The graphic novel "Invisible" (2022) by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein demonstrates that adolescents can create a positive difference in the world and build friendships with people different from themselves. The novel's themes, nonlinear chronology, and innovative bilingual format make "Invisible" significant and…

The focus of this teaching note is on the use of graphic novels in social work classrooms. The article first discusses the unique learning needs of today's digital native learners. It then provides justification for why these books are effective in reaching students who are well versed in image data because of heavy reliance on and use of the…

Independent reading is more than just "drop everything and read" -- it is a gateway to writing, critical thinking, discussion, and deeper learning. Author Jarred Amato, an accomplished middle and high school English teacher and founder of Project LIT Community, believes in the power of independent reading not only to turn around the…

Graphic novels are everywhere! The popularity of graphic novels is not surprising. They are colorful and engaging, marrying text to images, with diverse characters doing everything from struggling with their tennis game to solving engineering problems to battling villains from the Multiverse. Graphic novels promote both language and scientific…

Students in the English Language Arts classroom have access to more author commentary than ever. While following authors on social media may deepen students' engagement with their assigned reading, it also threatens to subdue students' own interpretations of the authors' texts. This essay explains how educators can introduce basic aspects of…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was alarming, and compounding this traumatic shift in the world's cultural awareness of safety was the social and political unrest that unfolded during this time, which students were acutely aware of through the news and social media. After experiencing that unprecedented trauma, rich novel studies in the English…

U.S. undergraduates often hold ill-informed and stereotypical perceptions about the Middle East. While theories of comparative politics can help undergraduates gain a more nuanced view of the region, these theories often strike students as extremely abstract and unrelated to actual experience. The use of novels from the Middle East can help…

In today's developing view of education, a disquieting trend looms--the erosion of students' right to choose what they read. This erosion, fueled by an alarming surge in censorship attempts, casts a shadow over the very essence of intellectual exploration. Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented number of challenges aimed at restricting…

Critically analyzing the representation of pedagogy in the novels of J.M. Coetzee, this insightful text illustrates the author's profound conception of learning and personal development as something which takes place well beyond formal education. Bringing together critical and educational theory, "Pedagogy in the Novels of J.M. Coetzee"…

This book puts forth a call to engagement for educators at all levels of education and in all subject areas, with a focus on language education. Through using a grounded theory approach, it features semi-structured interviews, in a qualitative approach, with educators who embody community engaged education. Each chapter encompasses a case study…

Current K-12 and undergraduate students have grown up with constant exposure to visual popular culture (e.g., movies, TV programs, graphic novels, etc.). Because youth find pop culture references in the classroom to be engaging, many science and engineering instructors have shown that examples found in visual pop culture can be used to teach…

This book revolves around educating recently arrived immigrant youth in the United States who are emergent bilinguals. Drawing on a seven-year research collaboration with three ESL teachers in an urban secondary school in the United States, it addresses questions around taking a critical approach to language and literacy education, including what…

The use of stories in business ethics education is arguably as old as business ethics education. Recent advances in the psychology of stories show us how stories promote consideration of the human impact of business activity. While several books, journal articles, and other sources provide resource lists of novels and dramas for business ethics…

"Luminous Literacies" shares examples of teachers and educators using local knowledge to illustrate literacy engagement and curriculum-making through scholarly accounts of experiences in teacher preparation courses, classrooms, and other community spaces in New Mexico. This edited collection includes chapters focusing on the teaching of…

In this article, we advocate for integrating select graphic novels into curricula for English language learners and emergent bilinguals to push against the dominant and harmful narratives that tend to be found in traditional history texts and curricula. We use "Vietnamerica" by Tran and "Escape from Syria" by Kullab et al. as…