ERIC Number: EJ1092003
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1522-7502
EISSN: N/A
Minding the Gap: Comics as Scaffolding for Critical Literacy Skills in the Classroom
Vie, Stephanie; Dieterle, Brandy
Composition Forum, v33 Spr 2016
Comics--both digital and print--increasingly make their way to the classroom. Scholars in the field have illustrated the pedagogical value of comics, but there remains little discussion as of yet about how comics can inform critical literacy, a necessary skill for twenty-first-century communication. Here the authors discuss an approach to first-year composition that argues for using comics, like Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home," as an avenue for grappling with critical literacy. This classroom activity was a part of a larger assignment sequence where students were asked to compose web-based literature reviews that incorporated multimodality. These literature reviews challenged students to incorporate multiple viewpoints into their essays, and critically discussing comics proved to be an effective method for fostering this critical literacy.
Descriptors: Cartoons, Visual Aids, Critical Literacy, Scaffolding (Teaching Technique), Class Activities, Assignments, Literature Reviews, Multimedia Instruction, Multimedia Materials, College Students
Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition. e-mail: cf@compositionforum.com; Web site: http://compositionforum.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A