Layered Analysis – Comic Book Class Data

Research Questions

1. In what ways am I setting my students up for dynamic storytelling?
2. Am I presenting diverse examples that represent my students?

Layer 1

I pulled from many of my resources I use to teach the Comic Book summer camp the “starter packet” that students use throughout the camp, and mostly on the first day for the planning stage. This is their introduction to the class, and sets the tone for their comic.

The packet contains both resources from online, as well as information sheets and comics I wrote and/or drew myself. I began creating these packets after attending a comic drawing workshop where the guest artist, who inked comics for a major publisher, told our audience of families and children that male superhero characters have big muscles and female characters do not. My goal was to get my students to create dynamic characters and interested stories.

My key and a sample of the page is pictured below:

Layer 2

While reading/looking through my packet, I wrote notes in the corresponding colors to signify (purple) good examples of dynamic storytelling or tips for dynamic story telling or (green) road blocks for dynamic story telling.

I found that many of the pages that were scanned for students contained interesting or helpful tips, but were often low contract/too wordy or all around hard to read.

For example, on p.4, the tip “A useful hint is to limit the use of thought balloons to the character you have chosen to represent the point of view” appears at the bottom of the page. It is very hard to read but is very helpful to students looking for specific, quantifiable tips for story telling.

I also was looking for instances where diverse representations appeared in the packet. While I initially thought I would have strong examples of this, when I went to mark them with yellow flags, I found very few actual representations. More often than not, characters on pages I previously thought were diverse were really “blank slate” type characters with no identifiable features. The other end of this is the body proportions page, which is very gendered, and shows only thin, non-disabled bodies. They are in an anime style, but are assumed to be non-BIPOC.

Often, the helpful information is on pages with other major roadblocks.

There is also lots of repeated or superfluous information, making it hard to absorb to new readers of the packet.

Layer 3

In my journal entry I completed in Layer 1, I reflected that I am disappointed in the packet. It is not as strong as I remember it being, and I feel inspired to completely revamp it for the next time this program is offered. It won’t be for some time, and I look forward to improving it with actual diverse examples, and clearer, easier to absorb information.

This packet is supplemented heavily with other resources I have put together in the classroom, and some of what I’m looking for is represented in those packets, but this initial introduction packet should contain the things I need to set the tone for the class/camp.

Layer 4

The pages in my packet with the best tips are often too wordy, or difficult to read. At worst, they are ableist – low contrast and blurry. It is not that there is no good information to be shared with students in the packet, but it can be greatly improved upon. There is room to clarify the elements they need to story telling, but also examples that reflect the students in my classes.

It is also clear from reviewing the packet and reflecting on my goal of setting my students up for dynamic storytelling that the prompts and information needs to be cleaned up, and greatly clarified.

As far as looking for diverse examples that represent my students, instead of trying to eliminate gender or race or ability from my samples, I need to do a better job at either finding existing examples, or creating my own to suit the needs of my students. I know that right now much of this is supplemented in class discussion, but for students who are not present, or connecting to the discussion, the packet from which they are working is their primary reference. The reflection this practice allowed me to have will greatly improve my planning in the future, and will change how I look at representation in my teaching.