Summary: Approximately 105 chemistry students and 30 art
students will work with a jewelry artist, an electroplating engineer and an
expert chemist in anodizing in order to apply the principles and concepts of
electrochemistry: including oxidation-reduction reactions and cell voltages in
order to creatively design and produce a zinc-plated brooch and an anodized
bracelet or earrings.
Need Statement: According to the National Science education
Standards, science should be, "relevant to student’s lives; emphasize
understanding through inquiry; and be connected to other school
subjects." This project will meet
these challenges as the laws, principles and concepts of chemistry and the
artistic aspects of jewelry making are related to studentsą everyday life
experiences and interests involving the production and creative design of
electroplated and anodized jewelry. Both School Improvement Plans state that
education is a total community responsibility and that one goal of education is
to instill in students an appreciation for life-long learning. This project will actively address these
issues by involving a jewelry artist, electroplating engineer and professional
chemist in facilitating students and teachers in their understanding of the
artistic and chemistry aspects of jewelry making. The partnerships created among the classroom teachers and the
community professionals will provide students with knowledge and opportunities
that extend and complement their learning experiences in school and will allow
them to see first-hand that what they do learn in school can be used to enrich
their lives in future activities.
Strength Statement: The jewelry artist will guide students in
the proper use of jewelry making
equipment and inform them
about jewelry making as a career. The
jewelry artist will also help the teachers develop and implement classroom
activities and guide them in the purchase of equipment most suitable for classroom
use by students. The electroplating
engineer will help the teachers develop and implement laboratory activities
that allow students to create a shimmery zinc-plated brooch. The engineer will also explain to students
and teachers how his company uses chemistry to manufacture a product. The expert chemist in anodizing will help
the teachers develop and implement laboratory activities that allow students to
create colorful rainbow bracelets and/or earrings. The chemist will guide teachers in purchasing and using
the anodizing equipment most suitable for classroom use. The chemist will visit with the students and
explain to them how he uses chemistry in the manufacture and production of
anodized and electroplated materials.
The chemistry teacher will provide the expertise in creating
activities suitable for high school chemistry students, making sure all
activities meet the objectives as stated in the NC Standard Course of Study for
Chemistry and the School Improvement Plan.
Working with the jewelry artist, the engineer and the chemist, the
teachers will provide the expertise in the implementation of all the activities
in their high school environments, making sure all activities are appropriate
and safe for the students. The art
teacher will provide the expertise in creating activities suitable for high
school art students, making sure all activities meet the objectives as stated
in the NC Standard Course of Study for Art Education.
Outcomes: By
working with the jewelry artist, electroplating engineer, and the chemist, the
teachers will gain the confidence and knowledge needed to incorporate new and
current science and artistic lessons and technologies into the classroom. As students witness teachers working cooperatively
with one another and the community professionals, they will see that learning
is a life long enjoyable process and that each individual has a responsibility
in sharing his or her expert knowledge in order to support and create unique
and exciting learning environments. The
challenging lab activities will be based on concepts and principles that are
relevant to student’s everyday lives and require them to make connections among
what is being studied and other school subjects. This project will provide students with answers to the often-asked
question, "How will I ever use what I have learned in school?"
Involving the community professionals in the classroom activities will allow
students to gain experiences that extend and complement their learning beyond
the classroom and they will see first-hand that the knowledge of chemistry and
art concepts are essential to careers such as jewelry making, design and
engineering.
Sustainability: The lab
activities developed for this project will be tried and tested and made
available for use by other science and art teachers at both schools. The non-consumable equipment purchased for
this project and existing non-consumable equipment will be available for future
use by teachers at both schools. The
two chemistry teachers will present this project at the 2002 NC Science
Teachers Conference. The lab activities
will be posted on both schools’ web-sites making them available to other
teachers across the state thereby incorporating technology into the project.
Methodology:
November
December 2001 Teachers will meet
with the jewelry artist, engineer and chemist to plan
and begin development of lab
activities.
December 2001 Materials and equipment will be ordered
January-March
2002 Further collaboration among teachers and
community professionals to
finalize activities and
schedule use of equipment.
April
2002 Community professionals will visit
with students as they complete the
planned activities.
May
2002 Teachers will meet to discuss success
of the project and make changes
and additions to the
activities.
Evaluation: Teachers
and community professors will complete evaluations describing the success of
the project and make recommendations for improvement if the project is repeated. Evaluations will also address the levels of
commitment and cooperation of the teachers, and the extent to which classroom
practices have been enriched.
Chemistry Evaluation:
Chemistry students will be tested on the chemistry concepts and principles that
include identification of the anode and cathode in an electrochemical cell, the
direction of flow of ions in each cell, balancing oxidation-reduction half
reaction, and the use of electrochemistry in the production of zinc-plated and
anodized jewelry. Chemistry students
will complete detailed lab reports. All
lab reports will include detailed data analysis and critical thinking and
conclusion questions.
Art Evaluation: Art
students will be evaluated through testing and final art works produced.
Art students will judge their
own work in a self-critique, using the Principles of Design as well as the
Elements of Art. Self-critiques create
a deeper knowledge base of the Principles of Design and Elements of Art. This critique will include analysis of line,
texture, shape and form in the creation of a composition. Final self-analysis will include a
professionally made product, jewelry making as a career and appreciation for
the art and chemistry involved in jewelry making.