Denver Comic Con
This panel will examine ways in which comics and graphic forms can be used in a range of classes as an assessment tool. The visual aspects of graphic forms provide an alternative medium through which students can demonstrate their understanding of the material rather than be confined to one standardized form of summative assessment. The members of this panel will explore graphic projects in the literature, language, and music classroom, using specific examples from their own classes. In an introductory course on medieval literature, this alternative assessment offered students the option to complete their final paper in graphic form. This professor will discuss the project, student work and responses, and other possibilities for comics and graphic forms in the literature classroom. In a beginning Spanish language class, a graphic novel was used to assess reading comprehension and explore various aspects of cultural literacy. The teacher will explain the methods used, student feedback, and additional possibilities for incorporating comics in foreign language instruction. Finally, as visual elements of assessment are evolving in the music and music theory classroom, this teacher will explore the role of combining arts in interdisciplinary educational pedagogy.
