Teach a simple idea/concept with a comic

Learning by Communicating Concepts Through Comics

Leslee Francis Pelton

Department of Curriculum and Instruction University of Victoria

Canada [email protected]

Tim Pelton

Department of Curriculum and Instruction University of Victoria

Canada [email protected]

Karen Moore

Department of Curriculum and Instruction University of Victoria

Canada [email protected]

Abstract: Comics are a part of popular culture that simultaneously appeals to children and raises the eyebrows of parents and educators. Comics were enthusiastically examined for educational potential in the 1940s but were subsequently denigrated and effectively blacklisted for educational application in the 1950s. They only recovered as a mainstream literary genre in the 1990s and their educational potent ial has only recently been restored as a legitimate topic of interest for researchers (Yang 2003). Having students create their own comics can potentially improve motivation, literacy and conceptual understanding. New comic authoring programs allow student s to experience the benefits of authoring meaningful, satisfying comics without the angst and frustration often associated with creating traditional comics or the overwhelming wordsmithing load imposed by traditional written reports. Having pre-service teachers create comics allows them explore the learning potential of a creative medium that is consistent with a hands-on, constructivist philosophy .

Introduction

Zap! Bam! Pow! For many readers, words such as these will bring forward fond memories of pas t comic book adventures. Despite their lack of acceptance by many educators as a mainstream reading material, people of all ages, and children in particular often take great delight in delving into a comic book for entertainment. Comics are a part of popular culture that not only successfully endured denigration and rejection in the 1950s (Wertham 1954, Yang 2003) but have in recent years undergone a resurgence in popularity. Their relationship with blockbuster movies and the surging popularity of Japanese animation may account for part of their renewed popularity (Bitz 2004).

Traditional educational texts are often found to be dense, unattractive and impenetrable by many of our students. Given the entertainment focus in modern life, access to supplementary information geared to students’ interests and preferences and interactive resources have become almost essential. The comic medium fits this need by creatively and concisely combining visual and textual components into a message that may be more effective at communicating than either the words or art alone.

Many educators are now discovering the benefits of this powerful format for communicating information. While teachers may use existing comics to provide students with an introduction to a topic or to support other learning activities, they can also present comics as a creative medium to support learners in an active learning process whereby they might reflect upon, express and discuss their understandings and views through comics. One of the greatest difficulties previously associated with having students develop their own

hand drawn comics is that students are often uncertain about their ability to create comics and disappointed in the final quality of hand-drawn comics that may not meet their desired le vel of quality or communicate effectively (i.e., they are often embarrassed by their limited penmanship or drawing skills). However, recent developments in comic authoring software have effectively removed a great portion of these concerns, allowing students to confidently participate in the creation of comics to support or consolidate their learning processes and realize the benefits of sharing these products with their classmates and families.

This paper will provide the reader with some background information on the history of comics and comics in education, argue that the creation of comics is a worthwhile learning activity for primary, secondary and tertiary (i.e., pre -service teacher education) programs, and provide some examples of comics developed to represent and communicate concepts and procedures within the curriculum.

Background

The history of comics in education was well reviewed by Yang (2003) as his Masters project (see http://www.humblecomics.com/comicsedu/). Yang points out that traditional book comics began in 1933, and by the 1940’s an estimated 95% of eight to fourteen year olds and 65% of 15 to18 year olds were reading comics. Almost immediately educators began examining the impact of this new form of communication on students. By 1944 there were over 100 critical articles in educational, academic and popular periodicals (Sones 1944). Many of these studies reported positive benefits associated with using comics to enhance learning. These benefits included: the natural appeal to students, the readability of comic based materials (using language that is almost universally understood), the ability to both entertain and instruct, and the increased content density associated with resources designed to coherently link visual and textual components. Gruenberg commented that “there is hardly a subject that does not lend itself to presentation through this medium” (1944).

This positive portrayal of comics in education gradually began to erode in the 1950s. Some believed that comics impeded readin g comprehension and imagination and caused eyestrain (Yang 2003). Wertham, a New York psychiatrist, wrote a 400 page pseudo-scientific, McCarthy inspired war cry: The Seduction of the Innocent (1954), accusing comic books of promoting violence, racial stereotypes, homosexuality, rebelliousness, and illiteracy (Yang 2003). In 1954 he was also invited to be a key witness to a Senate subcommittee investigating juvenile delinquency. The ensuing public outcry against violence in comics led to public comic -book b urnings and effectively ended scholarly investigations into the educational value of comics.

For decades comics have struggled with a perception problem, and although anecdotal reports on the benefits and potentials of comics in education started to reappear in the 1970s the real recovery would take almost 50 years. Only recently have a few comics and graphic novels begun to win critical praise and awards. The most outstanding example of such is the Pulitzer Prize awarded in 1992 to Art Speigelman's Holocaust memoir Maus, demonstrating that comics can handle complex subjects with intelligence and sensitivity (Sturm 2002).

Despite new accolades, may adults still view comics with suspicion. There is a persistent belief that comics are the lowest form of literature, long on violence, crude humor, and short on redeeming social, educational or moral values (George 2003). While this may reflect a fair evaluation of many comics and graphic novels sold in comic stores across the western world, the perception doesn’t have to match the reality. We now also see experts and educators again discussing the potential advantages of using appropriately selected and created comics as tools to engage and motivate students.

Why Use Comics in Education

Morrison, Chilcoat, and George (2002) discuss several reasons why using comics in education can and should be considered. The three main reasons they give are that: a) popular culture is integral to the lives of most students, so its use can diminish the disparity children perceive between their school lives and home lives by legitimizing many of their after-school pursuits; b) students need to become critical consumers of media messages; and c) content presented with popular cultural perspectives is attractive and engaging to students.

Many educators today are beginning to see comics as an engaging way to address literacy problems (Bitz 2004; Ezarik 2003; George 2003; Kerr & Culhane 2000; Millard 2003; Morrison, Chilcoat, & George 2002; Ujiie & Krashen 1996; Versaci 2001; Wright & Sherman 1999). Russikoff and Pilgreen (1994) found no

evidence that reading comics limits higher-level reading. In fact, recent studies have shown that rather than limiting students’ reading development, students who read comics read as much or more in g eneral than other students (Millard & Marsh 2001; Ujiie & Krashen 1996). A 1993 study in the Journal of Child Language concluded that the average comic book introduced kids to twice as many words as the average children's book, and five times as many words as they were likely to be exposed to in the average child -adult conversation (George 2003). Kerr and Culhane (2000) further stated “Comic books have more rare words per thousand than children’s books, popular prime -time television adult shows, popular pri me -time children’s shows, cartoons, and conversations of college graduates”.

The comic has evolved into an even more efficient and stimulating tool for transmitting information in this multi-media age than either visual art or literature alone (Kerr & Culhane 2000). Several studies today describe innovative projects that have been carried out where students write their own comics to develop literacy skills or to communicate their understanding of a topic (Bitz 2004; Kerr & Culhane 2000; Kornbluth 2004; Lowe 1995; Millard 2003; Morrison, Bryan, & Chilcoat 2002; Read-Write-Think 2006; Vega & Schnackenberg 2004; Wax 2002; Wright & Sherman 1999). Having students create their own comics not only promotes literacy, but also higher-level thinking and writing skills, and supports the acquisition and sharing of essential processes such as making connections, problem solving, reasoning, representation and communication (NCTM 2000). Comic book development also supports students as they develop skills in c reative writin g, storyline development, various fine arts skills, graphic design, document layout, and computer literacy. This is consistent with Papert’s (1993) suggestion that some of the most powerful learning occurs when individuals design or create things that are meaningful to them or to those around them.

Technology today has further enhanced the appeal and possibilities for student -generated comics. A relatively new program, Comic Life (2006) is an amazingly intuitive comic publishing program (akin in relative capabilities with respect to comic creation to a word processing program for report creation). It is both low threshold (teachers and students can begin using it with ease) and low friction (easy to use with respect to preparation, process and production) (Pelton & Francis Pelton 2006). Using this tool, students can easily transform their ideas and images (photographs or otherwise) into incredibly well polished comic creations. The user interface is among the most friendly the authors have ever experienced and even the sound effects are meaningful and helpful.

The potential for this application to support education through student engagement and success is high. By using a ‘comic processor’ such as Comic Life to express and explore their understandings, studen ts are able to engage in the creative and critical aspects of making a comic without the excessive word -smithing load associated with setting the context or concerns about their drawing or penmanship skills associated with the visual representation of their ideas. Instead, and most importantly, students can focus on the visual and textual content of their message and thus increase the likelihood of satisfactorily communicating their ideas.

Teachers can have students create comics to fulfill a variety of g oals: creating their own stories or adventures, representing their understanding of mathematical or scientific concepts, or summarizing their understanding of historical or cultural events. The resulting comics are both agreeable and affirming to the producers and often interesting and engaging to those who are given the opportunity to read them. Preservice Teachers and Comics

We have been using Comic Life in our preservice teacher education program for over a year now.

Having preservice teachers write their own comics achieves several goals. First, the preservice teachers become familiar with a simple, low cost, easy to use software program that has incredible educational potential. They see first hand a variety of finished products and the great range of ways the comics can be created.

Second, by engaging in the comic development process, the preservice teachers learn a model for instruction that they can use in their own classrooms. They begin by working through the planning process - creating a story board to guide their production, adding in notes and diagrams describing the scenes and text bubbles containing the dialog or commentary. Then they plan their layout and either search for images, hand sketch images to be acquired through a web-cam or capture their own digital photographs to use as images in their comic. Through this creative learning process, pre -service teachers experience the same feelings of satisfaction and pride in their accomplishment as their future students.

Third, preservice teachers learn the power of comics as a means of communicating understanding of a topic. Many of the student projects we are using require students to create short one-page comics. Students must

have clear understanding of a topic to be able to effectively distill the critical components and communicate their message meaningfully in one page.

Planning for Student Success

Despite the educational potentials associated with having students generate their own comics to consolidate and communicate their understanding of a concept, there are some caveats and limitations that must be presented. First, students must be guided and supported in their early creative endeavors so that they see the creative task as a problem to solve and fully plan their approach. Although the software available makes most of the procedural aspects of comic creation very easy, it does take some time for students to become confident creators of comics. Few students are able to sit down and produce a prototype comic that has an enduring appeal without planning.

Although students are generally very happy with their first efforts, without a solid understanding the concepts presented in the initial comic will often be incomplete or erroneous. Students must be guided to select (or be challenged with) attainable goals. The students must have mastered the concepts, or be willing to seek to understand the concepts fully before they can plan to create a meaningful conceptual comic. It is a good idea to have students check and provide feedback on one another’s storyboards and early versions of their comics to make sure that the ideas presented are clear, complete and accurate.

It may be helpful to have students create comics in pairs or small groups where they address a concept that they mastered in the previous grade as a review or a foundation building exercise. Alternatively, comics could be designed as a ‘little buddy’ activity or preparation activity – where the student works with their buddy to effectively represent, connect, reason, problem solve and communicate an age appropriate concept to his/her buddy and his/her class.

We have included three examples that we constructed to share with our students before they begin on their comic creation process – so that they have a better understanding of what is expected and what can be accomplished. Figure 1 presents “Evaporating and Condensing H2O”– using cropped elements from 2 pictures and an imaginary dialogue to support readers as they build their understanding of water and water vapor in everyday life. Figure 2 presents “Doubles are No trouble” – using a paint program and clip art to provide props for discussing each of the basic 2x multiplication facts. Finally Figure 3 presents “Thomas is Bored…” where images of a child playing with toys were captured to support the dialog planed to present the concept of estimation and potential utility of giving a range of responses rather than a single answer. Future Directions

The use of comics to support learning is an ongoing process of discovery for the authors as well. In the coming years we will be conducting formal studies on the effects of comic creation on student learning. This research will be focused initially on a few very specific concepts and a well -managed comic creation process. It is hoped that a fully crossed experimental design with pre-, post- and delayed-assessments and interviews will provide evidence supporting our hypothesis that a well planned and scaffolded creative process where students generate comics to express their understanding of specific scientific and mathematical concepts will yield greater, more enduring and more flexible mastery of those concepts than other traditional instructional experiences of a similar duration. Conclusions

Comics have the potential to support effective communication and learning within our educational

system. Comics have experienced a resurgence in popularity as a tool in supporting literacy, critical thinking and creative activities. Technology further enhances this time independent form of mu lti-media and enables students to focus on the critical and creative aspects associated with constructing a comic to communicate conceptual understanding while eliminating many of the more time-consuming or even tedious components of the task. Using comics in pre-service teacher education provides students with opportunities to experience first hand the potential of comics in education.

Figure 1: Evaporation and Condensation

Figure 2: Doubles

Figure 3: Estimating with ranges

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http://www.humblecomics.com/comicsedu/index.html Acknowledgements This work has been supported in part by the Centres for Research in Youth, Science Teaching and Learning (CRYSTAL) grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).