Science Communication Graphic Novel

Sarah R. Hall, College of the Atlantic

Calla Schmidt, University of San Francisco

Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection. (view details)

This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection

This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are

Scientific Accuracy
Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
Pedagogic Effectiveness
Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page

For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html.

Initial Publication Date: August 31, 2020 | Reviewed: March 12, 2023 (see revision history: 2 events)

Summary

This activity is an opportunity for students to practice visually communicating science to a non-science audience. They will create a graphic novel that represents the timeline of geologic events at the Long Valley Caldera.

Geology | College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16)

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Learning Goals

Students will...

Create a visual representation of a timeline of geologic events using lithologic and landscape characteristics in the area that is now Long Valley Caldera.
Communicate the results of geoscience research to a non-science audience.

Context for Use

Audience:

This activity was completed during the 2-week summer E-STEM Field Course with ~20 undergraduate students interested in environmental science.

Prerequisite Skills and Concepts:

Students spent a day in the field with a USGS scientist and were taken to several field sites that lend evidence to the geologic history of Long Valley Caldera.

How the Activity is Situated in the Course:

View the E-STEM field course timeline for more information about how this activity is situated in the field course.

Description and Teaching Materials

Students spent a day in the field with a USGS scientist to get a geologic overview of the geologic history of Long Valley Caldera. In addition to a roadside stop on Highway 395 near Crowley Lake to look across the caldera floor and observe several domes that pre-date the collapse of the caldera, we visited the Owens River Gorge to observe and Deadman Creek Dome. Students were directed to Long Valley Caldera Lake and Reincision of Owens River Gorge (Hildreth and Fierstein, 2016--) as a reference for constructing their graphic novel. Their task was to create a visual representation of the timeline of geologic events that they heard about during their time in the field.

Materials

field notebook
colorful writing utensils
sheets of blank paper

Example: Graphic Novel Example Final.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 2.8MB Jul23 20)

Teaching Notes and Tips

Students may have a difficult time translating their field notes into a product suitable for a general audience, especially if they have minimal and/or poorly organized field notes from the field day. We suggest introducing the assignment and showing them the rubric prior to embarking on the field day; emphasizing the importance that their field notes make sense to them; and providing them with the USGS Scientific Investigation Report as a reference as they create their graphic novel. During office time on this assignment, faculty had individual and small-group consultations with students that proved useful.

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Assessment

Apply the following rubric to the graphic novels: graphicnovelrubric.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 16kB Jun27 20)

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