The power of print reading: comics in the classroom

Abstract

Evidence from neuroscience and psychological studies supporting benefits of print reading over digital reading has recently been discussed in these columns (Perbal 2017 J. Cell Commun. Signal. 11:1-4). In the present commentary, I would like to add my perspective as a Humanities educator, and build upon the idea that print reading results in better comprehension, learning and communication. The argumentation that is presented herein is based on a study performed in a French Comics language class aimed at broadening students' knowledge and experience of graphic novels, and providing them with a cultural representation in the foreign language. The results that are discussed in this commentary indicate that upon reading printed books students created connections for a more meaningful learning experience, leading to personal growth and linguistic development. The impact these graphic novels had on students' learning capacity and relationship to reading was tremendous. The kinesthetic relationship with printed text was deeply enriching and gratifying. The stimulatory effects on their imagination allowed for a more creative reading, and a deeper comprehension, resulting in meaningful communication.

Developing PHYCOM (Physics Comics) on Newton’s Law Material for 10th Grade High School Students

“…The benefits of PHYCOM's teaching materials are: 1) it leads to understanding the concept, 2) it provides entertainment and increases knowledge, and 3) it creates a sense of pleasure when reading. This is supported by the results of research conducted by Gabaron (2017) that teaching materials in the form of comics can develop abilities related to comic literacy, increase interest in reading, and build emotional bonds between students and the object itself. Another study conducted by Lesmono et al (2012) also found that comics can increase students' learning motivation classically with a percentage of 89.93%.…”

Thematic comic to cultivate eco-literacy for young learners

“…The size was adjusted to the common comic size since the result of the questionnaire and interview showed that most of the students wanted to have a comic that resembled an actual comic. Deciding the size of a book is vital since the size of a book may influence the young learners' intention to read (Gabaron, 2017;Mohr, 2006). Therefore, the researchers decided the size of the book based on the students' requests.…”

Informing children citizens efficiently to better engage them in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic

“…Despite some initial resistance [8,9], the potential of comics as an educational tool has rapidly been recognized in the fields of education and psychology [10,11]. In recent decades, comics have indeed been used for public education purposes, and their use has been seen as a medium of choice as not only are they popular, but they can, when properly adapted, also act as a link to help children understand complex, nonfictional, and difficult concept or theme [10][11][12][13][14][15]. More recently, several empirical studies in the field of graphic medicine [16][17][18], on the use of comics, have shown that comics contribute to an overall improvement in community engagement on healthcare and medical issues [11,[19][20][21].…”