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The development of lexical competence in foreign languages is one of the skills that presents difficulties in the teaching-learning process, as it requires stimulation and retention on the part of the student and creativity from the teacher. In this sense, digital resources emerge as a conducive means to promote new knowledge and consolidate acquired vocabulary. In this context, the present research aimed to determine if digital comics influence the development of lexical competence in English in virtual environments at the higher education level. Methodologically, an experimental design divided into three phases (pre-treatment, treatment, and post-treatment) took place with a sample of 60 students during the autumn of 2023. The results demonstrated an association between digital comics and lexical competence development variables, influencing lexicon acquisition, experiencing creativity, dynamism, and language involvement. Besides, comics supported by Canva, Makebeliefscomix, and Pixton applications contributed to students' cultural, linguistic, and communicative repertoire. Concurrently, users' confidence increased through gradual and systematic recovery, use, and inventive writing activities. Supports such as images, dialogues, characters, and colors encouraged the retrieval of words for subsequent use. In this way, the cognitive process of recall ceased to be merely memorising to transition to a level of long-term significant comprehension. In conclusion, digital comics were plausible for encouraging practical, flexible, and playful vocabulary improvement in a virtual environment.

Exploring the realm of literacy involves understanding how graphic novels shape students' reading and writing journeys. Through scholarly research, the authors delve into the significant impact of graphic novels on education while highlighting their appeal to students through visual features and engaging storytelling. Included is a discussion of lesson planning using eighth-grade English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) focused on exploring the role setting has on a character's motivations, values, and beliefs through the graphic novel "When Stars Are Scattered" by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. This approach empowers students to become proficient readers and writers in today's visual society.

This study investigates elementary school teachers' perceptions of the appropriate proportions of cartoons for instructional purposes, with a focus on the Thai educational context. The research aims to shed light on teachers' preferences for cartoon proportions across different grade levels, contributing valuable insights into the effective use of cartoons in elementary school instruction. A questionnaire-based approach was employed to gather data from 78 elementary school teachers. The study found that teachers held a positive perception of cartoons as effective tools for teaching primary school students, with participants favoring distinct cartoon proportions for different grade levels. Notably, larger cartoon scales were preferred for early grades (Grade 1 and Grade 2), while smaller scales found favor with older students in Grades 4, 5, and 6. These findings highlight the nuanced considerations educators make when integrating cartoons into their instructional materials and underscore the potential of cartoons to enhance the quality of elementary school education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the activities that children engage in with technology. In this direction, preschool children's ownership of technological devices, which devices they own and what they do with these devices were examined. This study was designed as qualitative research. The study group consisted of 34 preschool children studying during the 2023-2024 academic year. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of the study revealed that most of the children have a device at home and these devices are mostly tablets, and by smartphones. It was determined that almost all the children played digital games and the games varied. It was seen that all the children participating in the study watched cartoons, and most children watched YouTube. It was concluded that many of the children participating in the study did not watch TikTok. A thorough examination of the content they watched revealed the coexistence of appropriate and inappropriate materials. Therefore, informing parents about parental lock and similar applications that can be installed on devices, and preparing guides, books, seminars, etc. on the use of technology for parents were suggested.

This interdisciplinary, conceptual analysis addresses the nature and benefits of artistic processes in learning and work. While recognizing various forms of artistry, the emphasis is on visual-spatial thinking. The benefits of this kind of thinking in academic and professional activities include the simplification of massively complex writing, improvement of psychological functioning, and the magnification of creative work in various professions, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Visual-spatial thinking also is a strength that often helps twice-exceptional individuals overcome their learning difficulties. Several thinking and learning strategies are explored, including visual data animation, concept cartooning, visual metaphor, and musical translation of written material. Some ways that visual-spatial thinking can help overcome the problems generated by dogmatic school reform also are scrutinized.

Purpose: The paper shows the interpretive impact of different constructions of the point of view available to the reader/viewer in book and animated movie versions of a children's picture book, a novel for pre-adolescents/early teenagers, and a graphic novel for adolescents and adults. Design/Approach/Methods: Excerpts from book and animated movie versions of the same story are compared using multimodal analysis of interpersonal meaning to show how the reader/viewer is positioned in relation to the characters in each version, complemented by analyses of ideational meaning to show the effect of point of view on interpretive possibilities. Findings: Focusing mainly on multimodal construction of point of view, the analyses show how interpretive possibilities of ostensibly the same story are significantly reconfigured in animated adaptations compared with book versions even when the verbal narrative remains substantially unchanged. Originality/Value: The study shows that it is crucial to students' critical appreciation of, and their creative contribution to, their evolving digital literary culture that in this new era of educational technology, attention in literacy and literary education focuses on developing understandings of digital multimodal narrative art, and that animated movie adaptations are not presented pedagogically as isomorphic with, or simply adjunct to, corresponding book versions.

The present article highlights the views of Slovenian language teachers on the introduction of comics in literature lessons in primary school. We were interested in Slovenian language teachers' views on the introduction of comics as an art-literary type of text as part of the literature curriculum as well as the use of comics as a literary-didactic method in literature classes. This was investigated via a questionnaire, which was fully completed by 121 Slovenian language teachers of the first to the ninth grade. The results show that factors such as gender, educational period taught, professional experience, field of study, highest level of completed education, source of skills related to the introduction of comics in the classroom, teachers' reading habits and attitudes towards reading comics, and agreement with stereotypical claims about comics per se have no influence on teachers' attitudes towards the use of comics in the forms studied. However, their attitudes towards the use of comics in the classroom are influenced by certain stereotypical attitudes of teachers towards comics. The most important limitation of our research was also the most important finding: teachers are neither empowered to introduce and use comics as an art-literary type of text in the literary curriculum, nor are they able to use comics as a literary didactic method in literature classes. There is a great need for teacher training and teachers should be empowered to use and introduce comics in all forms.

Technological developments in various fields are the key to progress in the digital era. The utilization of technology-based learning media in education makes learning more interactive and supports independent learning. This study aims to develop and test the practicality and effectiveness of storyline-based nervous system e-comics media to support students' independent learning. This research uses the Research and Development (RnD) method with the Lee & Owen model, consisting of the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation stages. The research was conducted with the subjects in this study, class XI MIPA SMA Negeri 2 Malang students, totalling 60 people. A pre-experimental design of one group pretest-posttest was used to test the effectiveness of the media. Data were collected through questionnaires and tests. The media validation results obtained 100%, material validation 100%, and student response results 98.7% in the class trial. The effectiveness test used a Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design. The results showed a significant difference between the posttest of both classes with Sig. (2-tailed) 0.00 <0.05, there is a significant difference between the control and experimental classes. Storylinebased nerve e-comic media can facilitate independent learning more interestingly and interactively.

The aims of this study were to synthesize and evaluate the learning model in gamification environment together with cartoon animation media to promote students' creative problem-solving skills. This study was divided into three phases, (i) synthesized and evaluated the appropriateness of learning model (ii) developed cartoon animation and (iii) assessed creative problem-solving skills. The results show that the learning model consisted of three main components: teaching component, gamification environment, and activities to promote creative problem-solving. The overall suitability assessment of the developed learning model was averaged at 4.69 (SD = 0.46) out of 5, being at the most appropriate level and the scores of the students' post-learn creative problem-solving skills assessment were significantly higher than the criteria at the level 0.05. These results lead to a conclusion that the learning model in gamification environment together with cartoon animation media can significantly promote students' creative problem-solving skills and can be applied to develop desired learners' achievements and skills.

It is well known that a quality teacher education is necessary for qualified education. Teachers must be well-trained in multiple areas and have an open-minded structure. They must develop strategies based on the lesson and students, which needs effective material development and use. The materials to be used could be prepared by others and can be incorporated into the classroom setting or teachers could design and present them to students, which is essential for the quality of instruction. When a teacher creates and effectively employs instructional materials, his/her self-confidence will increase and teaching will be enriched and made easier. Comics is one of those materials enriching classroom. This study seeks to elucidate the perspectives and experiences of teachers who took course "The Use of Comics in Social Studies Education" on generating comics as educational materials. The instructor of the relevant course designed and implemented it for the first time in 2019. This is the first and only course of its kind in Turkey. It is an elective graduate course at Yildiz Technical University Faculty of Education, Istanbul, Turkey. The purpose of the courses is to introduce comics, explain the use of comics as an educational resource, and enhance the professional skills and competencies of teachers and teacher candidates. In this study, teachers who completed the course at the master's level were examined. The study group consisted of twelve social studies teachers who took the course between 2019 and 2022, when it was offered for the first time. As a qualitative study, interviews were utilised to collect the data, then analysed through content analysis. The research revealed that the course "The Use of Comics in Social Studies Education" contributed positively to the academic and professional experiences of teachers. It has been determined that comics, as a medium, had positive effects on the professional experience of the participants, such as increasing student motivation, enabling learning while having fun, facilitating permanent learning, contributing to the development of empathy skills, and encouraging the formation of reading habits.

Despite comics' popularity and cultural significance in Italy, its integration into Italian libraries has been slow, problematic, and uneven. This is reflected in the scarcity of academic research on the topic, which demands further in-depth exploration. In the context of Italian libraries, characterized by chronic underfunding and staffing shortages, comics might be perceived as a low priority. However, as essential cultural institutions, libraries must strive to reflect both the contemporary era and the evolving reading habits of their audience. Comics, in this regard, could prove to be -- and in part already are -- a critical resource, a 'booster' for libraries. This article aims to provide a broad and introductory framework for understanding the relationship between comics and libraries in Italy. It will specifically examine the challenges and opportunities associated with this incomplete integration, addressing specific issues such as cataloging, displaying, managing, and promoting comics collections. The first section will explore the historical context of the troubled relationship between Italian libraries and comics, in line with crucial international studies. Following this historical contextualization, the second part will examine the challenges faced by Italian librarians in creating and managing comics collections, including the enduring perception of comics as a medium primarily for children. The research employs a multifaceted approach, combining bibliographic analysis, an anonymous survey, and data from a conference co-organized by the researcher. This research examines the Italian library system's fragmented approach to comics. It aims to understand librarians' perceptions of the medium and how they integrate comics into their collections. It offers insights to enhance the dynamic relationship between comics and libraries in an evolving society.

In early 2021, the Schusterman Library at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa satellite campus took a new step towards building a culture of interest by creating the Graphic Scholarship Collection. This new endeavor is a curated collection of graphic novels, primarily non-fiction, aligned with the academic programs on campus, as well as promoting University initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion. A new organizational structure for the collection materials and their circulation metrics will be examined in detail. There will also be consideration of the challenges of selection and acquisition by a mixed team of selectors, some of whom have no experience with graphic novels and who have to resolve contradictions between the new and existing library collections. New graphic scholarship initiatives and faculty-library partnerships will be explored. In addition to developing workshops and other learning activities around the collection, the library is partnering with campus faculty in creating original course content. The collection's development has already had an impact by building and strengthening bonds across the campus, and it aims to mirror the growth of the University community.

Classifying, naming, and identifying insects have been complicated topics among science teachers and students. This problem is due to the highly technical collection protocols, safekeeping procedures, the unavailability of appropriate learning resources, and the closure of school laboratories and facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the remote learning setup, this study utilized Improvised Insect Traps (IITs) to provide an authentic learning experience in teaching and learning insect taxonomy at home. The study aimed to determine the effects of using IITs on students' self-efficacy beliefs and perceived levels of engagement. In this quasi-experimental study, 42 students designed and developed their improvised insect traps. Insect collection and classification were accomplished within four weeks. A 20-item validated survey questionnaire on self-efficacy and engagement levels was administered via Google Forms. Students' feedback was gathered using virtual focus group discussions and open-ended questions. Results revealed that IITs effectively improved students' self-efficacy beliefs (Z=0.033, p-value=0.022, g=0.68), while no improvement was noted in students' perceived levels of engagement (Z=0.143, p-value=0.188, g=0.07) in teaching and learning insect taxonomy. Moreover, students' feedback and responses were classified as Affordances or Constraints. Subthemes such as motivation, satisfaction, authentic learning, safety, and parental involvement were generated in the thematic analysis. Overall, this study found that the IITs activity is relevant in teaching insect taxonomy and delivering practical learning experiences among students in a distance learning modality.

This study attempts to analyze the innovation of learning media in elementary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This library and field research has the data collected from Google Scholar database concerning scientific articles about innovative learning media in elementary schools during the pandemic. The data were collected using the keyword "Innovation of SD learning media". They were taken from 359 data: 280 Indonesian version and 79 Inglish versio. The data were classified into Indonesian, Natural Science, Social Sciences, and Mathematics, Civics, and Thematic subjects.There are more technology-based media than non-technology-based media. The types of media used in this research are video media, games, books, PowerPoint, and concrete objects used in the six subjects focusing on research. Based on the frequency and quantity of instructional media, the researchers recommend that the Indonesian language subjects use books, videos, and concrete objects. In science subjects, video learning media, PowerPoint, and books are used. In social studies subjects, games, videos, and concrete objects are used. In the Mathematics subject, media games, videos, and concrete objects are used. In PKN (Civics) subjects, video learning media, ICT, and comics are used. In thematic learning, video learning media, games, and books are used.

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study about the inclusion of arts-based assessment strategies in a 12th grade Israel education classroom. Students were tasked with producing a political cartoon that demonstrated their understandings of contemporary Israeli society. Data was collected from interviews and students' original artwork. The findings revealed that learning through the arts provided students with opportunities to think about and express their feelings about Israel in aesthetically complex and personal ways. The findings also demonstrated the importance of pre-assessment strategies like frequent exposure to the genre of political cartoons and conferencing before submission.

This paper presents a novel approach to teaching how vaccines work in the body, and introduces a community outreach project and activity we piloted with youth. Our Nuestra Ciencia program addresses scientific misconceptions among bilingual elementary school children in engaging and scientifically accurate ways. Utilizing analogies and storytelling, one of our lessons simplifies the complex microbiology concept of the mechanism of action of vaccines. We underscore the issue with conveying this concept through accurate visuals, supported by our research that revealed that less than 1% of cartoons available online accurately depict how vaccines work. The analogy we developed and showcase in this paper employs relatable characters: the virus as a robber, the immune system as a superhero, and the vaccine as a "most wanted" poster. The activities include a skit and storyboard session, enabling students to act out the analogy and create their own imaginative scenarios. By targeting young learners, this lesson aims to prevent long-standing misconceptions and empower future generations to make informed decisions about vaccination. Nuestra Ciencia offers a promising model for combating vaccine hesitancy and promoting public health through effective science communication.

This paper engages with Italo Calvino's lecture on Visibility, included in his last--and testamentary--volume "Six Memos," by understanding it in an educational and pedagogical key. While the question of pedagogy is expressly addressed by Calvino himself in his lecture, the interpretation here provided is not merely an application of his tenets but an elaboration on and an autonomous development of them. In particular, in the spotlight there is the intimate bond image-cum-writing which seems to preside over Calvino's insights and is here suggested as key to tackling the challenges of the contemporary mediascape and the "tautological vision" dominating therein. While a part of the educational discourse invokes "homeostatic" pedagogical solutions, namely the (ultimately confrontational) deployment of writing to compensate for the iconic ruling regime, this paper explores the possibility of a specific kind of visual education (instantiated by comics and Otto Neurath's Isotype), which combines the role of the image with some features traditionally attributed to the pedagogy of writing (e.g. the cultivation of abilities of abstraction, of reflection etc.). A pedagogy of figuration is, accordingly, proposed as an interruption of the tautological vision of the new media and as conducive to educating readers of the unwritten world and of the world of digital images, Mr. Palomar--the hero of Calvino's last novel--possibly being the archetype of this kind of (new?) readership. By referring to two influential notions in the contemporary debate in educational philosophy and theory, this pedagogy is finally interpreted in term of (visual) thing-centredness rather than (visual) subjectification.

The praxis article is devoted to the study of educational cartoon as an interactive method of teaching legal disciplines. The purpose of the article is to argue the usefulness of this methodology for the educational process (e.g., the development of critical thinking, increasing the activity of students when discussing educational tasks on the basis of cartoons, clarification of complex terms), to improve the image of the university (use of educational cartoons in universities during the week of the Faculty of Law), and explain how we assessed the effectiveness of this methodology through quantitative and qualitative methods. While it is a new approach in Russian Law schools, we draw attention to the universality of this methodology; as educational cartoons can be used in schools and across different university departments, and to the specificity of modeling of educational tasks in law, by providing specific examples of such educational tasks. We propose three variants of development of educational cartoons for the educational process at law faculties: (1) placing an order for special production of educational cartoons; (2) use of fragments of already existing cartoons; and (3) creation by the teacher of oral tasks on the motives of national fairy tales. The results of our research substantiate that the greatest effect of the proposed methodology can give only in the case of using for the preparation of educational cartoons national content, which is closest to the culture and mentality of students of a particular university.

Through auto-ethnography, this paper explores the use of critical visual methodologies as a pedagogical approach in teaching and learning development studies based on the author's lived experiences and living encounters as a development educator for the last two decades of his academic career. Specifically, the study unpacks the adoption of this critical pedagogy in classroom instruction as well as in the degree's community-based practicum program. Conventional and non-conventional visual literacy strategies were also covered and analyzed in the specific context of researching vulnerable groups and communities. The visual data that were explored by this qualitative inquiry encompassed visually oriented course tasks which include the production of photographs, audio-visual presentations, posters, editorial cartoons, and sociological cartoons, among others. In ensuring coherence and complementarity in critical visual methodologies in development education, there is a need to synergize critical constructs with c

Numerous researches support the widely accepted notion that the reading experience between digital and printed literature differs. This study intends to investigate if this applies to reading comic books and to assess any differences in learning comprehension. The research methodology includes a systematic literature review to frame research questions. Followed by a 'think-aloud protocol' experiment to answer the identified research questions. The experiment was conducted using a within-subject design with convenience sampling of 15 high school students to map their reading experience. It has produced data in the form of time taken for the reading, switching areas of interest, and repetition of words on the computer screen and print. The collected data was further analysed using a paired sample T-test, and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. The results indicated that off-screen reading exhibited a significant advantage over on-screen reading in terms of reading time. The study observed that readers took longer to switch between areas of interest on a computer screen compared to print, which further supports the belief of slower comprehension on screen. Furthermore, over 72% of the respondents reported encountering word repetition on screen in comparison to print media. The key contribution of this research is providing a novel approach for studying user responses through the think-aloud protocol experiment, which helps map the users' verbal psychological responses. At the same time, the study has a limited sample size as a constraint pertaining to considering the study for generalizability. This research emphasizes the importance of conducting studies involving verbal psychological responses alongside eye-tracking. This combination provides valuable insights into reader comprehension and aids in the development of tailored graphical interfaces for digital comic reading.

This study examined how well people can recognize and relate to animated pedagogical agents of varying ethnicities/races and genders. For both Study 1 (realistic-style agents) and Study 2 (cartoon-style agents), participants viewed brief video clips of virtual agents of varying racial/ethnic categories and gender types and then identified their race/ethnicity and gender and rated how human-like and likable the agent appeared. Participants were highly accurate in identifying Black and White agents but were less accurate for Asian, Indian, and Hispanic agents. Participants were accurate in recognizing gender differences. Participants rated all types of agents as moderately human-like, except for White agents. Likability ratings were lowest for White and male agents. The same pattern of results was obtained across two independent studies with different participants and different onscreen agents, which indicates that the results are not solely due to one specific set of agents. Consistent with the Media Equation Hypothesis and the Alliance Hypothesis, this work shows that people are sensitive to the race/ethnicity and gender of onscreen agents and relate to them differently. These findings have implications for how to design animated pedagogical agents for improved multimedia learning environments in the future and serve as a crucial first step in highlighting the possibility and feasibility of incorporating diverse onscreen virtual agents into educational computer software.

The main aims of the present research were to: (1) describe the scientific outputs indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, from now on WoS, regarding the use of comic books as didactic resources in the teaching-learning of the sciences, and; (2) establish the conceptual structure of scientific output regarding the use of comic books as didactic resources in the teaching-learning of science. A quantitative-bibliometric methodology was followed on a sample of 60 scientific documents recovered using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses strategy, from now on PRISMA. Findings suggest that the topic is still emerging given the novelty of the discipline and that published studies tend to be low impact in terms of the number of citations they receive. With regards to the conceptual structure, the most relevant themes and trends to emerge pertained to medical education, comic books and illustrations, and the use of mobile devices. Finally, analysis of the keywords used by the top 20 most relevant authors, it was possible to infer a degree of correspondence between sources, keywords and the continents responsible for the greatest scientific output on the topic.

This article is about what the future of reading looks like. Currently many districts across the country--including New York City--are adopting research-based methods called the science of reading that focus on mechanics. Leanne Ellis surmises the future of reading holds great promise if school librarians can promote, showcase, and advocate for a reading culture that is multimodal, multidimensional, and free of judgment. As educators, they speak about learners needing tiered interventions to support their learning; the same holds for creating lifelong readers--they need a tiered approach with format, fiction, misinformation, and artificial intelligence (AI) to engage and ignite learner passion for words, ideas, and inquiry.

The story of American superheroes cannot be told without the publisher DC and its evolving audience. During the latter 1930s and early 1940s, DC Comics assembled a catalog of superheroes that became the archetype of the genre itself: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. As DC Comics' audience and market grew throughout the decades, the company's understanding of its readership expanded to include readers of color. Originally conceived as DC Zoom in 2018, the imprint was meant to create superhero narratives written for young audiences. In 2020, DC Zoom reorganized and bifurcated its products into two streams: DC Graphic Novels for Kids and DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults. The former is geared toward upper elementary students, while the latter is geared toward middle and high school audiences. The DC Graphic Novels for Kids imprint redresses the original narrative exclusion of DC Comics by centering new, young heroes of color alongside white superheroes. Importantly, these younger heroes of color are written by comic writers of color, which marks a departure from the historical origins of some of the most popular superheroes of color. In this article, the authors construct a critical race content analysis of DC Graphic Novels for Kids that feature characters of color to engage in that inquiry. Tensions and changes within superhero comic books frequently mirror larger sociopolitical shifts in the United States. Similar to reading children's literature, the consumption and engagement with graphic novels cannot be severed from the sociopolitical contexts in which such actions take place. This tradition of engagement continues to the modern day with DC Comics. A tension exists between narratives that ignore discussions of race and racism and literary moves that work as racialized characterization.

With their increasing popularity, there is a need for more research clarifying the potential strengths and weaknesses of the comic format for education. The panelled comic format may be particularly effective for educating adults on the scientific aspects of processes (sequences of events, occurring over time, in a series of discrete steps). We tested change in performance in adults (n = 879) in correctly ordering the stages in four processes before and after being exposed to educational material about these processes. The material was presented in a random selection of one of seven experimentally manipulated formats based on characteristics of comic books. Overall, participant performance improved after seeing the educational material. There were significant differences in learning between the processes, suggesting that the benefits, or detriments, of the comic format may be subject-specific. Performance was significantly better when images were subdivided into panels, and worse when an explanatory agent (character) was included, though these differences in performance did not survive adjustment for multiple comparisons. This study presents some evidence that the panelled nature of the comic format supports learning about scientific processes in adults. Given results differed notably between the specific topics to be learned, there is substantial scope for further investigation.

This paper aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of studies on the relationship between reading and writing skills and digital literacy at the K-12 level, following the PRISMA statement. The analysis included examining subjects, aims, digital materials, methodologies, and learning outcomes of relevant studies. Data were collected from the Web of Science database based on specified inclusion criteria. In total, 23 empirical studies were analyzed: 6 articles exploring the relationship between writing and digital literacy skills, and 17 articles examining the relationship between reading and digital literacy skills. The relationship between reading skills and digital literacy was explored in several contexts: the impact of digital texts on reading processes, comprehension and interpretation skills, effects of digital technologies on traditional reading methods, the influence of digital graphic novels on reading processes, and early literacy education. Findings indicated a relationship between writing skills and digital literacy, covering topics such as digital technologies in traditional writing, critical discourse analysis, writing skills in new media, and writing practices. Various digital tools were employed to enhance reading, writing, and digital literacy skills, including digital tablets, computer software, comics, educational videos, e-books, picture books, digital novels, voice recorders, and mobile devices. The majority of studies utilized qualitative and mixed methods; no studies employed quantitative methods. Overall, these findings highlight the interplay between reading, writing, and digital literacy skills at the K-12 level, providing a foundation for future research.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore teacher candidates' response to young adult literature (prose and comics) featuring fat identified protagonists. The paper considers the textual and embodied resources readers use and reject when imagining and interpreting a character's body. This paper explores how readers' meaning making was influenced when reading prose versus comics. This paper adds to a corpus of scholarship about the relationships between young adult literature, comics, bodies and reader response theory. Design/methodology/approach: At the time of the study, participants were enrolled in a teacher education program at a Midwestern University, meeting monthly for a voluntary book club dedicated to reading and discussing young adult literature. To examine readers' responses to comics and prose featuring fat-identified protagonists, the author used descriptive qualitative methodologies to conduct a thematic analysis of meeting transcripts, written participant reflections and researcher memos. Analysis was grounded in theories of reader response, critical fat studies and multimodality. Findings: Analyses indicated many readers reject textual clues indicating a character's body size and weight were different from their own. Readers read their bodies into the stories, regarding them as self-help narratives instead of radical counternarratives. Some readers were not able to read against their assumptions of thinness (and whiteness) until prompted by the researcher and other participants. Originality/value: Although many reader response scholars have demonstrated readers' tendencies toward personal identification in the face of racial and class differences, there is less research regarding classroom practices around the entanglement of physical bodies, body image and texts. Analyzing reader's responses to the constructions of fat bodies in prose versus comics may help English Language Arts (ELA) educators and students identify and deconstruct ideologies of thin-thinking and fatphobia. This study, which demonstrates thin readers' tendencies to overidentify with protagonists, suggests ELA classrooms might encourage readers to engage in critical literacies that support them in reading both with and against their identities.

Cybersecurity educational efforts are urgently needed to introduce young people to the profession and give students and teachers cybersecurity knowledge to protect themselves from increasing cybercrime. In this study, 56 elementary preservice teachers participated in a 3-hour intervention within a technology integration course that introduced them to a curriculum, [TITLE], designed to teach cybersecurity and cryptology to upper elementary classrooms. The study used pre-post surveys, an engagement questionnaire, and observations to investigate the influence of this module on elementary preservice teachers' perceptions about the importance of teaching cyber security in elementary school, confidence in their ability to teach cybersecurity, intention to teach cybersecurity in the future and engagement during the intervention. While most preservice teachers had minimal prior experiences with the content, there were positive changes in their perceptions, confidence, and intention to teach cybersecurity and cryptology content. There was also evidence of cognitive, behavioral, and affective engagement throughout the intervention. While longer interventions and opportunities to teach these concepts in authentic settings would likely be even more impactful for preservice teachers, this study suggests that even short interventions can have positive results and is a step forward in bringing cybersecurity and cryptology content to preservice teacher education.

An arts-based qualitative research study was conducted to study the use of political cartoons in Israel education in a high school class. Data analysis revealed that students' initial interest in the cartoons coupled with the diversity of representations of Israeli society on display in the cartoons facilitated an Israel education experience that afforded students the opportunity to engage in meaningful text-to-self connections that also deepened their understanding of the complexity of Israeli society.

The proposal to turn the so-called Cartoon Crisis into the obligatory history curriculum of the primary school system has been debated publicly over the years. Pros and cons regarding its integration into a teaching environment have been put forward. Since 2021, the proposal has also been formally debated as a bill and put to vote in the Danish parliament two times -- each time voted down by the current government. Despite the bill's defeat, I present here a number of principled arguments for making the so-called Cartoon Crisis (including the actual drawings) an obligatory teaching subject in the Danish school system. The arguments can be summed up as an encouragement to 'Teach the Crisis'. Choosing not to include the Crisis and its primary sources in the teaching will only instal the proverbial elephant in the classroom and is probably a short-term solution for the cultural, social, and political challenges that Denmark will meet in the future.

Portable mobile technologies and high-speed access to the internet has led to the development of new online-first reading materials such as Korean Manhwa or webtoons, designed for quick consumption on mobile devices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 adolescent girls aged 14 to 15 years old, this study examines why and how adolescents read Manhwa, especially romances. Findings show that these girls read for entertainment and to escape from reality. Strong visual aesthetics, relatable characters and engaging storylines, driven by technological infrastructures encouraging continual engagement, support these adolescents' immersion in online storyworlds. Their engagement with these texts allowed the girls as readers to discover self as reader and person, negotiating multifaceted aspects of their working, moral and romantic lives as they envision present and future possibilities.

The current study investigates how educational media influences the early bilingual language development of Pakistani children. An exploratory sequential research design was employed, spanning a 16-week observation period and the utilisation of a Likert-scale based questionnaire. A cohort of twenty 5-year-old children and their parents participated in the study. The findings reveal that exposure to second language (L2) culture through educational media can positively impact learning. However, the efficacy of this influence is contingent upon various factors such as media quality, frequency and duration of exposure, and cultural relevance. Furthermore, the study outlines both favourable and adverse outcomes of L2 cultural exposure on children's behaviour. Positive effects include fostering an appreciation for diverse cultures, enhancing language proficiency, and promoting cultural competence. Conversely, negative consequences encompass inappropriate behaviour and an over-reliance on screen time. The paper concludes by offering suggestions to parents and educators for mitigating negative effects. These recommendations involve monitoring screen time, introducing alternative forms of entertainment, and leveraging cartoons and nursery rhymes as tools to teach cultural diversity and encourage identity formation. Lastly, the study underscores the significance of combining the use of educational media with other language learning techniques to deliver a holistic language learning experience.

The purpose of this study is to understand how Latinx preservice teachers (LPSTs) engage their multimodal and multilingual literacies to create comic strips about the knowledge and pedagogies found within their homes located within with U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Drawing on pedagogies of the home and Chicanx/Latinx multimodality, the findings illustrate how the LPSTs used comic creation to document teaching and learning practices of biculturalism, cultural preservation, spirituality, remedios, and the importance of education. This study has implications for developing teacher education pedagogies that are reflective of the linguistic and cultural diversity of LPSTs.

This qualitative study highlights how children's literature can serve as a springboard for discussing current events while making connections with a similar historical event. Undergraduate students enrolled in children's literature courses read the graphic novel "Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918" and discussed the parallels between the book and the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicate strong text-to-self and text-to-world connections between the events of the flu of 1918 highlighted in the graphic novel and those of the COVID-19 pandemic. Connections included restrictions and closures, mask mandates, vaccine development, medical theories, and theories of spread. Information dissemination and consumption was a prominent theme.

Student engagement in the process of transduction concomitantly affords them with opportunities to develop and express their critical and creative thinking competences. Reconfiguring or remaking knowledge or meaning in modes other than those of the original sources of information requires affective, imaginative and cognitive activity by sign-makers. In this article, I present examples of elementary students' transduction work and discuss their semiotic meaning-making with reference to the concepts of critical and creative thinking. During the study featured in this article, Grade 4 students engaged in the process of transduction when participating in activities about elements of visual art and design and conventions of the medium comics, when exploring picturebooks and graphic novels and when composing and explaining their own multimodal texts. The students' transmodal meaning-making showed how, in the context of the research classrooms, the purposefully designed pedagogy and activities both required and nurtured students' critical and creative thinking, which simultaneously provided the students with opportunities to extend their knowledge and deepen their understandings of the concepts and curriculum content under study.

Treatment adherence is one of the milestones in the care of hypertensive patients, with new information and communication technologies as potential educational tools. This study aimed to evaluate the add-on effect of a digital cartoon educative video on the therapeutic observance of patients followed up in the General Hospital Yaoundé compared to standard of care. We conducted a randomized simple blind clinical trial at the cardiology unit of the Yaoundé General Hospital over a 6-month period from 1st March to 30th August 2022. We enrolled 110 patients and randomized them in blocs of 4 creating two groups of 57 and 53, respectively, without (group 1) and with (group 2) intervention. Preintervention treatment adherence was assessed using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS). In the standard group (G1), we provided standard paper-based clinical counselling, including oral advice, and in the intervention group (G2), we did the same and added a digital cartoon video containing exactly the same message as images and audio. The primary outcome was medication adherence after three months. The mean age was 56.65 ± 10.98 years in group 1 (paper) and 56.42 ± 10.46 years in group 2 (paper + video), without any significant difference. The two groups were similar regarding the proportion of females (36.8% in G1 and 49.3% in G2) and educational levels. According to the Morisky medication adherence scale, before the intervention, the proportions of patients with good, medium and low treatment adherence in groups 1 and 2 were 7%, 25.6%, 67.4%, and 5.1%, 43.6%, 51.3%, respectively, without any significant difference. After interventions, the proportion of patients presenting a good observance moved from 7 to 11% in group 1 (paper) and 5.1 to 20% in group 2 (paper + video). The intragroup variation in treatment adherence in the intervention group (before-after) tended to be significant, with a p-value = 0.0572, while this p-value was 0.712 in the standard group. Our results provide insight into how digital cartoon videos can help to have an add-on effect on the treatment adherence of hypertensive patients, with clinical significance.

Upon encountering unfamiliar words or observing local practices in study abroad contexts, second language learners may discuss aspects of the target language and culture with their peers -- 'non-native' friends from the same cultural background or 'natives' of the target culture. Such mediations are instrumental in elaborating understandings, but are naturally conditioned by the participants' intercultural stances, including their appreciation of cultural similarities/differences. This study examines the interpretive work carried out by two learners of Japanese and their respective friends in reading a Japanese "manga" (short comics) depicting the allegedly 'typical' Japanese behaviour around "honne," i.e. restraint in expressing one's feelings or opinions. We observe rather different negotiation styles and different ideologies at play in their argumentations and discuss them in relation to the dynamics generated by the assumption of epistemic authority claimed by (and granted to) the native-speaker friend, vs. the more collaborative negotiation in the case of the non-native friend. The lack of a dominant authoritative source appears to generate more nuanced interpretive possibilities, enabling challenges to established and stereotypical discourses about cultural characteristics. This analysis illustrates dynamics which potentially question widely held (and equally ideological) beliefs about unqualified advantages of periods of study abroad for cultural learning.

Background: Emotional design of multimedia lessons involves adding features that are intended to increase learner enjoyment and promote learning--such as adding narrative, anthropomorphizing non-human elements, and using warm colours. Objective: The present study extends this work to examine the potential of Japanese animation (anime) for improving science learning. Method: Specifically, 134 English-speaking students learned about cells in the human body by viewing the popular anime, "Cells at Work," either in Japanese with English subtitles or dubbed in English with no subtitles (anime groups), or by viewing a slideshow containing the same information (slideshow group). The anime conditions were vibrant story-driven lessons that depicted human-looking cells working to fight off invaders in a human body that looked like a city. The slideshow used very similar wording as the anime groups, and displayed the cells without anthropomorphism or a storyline. Results and Conclusion: The anime groups did not differ significantly from each other on any dependent measures and were therefore combined. The anime groups scored significantly higher than the slideshow group on retention (d = 0.35) and transfer (d = 0.48) tests. The anime groups also had significantly higher ratings of motivation (d = 0.60) and enjoyment (d = 1.13), whereas, the slideshow group had significantly higher ratings of distraction (d = 0.59). These results support the cognitive-affective theory of learning with media (CATLM) and demonstrate that anime may be an effective learning medium. Takeaways: Anime should be considered as a medium for science learning, especially when students might not otherwise be motivated to learn.

This paper explores the use of comics as an integrated tool for introducing socioscientific issues (SSI) in elementary school classrooms. To illustrate this, we provide implementation examples from two teachers who facilitated introducing SSI to students using comics. These case studies depict how teachers integrated comics into their classroom settings and combined them with various teaching activities. In this paper, we also emphasize the format of the comics we designed, which starts with an introduction to everyday stories and scientific concepts before delving into SSI scenarios within the comics. Additionally, we have incorporated a conclusion part in the comics to serve as a closing segment. Furthermore, we emphasize the role of SSI scenarios within the comics in establishing meaningful connections between students' personal experiences and real-life SSI scenarios. The discussions predominantly involve private discourse, enabling students to construct their reasoning and perspectives. This approach promotes the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, aligning with the ultimate objective of linking the science classroom with societal issues.

Comic book characters (CBCs) provide an escapism from reality while still confronting real issues. However, for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) there is a lack of characters that look, talk, and think like them. Black Panther is an example of a character more inclusive of BIPOC populations, especially Black males. What differentiates Black Panther is the CBC can be a metaphor for issues Black males face, such as racism/discrimination. The superhero has several positive attributes, such as a strong sense of self, dignity, and strength/resiliency. Furthermore, one of the more appealing cultural aspects of Black Panther is he must undergo several rites of passages to claim his inheritance. Rites of passages are gaining recognition as a culturally responsive group method to use with Black males in school settings. Thus, a rites of passages counseling group centered on the attributes of Black Panther can offer a contemporary, school-based counseling intervention.

This qualitative study examined the written responses of 58 undergraduate, preservice teachers in three online children's literature courses to the graphic novel, When stars are scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. Findings from a summative content analysis of participants' written responses showed five response themes: Connections & Bookjoy, Eye-Opening, American Myth, Navel Gazing, and Inequity. Participants reported learning about refugee experiences; however, their connections were shallow, with some distancing themselves from the protagonists' realities. These findings point to the importance of increased levels of instructor scaffolding with explicit attention to developing students' identities and critical reflection so that they can learn from their own response patterns to stories with themes of world/national injustices, immigration causes/effects, and diversity in general. Future research into how the growth of such understandings and dispositions may impact the ways new teachers engage with their own students and approach literacy instruction and assessment.

Academic integrity is a crucial aspect of the educational process, often receiving insufficient attention until a violation occurs. Researchers emphasize the importance of students comprehending academic integrity to foster ethical professionalism. However, there is a lack of resources available to effectively support these conversations. This study aims to assess academic integrity efficacy and the multi-dimensional ethical scale (MES) through the use of a graphic novel mini-case study. The analysis reveals a significant relationship between academic integrity efficacy, MES dimensions (moral equity, relativism and contractualism), and the case studies among undergraduate participants. The combination of quantitative and qualitative findings provides valuable insights into how graphic novel mini-cases can engage in academic integrity discussions with undergraduate students. The graphic novel mini-cases, along with their limitations and potential for future research, are provided.

The aim of this article is to examine research on inquiry-based chemistry education in primary and secondary schools to discuss how it is addressed in the research literature. A systematic review was conducted, including 102 articles published between 2000 and 2020. Through inductive analyses, the articles were categorised into four groups: (1) articles testing specific teaching approaches or models, (2) articles testing specific learning environments, (3) articles reporting on teachers and (4) additional relevant studies. Within each group, the articles were further categorised into five scientific domains (i.e. conceptual, epistemic, social, procedural and affective) and two categories: classroom practice and other. The experimental studies were also given a typology according to the quality of the methods applied. Overall, the research has been conducted with varied foci and it generally reports positive learning outcomes. However, the main emphasis is on the conceptual and affective domains, with fewer studies focusing on the epistemic domain. Finally, when it comes to methodology, the reviewed articles included many quantitative studies, often with few respondents and of varied quality. Thus, there is a need for more studies with larger numbers of participants, longer durations, more purposeful sampling and with focus on the epistemic and social domains.

This paper extends research that looks at the intersection of multimodal composing and maker education. We present findings from a fourth iteration of a multidisciplinary classroom design study in which high school youth made digital comics based on literary novels in an 11th grade language arts classroom in a predominantly Hispanic, low-SES, urban high school. The current study offers a close analysis of students' processes for making digital comics and how they utilized smartphone-based social media apps and comics tools to construct meaning via transmediation of a traditional literary text. We focused on two (cases) groups of students' multimodal making. We asked, how do youth leverage their own socio-technical repertoires of practice in multimodal making of digital comics? We used interaction analysis methods to analyze multimodal talk-in-interaction to understand how students used their bodies and technologies across making activities. We found that multimodal making with personal technologies enabled youth to transform and ascribe meaning to school spaces, supported embodied learning across physical and digital spaces, and reinforced agency in school spaces. We discuss implications for expanding maker education into formal non-STEM disciplinary spaces and the importance of grounding learning designs in students' preferred repertoires of practice and incorporate the tools that are intertwined with their ways of being and knowing if we are to support making practices among culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse learners both in and out of schools.

This article describes the use of a comic book to anchor a cryptology and cybersecurity curriculum for upper elementary students. Perceptions about the comic book from 138 students across 11 afterschool programs were examined using survey, classroom observation, and interviews. Data analysis revealed that the comic book created a "macrocontext" to situate learners in an exciting adventure about cryptology and cybersecurity. Students found the characters relatable, and their perceptions were tightly tied to other components of the curriculum. Reading the word bubbles was challenging at first, but got easier over time. This study illustrates how comic books can anchor unfamiliar STEM content for younger learners.

It is essential that concepts surrounding species interactions and their importance for biodiversity conservation are widely taught and understood. Incorporating playfulness into ecological education initiatives can attract more interest in these aspects of ecology. Over the last three decades Pokémon has engaged with millions of people by replicating many aspects of real-world wildlife in cartoons and games. Studies have speculated how the Pokémon franchise creates opportunities for didactic purposes. This study aims to identify the potential for ecological interactions portrayed in the Pokémon universe to contribute to children's engagement and learning. We first gathered information on all the ecological interactions described among Pokémon 'species' from the franchise's website. We found 150 Pokémon species engaging in an array of different ecological interactions. We tested the use of Pokémon as a teaching tool about ecological interactions to high-school students aged [greater than or equal to] 18 years. The use of Pokémon significantly increased learning of almost half of ecological interactions and raised engagement, particularly among students who like the franchise. Our findings show that Pokémon can be a playful and didactic tool for teaching about ecological interactions.

Learner-generated comics are powerful communication tools that allow students to convey complex thoughts and emotions through both verbal and visual modes. In this study, comics were used to explore students' experiences with and perceptions of distance learning (DL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Female university students were chosen as a purposive sample to discover deep sociocultural meanings in society that could be invisible to men. This study analyzed thirty-two comics created by students using a suggested new analytical framework that draws on systemic functional linguistics theory. The findings were categorized into three dimensions: ideational (who, where, and what), interpersonal (relationships and emotions), and textual (main themes of the comics' stories). Quantitative content analysis was applied to analyze ideational and interpersonal dimensions (frequency), and qualitative analysis was applied to analyze textual dimensions (themes). Thematic analyses were categorized into three themes: challenges, advantages, and disadvantages. The findings were interpreted through a cultural lens in a style that presents the chief subjects that should be carefully considered in future scenarios of digital education. Several implications and future studies are suggested, especially about cultural issues in education, the quality of DL, and addressing the challenges and disadvantages associated with it.

The graphic novel "Alpha: Abidjan to Paris" follows the fictional character Alpha from Côte d'Ivoire to Paris, France, detailing his struggles as a displaced person without legal status as well as the various barriers he encounters on his journey to finding safety. The story of Alpha demonstrates a multifaceted, intersectional, and complex experience illustrating the social, political, and economic "crisis" of displacement. The graphic novel also critiques the ways by which displaced persons experience the violence produced by the international refugee regime, especially among West Africa, North Africa, and the European Union. The idea of "crisis" is expressed in the graphic novel in multiple ways. The language and images used accurately portray the tragedy that so many displaced persons have to experience. By highlighting the reasons that people leave hopeless conditions in search of a more secure life, the novel redefines crisis not as an individual experience, but rather the result of harmful decisions produced at the state and global level. The graphic novel demonstrates how powerful institutions can open up their borders to particular types of migration while simultaneously closing it off to other groups, depending on their intersecting identities (including their national origin, race, age, sex, and socioeconomic status).