Comics in education
Encyclopedia
The use of comics in education is based on the concept of creating engagement and motivation for students. The effectiveness of comics as medium for effective learning and development has been the subject of debate since the origin modern comic book in the 1930s. Sones (1944) notes that comics "evoked more than a hundred critical articles in educational and non-professional periodicals."
The use of comics in education would later attract the attention of Fredric Wertham
who noted that the use of comics in education represented "an all-time low in American science."
It has been noted that the use of a narrative form such as a comic "can foster pupils' interest in science" and help students remember what they have learnt and providing a means of fostering discussion. However, it has also been noted that many educators remain "ambivalent" about the use of comic books as an educational tool. Comics have also been used as a medium to communicate health care information on subjects such as diabetes.
In the USA, the use of comics for education, using the Internet, can be seen on Comics in the Classroom, and the state of Maryland's Comic Book Initiative.
The use of comics in education would later attract the attention of Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham was a Jewish German-American psychiatrist and crusading author who protested the purportedly harmful effects of violent imagery in mass media and comic books on the development of children. His best-known book was Seduction of the Innocent , which purported that comic books are...
who noted that the use of comics in education represented "an all-time low in American science."
It has been noted that the use of a narrative form such as a comic "can foster pupils' interest in science" and help students remember what they have learnt and providing a means of fostering discussion. However, it has also been noted that many educators remain "ambivalent" about the use of comic books as an educational tool. Comics have also been used as a medium to communicate health care information on subjects such as diabetes.
In the USA, the use of comics for education, using the Internet, can be seen on Comics in the Classroom, and the state of Maryland's Comic Book Initiative.
Further reading
- Abel, JessicaJessica AbelJessica Abel is an American comic book writer and artist, known as the creator of such works as Life Sucks, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, Soundtrack, La Perdida, Mirror, Window, Radio: An Illustrated Guide , and the omnibus series Artbabe.Abel has stated that her major work is not...
& Matt MaddenMatt MaddenMatt Madden is a U.S. comic book writer and artist. He is best known for original alternative comics, for his coloring work in traditional comics, and for the experimental work 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style, which is based on the idea of Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style...
. Drawing Words and Writing Pictures. (First Second, 2008) - Bang, MollyMolly BangMolly Bang is an American illustrator, born in Princeton, New Jersey. She lives in California, after having lived for some time in Massachusetts.Bang began writing children's books after a failed stint as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun...
. Picture This: How Pictures Work. (A Bulfinch Press Book, Little, Brown and Company, 1991) - Eisner, WillWill EisnerWilliam Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
. Comics and Sequential ArtComics and Sequential ArtComics and Sequential Art is a 1985 book by Will Eisner that provides an analytical overview of comics. It is based on a series of essays that appeared in The Spirit magazine, themselves based on Eisner's experience teaching a course in sequential art at the School of Visual Arts...
. (Poorhouse Press, 1987) - Gorman, Michele. Getting Graphic!: Comics for Kids. (Linworth Publishing, 2007)
- McCloud, ScottScott McCloudScott McCloud is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium...
. Understanding Comics: The Invisible ArtUnderstanding ComicsUnderstanding Comics: The Invisible Art is a 215-page non-fiction comic book, written and drawn by Scott McCloud and originally published in 1993. It explores the definition of comics, the historical development of the medium, its fundamental vocabulary, and various ways in which these elements...
. (Harper Paperbacks, 1994) - McCloud, Scott. Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art FormReinventing ComicsReinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form is a 2000 book written by comic book writer and artist Scott McCloud...
. (Harper Paperbacks, 2000) - McCloud, Scott. Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels. (Harper Paperbacks, 2006)
- Morice, Dave. Poetry Comics: An Animated Anthology. (Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 2002)
- Teachers & WritersTeachers & Writers CollaborativeTeachers & Writers Collaborative is a New York City-based organization that sends writers and other artists into schools. It was founded in 1967 by a group of writers and educators including Herbert Kohl, June Jordan, Muriel Rukeyser, Grace Paley, and Anne Sexton, who believed that writers could...
Magazine special issue on comics in the classroom (vol. 39, no. 4, Summer 2008) — sample article
External links
- Comic Book Initiative — The State of Maryland's program of instructional strategies that support the use of graphic literature in elementary, secondary, adult, and corrections education.
- The Comic Book Project (Teachers College, Columbia University) — Arts-based literacy and learning initiative designed to help children forge an alternative pathway to literacy by writing, designing, and publishing original comic books.
- Imperial County Office of Education, Featured Stories - Using Sequential Arts Project (USA Project - Comic Books): A short video describing how comics are integrated in the classroom.
- Comics in the Classroom — News, reviews, and lesson plans
- En/Sane World — Information on "Sequential Art Narratives in Education (SANE)."
- First Second Lesson Plans — Lesson plans for a number of First SecondFirst Second BooksFirst Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
books, ranging in grade level from 3-6 to high school. - The Graphic Classroom — Resource for teachers and librarians to help stock educational-worthy graphic novels and comics in their classroom or school library.
- Mysterious World of Dr. Biology — Large collection of comic clipart and activity from Ask A BiologistAsk A BiologistAsk A Biologist is a science outreach program originating from Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences.-About the program:Ask A Biologist is a pre-kindergarten through high school program dedicated to answering questions from students, their teachers, and parents...
. - National Association of Comic Art Educators — Organization committed to promoting the acceptance of comics as an art form within educational institutions, and facilitating the teaching and use of comics in educational settings.