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The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.

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Program Description

Overview The Comic Book Project (CBP) is a program focusing on reinforcing urban youth’s literacy skills through students’ development of original comic books, particularly in after school and school supplemental settings. CBP’s goal is to engage children in the creative process as a pathway to the basic skills and life skills that children need for success in school and in life. Piloted in a number of New York City after school programs, CBP used students’ creative development of comic books as an alternative pathway to learning literacy skills.
Start Date completed (developed April 2002; piloted from October to December 2002)
Scope local
Type after school
Location urban
Setting public school, community-based organization
Participants elementary and middle school students (grades 4–8)
Number of Sites/Grantees 33 from October to December 2002
Number Served 733 from October to December 2002
Components Each site volunteered to be part of the pilot, and each selected the children who would participate. Most of the participating children were identified by their sites as academically low performing, and more than half were identified as English language learners. Participating site staff received a 2-hour training workshop.

Site staff led children through the process of creating their own comic books (i.e., brainstorming, outlining, designing, sketching, and writing), either as individuals or in teams. Each participating site devoted between 12 and 20 total hours to CBP. The children used materials published by Dark Horse Comics to create their comic books.
Funding Level $25,000
Funding Sources Fund for the City of New York, Partnership for After-School Education, the After-School Corporation, and Teachers College, Columbia University
Other CBP is hosted by Teachers College at Columbia University with materials published by Dark Horse Comics. The mission of the project is to help underserved children (grades K–12) forge alternative pathways to literacy. CBP defines an alternative pathway as one that inspires learning by integrating the arts and entertainment that children pursue outside of the classroom. The pilot program in New York City was adopted by three intermediary organizations that advocate for after school education: the After-School Corporation (TASC), the Fund for the City of New York (FCNY), and the Partnership for After-School Education (PASE). These three organizations agreed to administer CBP at some of their after school program sites, and provided technical support, training facilities, and quality assurance for participating sites.

Since the completion of the pilot project, CBP has expanded and now also serves high-school-aged youth and operates in some in-school settings in addition to after school programs. In the 2003–2004 school year, CBP was implemented in New York City and Cleveland. The New York City project, based on the theme of the environment, was funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, implemented in 40 after school programs supported by the After-School Corporation (TASC), and served 10,000 children. The Cleveland project, based on the theme of conflict resolution, was funded by the Cleveland Foundation, implemented in 50 public schools, and served 10,000 children. In 2004–2005, CBP has a national theme of leadership and will be implemented in New York City, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle, and potentially in four additional cities. This national outreach is expected to reach approximately 50,000 children.

Evaluation

Overview The evaluation was designed to investigate the effectiveness of the CBP pilot project.
Evaluator Dr. Michael Bitz, the Comic Book Project
Evaluations Profiled The Comic Book Project: Pilot Assessment Report
Evaluations Planned Each project implementation results in an evaluation. The 2003–2004 projects in New York City and Cleveland will result in independent evaluations, and the results will be released in the fall of 2004.
Report Availability Bitz, M. D. (2003). The Comic Book Project: Pilot assessment report. New York: Center for Educational Pathways.

Bitz, M. D. (2004). The Comic Book Project: Forging alternative pathways to literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47, 574–588.

Contacts

Evaluation Dr. Michael Bitz
Project Founder and Director
The Comic Book Project
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street, Box 139
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212-330-7444
Email: meb53@columbia.edu
Program Dr. Michael Bitz
Project Founder and Director
The Comic Book Project
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street, Box 139
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212-330-7444
Email: meb53@columbia.edu
Profile Updated September 2, 2004

Evaluation: The Comic Book Project: Pilot Assessment Report


Evaluation Description

Evaluation Purpose To examine the effectiveness of CBP in helping youth make literacy connections through pictorial representations and improve reading and writing skills.
Evaluation Design Non-Experimental: Data were collected at all sites from youth participants, staff, and program administrators.
Data Collection Methods Document Review: Evaluators collected the comic book work that children created during CBP in order to assess participants’ work in comparison to state standards in English Language Arts.

Interviews/Focus Groups: Youth participants and staff were interviewed during site visits. Questions focused on the storylines the children were creating in their comic books and on the perceived effectiveness of CBP. A total of 243 youth and 18 staff were interviewed.

Observation: Evaluators visited each site at least twice to observe the progress and implementation of CBP.

Surveys/Questionnaires: Every youth and staff member who participated in CBP received a one-page anonymous survey. Surveys were collected from 546 youth and 26 staff. The youth survey asked children to think about and report on what they learned and achieved through CBP, and also whether and how CBP helped them with their literacy skills. The staff survey asked staff members to analyze what participants learned through CBP and whether the program helped children with their literacy skills. Both surveys also asked what participants liked most and least about CBP.

Test/Assessments: Three independent consultants assessed youth participants’ work in the program in light of the relevant New York State Learning Standards in English Language Arts (NYSLS-ELA), numbers 2 through 4. The standards are an accompanied by a scoring rubric ranging from 1 to 4, which was used in the evaluation. The three standards assessed were:

  • Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression. Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.
  • Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
  • Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

    The student performance assessment was designed to align as closely as possible with the procedures and rubrics of the mandated statewide achievement tests, which are administered to New York students in grades 4 and 8. Evaluators used the same rubric that is used to score writing on the state test. This rubric provides a score from 1 to 4 in each of the following categories: focus, development, organization, and writing style (including spelling and mechanics). The combined raw scores are converted into an overall scaled score (also ranging from 1 to 4), which measures students’ overall writing performance. The scores represent the following levels of mastery:
  • 4 – Student’s writing is well organized, thoroughly developed, and uses sophisticated and effective language, with few or no errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation.
  • 3 – Student’s writing is generally focused and organized, with minor errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation that do not interfere with readability.
  • 2 – Student’s writing shows some focus and basic organization, and uses simple sentence structure and vocabulary. Students follow some rules for spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but errors sometimes interfere with readability.
  • 1 – Student’s writing consists of brief, general, or repetitive statements, and reveals difficulty in organizing thoughts. Errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation interfere with readability and comprehension.
    		•
    Data Collection Timeframe Data were collected from October to December 2002.


    Findings:
    Formative/Process Findings

    Satisfaction Participating children and staff reported in interviews that they thoroughly enjoyed CBP as a whole.


    Summative/Outcome Findings

    Academic On the NYSLS-ELA standard 2, which states that students will be able to read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression, CBP participants scored an average of 2.8.

    On the NYSLS-ELA standard 3, which states that students will be able to read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation, CBP participants scored an average of 3.

    On the NYSLS-ELA standard 4, which states that students will be able to read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction, CBP participants scored an average of 3.1.

    The majority of youth reported positive reading outcomes as a result of the program. According to youth surveys, as a result of the program, youth knew more words (82%), needed less help with reading (78%), spent more time reading for fun (78%), got better at reading (76%), liked to read (72%), liked to read aloud (70%), and understood almost all of what they read (69%).

    The majority of staff reported positive reading outcomes as a result of the program. According to staff surveys, youth knew more words (85%), liked to read (77%), got better at reading (73%), understood almost all of what they read when reading by themselves (73%), spent more time reading for fun (69%), needed less help with reading (69%), and liked to read out loud (69%).

    The majority of youth reported positive writing outcomes as a result of the program. According to their surveys, as a result of the program, youth liked to write their own stories (92%), spent more time writing for fun (80%), got better at writing (76%), liked to write (74%), and needed less help with writing (70%).

    The majority of staff reported positive writing outcomes as a result of the program. According to staff surveys, youth liked to write their own stories (92%), got better at writing (73%), spent more time writing for fun (73%), liked to write (69%), and needed less help with writing (65%).

    The majority of surveyed youth reported other positive outcomes as a result of the program. According to their surveys, as a result of the program, youth liked to draw pictures to go with stories (92%), liked to tell or make up their own stories (92%), and looked at pictures for clues to stories (87%).

    The majority of surveyed staff reported other positive outcomes as a result of the program. According to staff surveys, as a result of the program, youth liked to draw pictures to go with stories (96%), looked at pictures for clues to the story (92%), and liked to tell or make up their own stories (92%).

    According to youth and staff interviews, both youth and staff perceived that CBP helped improve youth’s reading and writing skills.

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    Published by Harvard Family Research Project