Methods of teaching have evolved with time. With the recent use of graphic novels as an educational tool, younger generations of students are beginning to learn about many concepts in a more “engaging” way.
Devyn Reynolds, the English 10 teacher at Ojai Valley School, incorporates graphic novels into her course material.
“I believe it’s a different way to give information,” said Ms. Reynolds. “There’s the visual literacy and then there’s the textual literacy that’s combined together in graphic novels.”
Not only does Ms. Reynolds assign her students to read the graphic novels, but she has them make their own as well.
Last year, her students read a story and then created drawings depicting the storyline.
“A great thing about having these visualizations is to help you see what the characters are feeling and what the scenery is like,” said Ms. Reynolds. “It adds a depth and adds a level that I think can be helpful for some students to see.”
Along with using graphic novels as a teaching tool, there is great productivity and deeper understanding for a student who may have more difficulty comprehending a non-graphic novel.
For Fred Alvarez, the Humanities teacher at Ojai Valley School, shifting from reading the entire written piece of The Odyssey by Homer to the graphic novel edition is a huge difference, especially for the students.
Mr. Alvarez explains that at the end of last year, he felt as if there was real disinterest in reading the regular, 23-chapter book of The Odyssey.
Although this year’s Humanities students have not yet begun to read the graphic novel version of The Odyssey, they have been introduced to the concept of them. This introduction has begun through the creation of their own graphic novel based on a story.
“The story has a lot of action. You’ve got to work to wiggle that down to the essence of that story,” said Alvarez, after assigning the students to create a graphic novel based on the Enuma Elish. “I think as a teaching tool for that story, this worked out really well. I was really pleased.”
Using graphic novels to assist students in grasping concepts visually has been beneficial for both students and OVS teachers alike. Graphic novels as an educational tool have become extremely popular over the past few years, and they are likely to become a staple of future education.
“Teaching needs to change with the times,” said Mr. Alvarez. “This change is a kind of evolution of how we teach things here. They are still important subjects, but we must think, what’s the most effective way to do that?”