Graphic Novel Design Document Dennstedt

7/31/2019 Graphic Novel Design Document Dennstedt

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INTE 6710 ~ Project 2 Page 1

INTE 6710 ~ Creative Designs for Instructional Materials

Project 2: Graphic Novel Handout Design DocumentDarren Dennstedt

March 18, 2012

1. Significant Purpose

Educators face increasing pressure to raise standardized test scores as a measure of accountability.

Formative and summative assessment data are tools to drive instruction and respond to these increased

levels of accountability. At the onset of state testing, the focus of standardized assessment was centered

on reading, writing, and math. In recent years, the academic subject science has been added to the state

mandated assessment in the fifth grade. Increased pressure to raise science scores has occurred since

the adoption of the science test. Students must be able to demonstrate an understanding of science

content with teachers being responsible to assess and determine the depth of their knowledge.

Scientific literacy is a central theme, which determines relevant information from irrelevant information,

explain and predict scientific events, and make claims and evidence to support scientific arguments. In

other words, can students think like a scientist developing questions about their environment, conduct a

plan of action, collect data, interpret the data, and make claims about trends found in the data?

As the Science Liaison for my building, Ive been at the forefront of change. Two years ago I piloted a

new science curriculum reporting back to the district science department about the effectiveness of the

program. As the district was determining the cost and the possible adoption of the program, I meet with

my administrator and persuaded her to purchase the piloted program. My administrator agreed a new

direction needed to occur at our building and decided to purchase the program. I was to train the staff

on the new program which eventually led me to training other teachers throughout the district. This in

itself was a fabulous learning opportunity and has set the stage for developing resources and techniques

for effectively teaching science.

Inquiry based learning is key in science and reflects the process of scientific thinking. Developing a

graphic novel handout can solidify and aid in the process of inquiry while offering an explanation of the

world. Some scientific concepts can be cognitively challenging for intermediate students. Breaking down

content information to the core is a primary direction for the handout. However, selecting a topic that

translates easily into a story having the elements of being simple yet emotional was challenging.

Therefore, what is the main purpose of the handout and why is it important? The main purpose will be

to develop a story that encompasses the ideas discussed by Heath and Heath and McCloud. The story

will focus on instructing fourth grade students on the different phases of the Moon. Understanding why

the Moons shape appears to change with the Moons time of arrival and departure in the sky can be

conceptually difficult for fourth grade students to grasp. To help the audience understand that the

Moon has known phases and be able to identify and name these phases, a story will be weaved


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throughout the handout. A story is powerful because it provides the context missing from abstract

prose (Heath & Heath, 2008, pg. 214).

To foster success in creating an instructional handout, I will use what Heath and Heath describe as a

Creativity Plot. The Creativity Plot involves the audience making a mental breakthrough, solving a long

standing puzzle, or attacking a problem (Heath & Heath, 2008, pg. 238). The direction of thepresentation will focus on the aspect of solving a puzzle or mystery. The audience will follow a story of a

fourth grade student who starts with an inquiry question and seeks to find the answer. The handout will

begin with the fourth grade student daydreaming during class noticing the Moon framed in the

classroom window. Over several days the student notices the Moons appearance changing and begins

to formulate an inquiry question as to why the Moon changes. Hence, the adventure begins as the story

unfolds.

In order to make the story resonate and stick with the intended audience, I will utilize what Heath and

Heath describe as the SUCCES checklist. The story will remain simple and concrete using scientifically

accurate information and terms lending to credibility. Students will be able to identify with the main

character due to shared experiences creating emotional connections. Moreover, unexpected elements

will include an explanation of why only one side of the Moon can be seen.

SUCCESS Checklist

2. A Picture of the Future

The Moon is Earths only natural satellite. Similar to the Sun, the Moon rises and sets every day, but

unlike the Sun, the Moon rises and sets at different times. As a result, the Moon can be visible

sometimes at night and at various times during the day. As learners make observations about the Moon,

patterns are revealed. These patterns of the Moons appearance are called phases. As students learn

about the relationship between the Earth and Moon connections to a larger system can be drawn.

Clarity in the instructional presentation is a primary goal. McCloud refers to the importance of clarity

and communication as guiding principles as the story unfolds.

Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional Is a Story


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Communication of the concepts through clear learning goals will push learners to change. As learners

progress through the frames of the presentation, learners will be able to clearly identify the phases of

the Moon and the interconnected relationship between the Earth and the Moon.

The design of the story will call attention to the changes in position and shape of the Moon over time.

However, since the Moon is such a common object in the sky, students develop misconceptions andhave a limited understanding. Therefore, clear learning objectives will motivate the learner as

observations of the Moon occur.

Learner Activity and Focus

Question

Learning Objectives Assessment

Night-Sky Observations using a

Moon Calendar

What natural objects can you

see in the night sky?

Do the stars and Moon change

position or stay in the same

place every night?

Identify that Earth and several

other planets orbit the Sun and

that the Moon orbits the Earth.

Student is able to correctly

model how the Moon orbits

Earth via an interactive

Smartboard lesson. (FormativeAssessment)

Observations using a Moon

Calendar

How does the shape of the

Moon change over 4 weeks?

Describe changes in the Moons

appearance during a lunar

cycle.

Students will identify the Moon

reflects the Suns light.

Student can identify patterns in

the Moons appearance andconnect back to the

relationship between the

Moons orbit and Earth on a

post-test. (Summative

Assessment)

Practice Moon-Phase Modeling Identify the vocabulary

associated with Moon phases:

New Moon, first-quarter Moon,

full Moon, third-quarter Moon,

waxing, waning, crescent, and

gibbous.

Correctly identify and label the

phases of the Moon on a post-

test. (Summative Assessment)

3. Clear Design Values

Design Decision #1

Creating and building a story throughout the presentation was of high importance. The need to

create a personal or emotional connection for the audience through the use of a simple story was a

primary goal. I wanted the audience to be able to identify with the characters in the story and use

their background knowledge to scaffold, hence making sense of the content. Heath & Heath describe

three different types of stories that convey a message. For my graphic novel I selected the creativity


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plot which involves solving a long-standing puzzle, or attacking a problem in an innovative way(Heath & Heath, 2008, p. 229, Kindle Edition). The main character in the graphic novel has an

inquiry question relating to her environment that she seeks to answer as evidenced in panel 6. As

the main character embarks on her search for an answer, interactions with other characters occurs

building the story (Panels 4,8,12,22,43). Due to the audience being a fourth grade class, I wanted

the story to be seamless so that it doesnt feel like reading at all but like being there (McCloud,

2006, pg. 1). As the audience works their way through the story taking in the visual information(Roam, 2008, pg. 39), an understanding of the content develops. Using relevant real-world

examples embedded in the information (Medina, 2008, pg. 115), such as familiar locations like aclassroom help the reader ground their thinking and develop deeper understanding of the message.

Overall, the peer feedback was positive about the story built into the presentation. There were few

suggestions on what to change other than altering small parts in the dialogue. As a result of the peer

feedback, I changed some of the wording. For example, when the instructor asks the student to find

an answer to her inquiry question (Panel 7), I made the conversation more specific connecting back

to the learning goal. The hope here is to continue making the story flow and stay engaging for the

reader.

Design Decision #2

Create emotion or a personal connection for the audience was a secondary design decision.

Although, the creation of emotional connections correlates directly with developing a story, there is

a distinction between the two concepts that warrants a separate design decision. Science can be

perceived by a young audience as mundane unless the subject matter becomes relevant or alive.

Hence, I wanted to provide characters the audience could easily identify with making my audience

stay engaged in the topic. The dialogue between characters mimics conversations students have

with each other, again allowing the opportunity to make a personal connection. An emotional idea

makes people care (Heath & Heath, 2008, p. 206, Kindle Edition), and I want my students to careabout the instructional content in the presentation. Moreover, to help create the emotional

connection for readers, the presentation had to be memorable. Mannerisms of characters were

embellished in several panels to convey excitement, such as panel 16. Here the main character

jumps with joy as they come closer to achieving the answer to their inquiry question. Medinasuggests that information has to have meaning for the viewer and if you are trying to driveinformation into someone elses brain, make sure they know what it means (Medina, 2008, pg.

114). As a result, examples are provided throughout the presentation which are compelling and

engaging. Look to panels 6 and 14 for evidence of compelling imagery that engage the reader and

make a personal connection.

Revisions in the final draft were minimal when addressing this design decision. Some characters

were altered to express emotion to reinforce the text.

Design Decision #3

A simplistic design was also at the forefront when developing the presentation. The goal was to

create a presentation that was simply enough for the reader to access, yet complex enough for the

reader to gain meaning. There was a conscious decision to cut unnecessary information(Reynolds, 2009, Kindle Location 350) from the presentation in order to make a clear and concise

message. A tool like Pixton can easily mushroom into a complex array of detailed panels. In other

words, the many options the tool provides to add and subtract elements into each panel can be

overwhelming and monopolize the developers time and energy. Adding details, are important to

allow context for the reader, but to avoid panel-to-panel confusion is to just keep it simple

(McCloud, 2006, pg. 33). In the end, simplicity will be greatly appreciated by the user (Reynolds,2009, Kindle Location 388). An overly elaborate or cute picture inevitably draws too much


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attention to itself and distracts from the essence of the idea to be conveyed. The simpler, the better(Roam, 2008, pg. 154).

With attention to the concept of simplicity, I attempted to capture the complexity of the Moon

phases into a simple series of panels. Panels 39-41 show the phases of the Moon with labels in a

simplified manner. Using a chronological approach to displaying the information avoids confusing

arrangements (McCloud, 2006, pg. 33) in the panels. Both peer reviewers agreed these panelswere easily understood as a representation of chronological order. For this reason, few changes

came about other than placement of arrows and text in different locations.

Design Decision #4

Character movement was a pivotal design decision. Connecting back to design decision 1, creating a

story in the presentation was important as the characters become the central story telling device.

The characters communicate the message through their movement and dialogue. As the story

unfolds, the reader learns to identify with the characters, drawing meaning from their actions. Each

gesture by the characters ultimately supports the dialogue and reinforces the central theme. Facial

expressions and body language become avenues to deliver the message. Each panel shows acomplete action (McCloud, 2006, pg. 14) which becomes compelling for the reader. As characters

interactwith each other they provide a visual record of what something looks like, the who andwhat that we see (Roam, 2008, pg. 162). The who are the characters in the comic. The what are

the scientific concepts explored in the presentation. Characters express emotions and again create

an anchor for the reader. Character movement emphasizes the message making it memorable.

Representation of character movement that supplements the dialogue and general theme of the

presentation can be found in panels 7, 13, and 19. Here the characters are animated showing

emotion or excitement for the content. In panels 20-22, the characters interact allowing the reader

to make meaning and identify with the context.

In the revision, some character movements were changed to encompass the idea of characters

communicating a message. The need for characters to over emphasize behaviors was continued at

discreetly timed intervals (Medina, 2008, pg. 135) with the purpose of repetition. Again,

repetition is critical for learning (Medina, 2008, pg. 135).

Design Decision #5

Choice of image was also a design decision in the development of the comic. McCloud (2006)

suggests using images that clearly and persuasively (pg. 370) communicate ideas. Any problem

can be made clearer with a picture (Roam, 2008, pg. 13). The choices of images further connectsdirectly back to the design decision of simplicity. The images provide a visual record for the reader

of the main events in the story (Roam, 2008, pg. 162). Consequently, images were selected to be

viewed as being a part of the whole. Basically, images that dealt with scientific concepts involving

the phases of the Moon were built to communicate the complex ideas. I wanted to scale down the

images to the root idea to foster understanding. Repetition of pictorial images was also used to

draw attention to the instructional message. According to Reynolds (2009), images can improve

recognition and recall, and images combined with text can make for an even stronger messageaslong as the text and images reinforce the same message (Kindle Locations 702-703). With that in

mind, several panels included a simple image with labels or text as evidenced in panel 26. Here we

have a character floating in space describing the Moons path. The panel includes arrows and labelsto deliver the message.

Evidence of imagery choice to communicate ideas can be found in panels 10-11 and 14-16. Here

each panel uses a background of the Solar System, primarily the Sun and Earth. In these panels a

character is strategically placed to instruct the audience about the Moon. The purpose of


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overlapping the character on the background was to place the audience in the actual context of

where the Moon is located. Furthermore, repetition of images throughout the comic was used to

connect the story. For example, slides 1-4 and several others in the sequence have a Moon located

in the background as an anchor. Generally speaking, this anchor is a strategy used to consistently

re-expose the audience to the information (Medina, 2008, pg. 130). Sometimes the best way to

learn and incorporate knowledge is through repetition.

My revision involved refining the idea of repetition throughout the panels and altering some

images. One altered image included the central character and her outfit. Initially, the characters

outfit blended into some background colors resulting in confusion. Furthermore, background colors

were altered in the first four panels to be consistent with the entire presentation.

4. Formative Evaluation Response

Peer Review Question #1: Is the learning outcome clear in the instructional lesson?

The purpose for asking this question was to make sure that my presentation had an instructional

component and not strictly informational. I wanted to make sure the audience could easily identify

the content or the message of the presentation.

Peer Reviewer 1 Response:

Yes. You did a great job making sure the learning outcome was clear. I'm wondering if it would be

bad to actually have the instructor state what the learning objective is to even clarify it more.


I thought the learning outcome was very clear, as the entire comic was focused on the moon. I

really enjoyed how each person that Jade talked to went over previous information she had learned

from other friends, then added some new knowledge. This is a good way to teach new concepts review previous knowledge, then present new knowledge.

My Response:

According to the peer feedback the learning outcome was clearly defined. Peer 1 suggested having

the instructor state the learning objective to reinforce the instructional component of the project. I

felt this suggestion had validity and I incorporated the idea in the final draft.

Peer Review Question #2: Are there areas of weakness or strength in the content? Was content

confusing or easily accessible?

The second question was my attempt to determine if there were problems understanding the

content in the presentation. I wanted to make sure the content was easily accessible for students

and could be followed without confusion.


I'm wondering if Kaitlyn's input should be referenced later on. Jade could mention something to the

degree that "Kaitlyn mentioned ..." For example, when Cade talks about the moon's cycle being 4

weeks long, Kaitlyn could reinforce what she learned from Kaitlyn.



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I dont think there were any weaknesses and felt that the content was very easily accessible. In fact,it made me remember things about the moon that I had forgotten I thought your use of moon

visuals was especially well done. The incorporated really cleanly into the frames and really gave

the learner a good idea about what actually each character was explaining. They didnt overwhelm

each scene, yet they were clearly the focal point. Good job!

My Response:Overall, the feedback was positive regarding the second question. Peer 1 suggested that each

character repeat the learned content to the next character. The feedback reminds me of a spiraling

curriculum, a curriculum that circles back several times in order to reinforce concepts. As a result of

the feedback, I examined the dialogue and made further tweaks to encompass the idea of spiraling.

Peer Review Question #3: Can you easily identify a visual representation of an instructional

sequence?

My purpose for asking this question was to make sure I had correctly added an instructional

sequence as per the project rubric into the presentation. It was important to ascertain if the reader

could identify clearly the instructional sequence. For the presentation, the Moon moving through

phases was selected to represent an instructional sequence.


Yes. It is clear. If you reference Kaitlyn's comments later on in the comic, then the sequence would

be further supported


I thought the sequence in panels 39-41, where you visually showed the chronological phases of the

moon was very well done. I also like how you incorporated them into the windows of the

background.

My Response:

According to the peer reviews, the instructional sequence could easily be identified. However, one

peer reviewer suggested referencing a minor character later in the dialogue sequence to make a

stronger statement. As Medina suggests, information is remembered best when it is meaningful

(2008). To make the presentation meaningful, I agreed with Peer Reviewer 1 and added the

secondary characters comments later into the comic to reinforce the instructional sequence.

Peer Review Question #4: Does the presentation have balance? Is there equilibrium in the images

and general composition? Are panels pleasing or distracting to the eye? Can some panels be

polished or refined?

This question was developed to ascertain if the general format of the presentation followed

guidelines Roam suggests when developing a comic. McCloud (2006) mentions the importance ofchoice of frame, choice of image, choice of word, and flow (pg. 15). I wanted to make sure the

images, dialogue, and frames worked in tandem creating a rhythm to the presentation. I wanted

feedback on the general composition of panels and if designed panels, appropriately contained

enough detail for the reader to scaffold and connect to background information.



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The daydreaming session could be with the orange background. That would really help to visualize

when the daydream starts and ends. That's the only section where I found myself looking back to

see if I was correct. You might also think about lengthening the daydream session as that seemed a

little too short.


The entire presentation was really well done. It was interesting, the visuals were great, and it reallyheld my attention. I liked your use of backgrounds; it made the scenes seem more realistic which is

important when youre dealing with high-school students. They dont want anything that can be

construed as baby-ish.

My Response:

Feedback from Peer Reviewer 2 appreciated the interesting visuals and suggested these wereappropriate for a high-school audience. Unfortunately, the targeted audience is an elementary

school student. After reading the feedback, I reviewed the presentation to assess if I missed the

target audience. The content embedded in the presentation is part of the fourth grade curriculum

and is age appropriate. However, the question still lingered if I missed the targeted audience. The

easiest way to measure the accessibility of the product was to allow the target audience an

opportunity to interact with the comic. Therefore, I shared the comic on the classroom LMS andasked for feedback. Immediately, students chimed into the conversation with positive feedback.

Consequently, the feedback reinforced the appropriateness of the product for the targeted

audience.

In addition, Peer Reviewer 1 suggested I change the background color at the onset of the

presentation. She also suggested lengthening the daydreaming sequence. As a response, I changed

the background color of the first five slides from bright orange to a neutral grayish-green. The

daydreaming sequence was kept the same length. Moreover, the daydreaming sequence is a small

component to the development of the story and expanding the sequence failed to make sense.

Peer Review Question #5: Is there enough repetition of elements that connect the audience tocontent or build a theme throughout the presentation? Or are some elements distracting?

Repetition can be fundamental for content deepening. Throughout the presentation a common

theme or image is placed into the individual panels. The intention was to re-expose the learner to

the content reinforcing the message. The purpose of this question was to gauge if the repetitive

images and content message was distracting or aided the reader in understanding.


The moon element really helped unit the images. I think you are doing fine with repetition.


I think you have a good amount of repetition, especially in the way you have each friend build upon

what the previous person had told Jade. Also, I liked how you talked about elements, and then

showed a visual representation. I think this really helps to make the ideas stick.

My Response:


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Both reviewers had positive feedback regarding the repetitive Moon elements in each panel. As a

result, I felt the images unified the message and were appropriate visual elements. The pictorial

images of the Moon create rhythm for the presentation making the end product stick.

Bibliography

Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2008). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive. New York:

Random House.

Malone, L., De Lucci, L. (2009). Sun, Moon, and Stars. Berkeley, CA: Delta Education.

McCloud, S. (2006). Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Magna and Graphic Novels. New

York: Harper.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School.

Seattle, WA: Pear Press.

Reynolds, G. (2009). Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to EnhanceYour Presentations. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

Roam, D. (2008). The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. New York:

Portfolio/Penguin Group.

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Graphic Novel Design Document Dennstedt