents your strongest work? Explain why/how this particular piece represents your best.
The piece of work during the Whole Meal project that best represents my strongest work would probably be our dietary explanation. I think that my writing flowed nicely, gave factual evidence and included personal experience on the vegetarian diet. The paper was professional and compared to the model work, I think my group reached and exceeded the par.
What about this project do you think will stick with you?
I believe that the thing that will stick the most with me from this project is the skills that I encompassed. I have learned perseverance from the diet, practice from cooking, communication from working with my group and an overall responsibility. This was a very busy two weeks and I made sure to constantly check in with my group and teachers to make sure I was always productive. I think everything that I learned from this project will help me in the future and I have gained so much knowledge from the people I have been working with.