The New Method: Comics

While training to become teachers, students are often told that teaching needs to be inspiring.
Later on, they discover that it can be rather repetitive, and, thus, they need to bring a breath of fresh air
into class, at least from time to time. Comics can serve that purpose precisely. Why not give that boring
grammar a new perspective? Why not introduce that new vocabulary with the help of our superhero
friends? Or, let us make our students the creators of their own heroes and, thus, improve their writing
skills. Perhaps previous generations of teachers would regard comics as nothing more than easy reading to
kill time, but, truth be told, they have gained a lot of popularity among teenagers and young adult,
becoming a form of literature and making their way into the classroom.

In her article, Manno cites Josh Elder who states that if we are to consider comics an educational
tool, then we should take into consideration his, “Three E’s of Comics.”

Engagement: Comics impart meaning through the reader’s active engagement with
written language and juxtaposed sequential images. Readers must actively make meaning
from the interplay of text and images, as well as by filling in the gaps between panels.

Efficiency: The comic format conveys large amounts of information in a short time. This
is especially effective for teaching content in the subject areas (math, science, social
studies, etc.).

Effectiveness: Processing text and images together leads to better recall and transfer of
learning. Neurological experiments have shown that we process text and images in
different areas of the brain: known as the Dual-Coding Theory of Cognition. These
experiments also indicate that pairing an image with text leads to increased memory
retention for both. With comics, students not only learn the material faster, they learn it
better. ( 2014)

Nonetheless, as teachers we ought to learn to understand the needs of our students, and using
comics can only be beneficial for both sides. Even though the language used in comics is most of the time
colloquial, students can use it in various contexts, that will only help them enrich what they already know.
Comics can be used not only for their humorous aspect. As previously mentioned at the beginning of this
paper, they can be used to teach grammar, vocabulary, cooperative writing, and even culture and
civilization, provided that the teacher chooses a good type of comic for each activity.
Allen, Todd. “Online Comics vs. Printed Comics: A Study in E-Commerce and the Comparative
Economics of Content.” www.businessofcontent.com/dojo/215/v.jsp?p=/ comics-ecommerce/index
(accessed March 10, 2017).

Alls, Rob. “Marvel Press Conference Transcript.” Comics Continuum, May 17, 2001,
www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0105/17/marvelindex.htm (accessed March 12, 2017).

Manno, M. (2014, August 04). Comics in the Classroom: Why Comics? Retrieved March 19, 2017, from
https://teach.com/blog/why-comics/

Randy Duncan, Matthew J. Smith. The Power of Comics. Continuum. London. 2012. Pg 1-20

Wright, Nicky. The Classic Era of American Comics. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Pg.
24-27