Informed by inquiry project, MAT alum serves as Comic-Con panelist
By Carol Jean Tomoguchi-Perez
September 16, 2024
September 16, 2024
Dave Winnick (left) at Comic-Con
In July, recent Master of Arts in Teaching + Credential (MAT) Program graduate Dave Winnick '24 served as a panelist at Comic-Con in San Diego, Calif. The panel, How Comics Improve Critical Thinking, delved into the subject of how comic books and graphic novels can drive critical thinking skills. Winnick's presentation was informed in part by his MAT inquiry project titled "Reading can be a Monster: Using Graphic Literature to Drive Textual Understanding" which, Winnick explained, "centers around using graphic novels and comics in the classroom setting to help students with textual understanding."
Winnick's research illustrated that comic books have a positive effect on students' critical thinking in a number of ways. First, comic books minimize the number of words students have to read while not decreasing the rigor of a text. In addition, Winnick said, "The visuals which take the place of prose are able to be analyzed in the same way that prose fiction is. Comics also have the highest occurrence of unique words in all written media so the students also learn more new words per 100 words they read."
His research further found that comic books can help non-native English speakers pick up the language more effectively. "In particular, comics are helpful with (English language learner) students who can use the visuals to help contextualize words they are unfamiliar with and also allow them to feel less burdened by the quantity of the reading," he said.
Winnick offered a few recommendations to teachers: "There are adaptations of a lot of famous books, like The Great Gatsby, Kindred, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I also think that history courses or schools which pair history and English texts could use books like Kent State by Derf Beckderf or March by John Lewis."
As a student teacher, he engaged his students with Monster by Walter Dean Meyers. "It was great for my class because it is about a trial and we were doing a rhetoric unit."
Winnick's research illustrated that comic books have a positive effect on students' critical thinking in a number of ways. First, comic books minimize the number of words students have to read while not decreasing the rigor of a text. In addition, Winnick said, "The visuals which take the place of prose are able to be analyzed in the same way that prose fiction is. Comics also have the highest occurrence of unique words in all written media so the students also learn more new words per 100 words they read."
His research further found that comic books can help non-native English speakers pick up the language more effectively. "In particular, comics are helpful with (English language learner) students who can use the visuals to help contextualize words they are unfamiliar with and also allow them to feel less burdened by the quantity of the reading," he said.
Winnick offered a few recommendations to teachers: "There are adaptations of a lot of famous books, like The Great Gatsby, Kindred, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I also think that history courses or schools which pair history and English texts could use books like Kent State by Derf Beckderf or March by John Lewis."
As a student teacher, he engaged his students with Monster by Walter Dean Meyers. "It was great for my class because it is about a trial and we were doing a rhetoric unit."
