From Japan to the World: Learning through Comics Aha!Comics - Japan & Berlin Team Produced Comics to Teach Multiplication and Test-distributed in Berlin

Aha!comics, founded by Shoko Tanaka, aims to improve education through comics, specifically targeting multiplication learning in Germany, where educational challenges exist for migrants. The project involves creating and distributing educational comics based on research and feedback from German educators and parents, resulting in positive reception and engagement from children. The findings suggest a demand for educational comics in Germany and indicate that such materials can be effective teaching tools across various demographics.

Transcript

1. Shoko Tanaka, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Aha!Comics Aha!Comics - Japan & Berlin Team Produced Comics to Teach Multiplication and Test-distributed in Berlin I International Conference Teaching with Comics @ Universitat de València, October 20th, 2022 From Japan to the World : Learning through Comics
2. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 2 Outline 1. Background 2. Objective 3. Method 4. Result 5.Consideration 6. Conclusion 7. Outlook
3. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 3 Background Educational Comics
4. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 4 Background
5. Provide "Aha!" moments through educational comics, and contribute to raising the standard of education worldwide. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 5
6. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 6 Background Our team members have already understood the local culture better than other countries. Why Germany? German Population 82M 22.3M people with migrant background 27.2％ by Germany's statistics agency Destatis (2022) Berlin's multiracial population is ideal for market testing. Germany struggles with education issues for migrants.
7. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 7 Objective ? What kind of character design is preferred in Germany? Can we really create comics by ourselves from scratch? What kind of comics should we create? How is German education different from Japan? Is there a need for educational comics in Germany? Can we get German educators to support educational comics? How hard is it to create comics? How would people react if we produce educational comics? Are educational comics really effective as learning in Germany?
8. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 8 Objective ? What kind of character design is preferred in Germany? Can we really create comics by ourselves from scratch? What kind of comics should we create? How is German education different from Japan? Is there a need for educational comics in Germany? Can we get German educators to support educational comics? How hard is it to create comics? How would people react if we produce educational comics? Are educational comics really effective as learning in Germany? Research and accumulate firsthand knowledge of the German market by actually creating our own comics with primary education content
9. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 9 Method Research Comics Production Test Distribution German Education field With the expert supervision of elementary school teachers 3500 copies / Free To Elementary schools and libraries in Berlin 1 2 3
10. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 10 Method - 1: Research Reading Textbooks and Curriculum Guidelines Interview with Teachers and Parents 2 Elementary Schools 2nd grade German & Math Elementary School Visit 4 Elementary school teachers over 15 Parents Different states have different educational policies + +
16. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 16 Method - 2: Comics Production Character Creation Berlin’s Bear Japanese Characters’ Style Representing Human Diversity with Animals
17. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 17 Method - 2: Comics Production Story Creation Japanese Math Manga References Writing the Stories Drawing Rough Layouts Inking over Pencil Drawings
21. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 21 Method - 2: Comics Production Story Creation Math that Children Encounter in their Daily Life German Elements
22. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 22 Method - 2: Comics Production ✅ Is the content comprehensible to children? ✅ Are the main points of study covered? ✅ Are the diagrams correct? ✅ Are simple conversational words used by elementary school students? ✅ Are the grammar and notation correct? ✅ Are the contents and expressions culturally and customarily appropriate? ✅ Are there any expressions that are offensive to anyone? Supervision of appropriate drawing and wording
23. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 23 Method - 3: Test Distribution Web-Questionnaire Our Email Address & URL Collecting Feedbacks
24. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 24 Result 2,414 copies Number of Comics Distributions 131 organaizations Elementary Schools Libraries Cram schools, etc. Bookstores, etc. Others 68 15 12 10 26
25. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 25 Rate this educational comic on a scale of 1 (very good) to 5 (not good at all) Teachers (14) Parents (22) Others (6) Result 1 (very good) 2 3 4 5 (not good at all) Presentation and images Berlin as the place of action Explanation of multiplication in daily life situations Explanation of the thinking process, rather than just memorization Entertaining and easy to understand Can be worked out independently Total Characters
26. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 26 Result I think that these wonderful illustrations are a huge success. With this comic, you can have fun learning multiplication at home or in class. It’s an amazing idea I hadn’t seen before.　★★★★★ Birgit, Elementary School Teacher, Arkonaplatz Elementary School - The engaging and age-appropriate design really motivates kids. - With illustrated themes like buying and eating ice cream, kids can imagine themselves in the situations. - The themes covered are well-structured and clear for kids. - Technical terms, explanations, and multiplication tables are skillfully incorporated. - This can be used for a variety of purposes, such as in class or recess from 2nd grade up. - Makes self-study possible.　 ★★★★★ Marita Borchard, Elementary School Teacher, Arkonaplatz Elementary School I think conveying knowledge via comics is a wonderful project. If stuff like this, covering a few themes, had been around when I was in school, learning would have instantly become twice as fun. I think there are lots of kids at our library who will want to borrow this kind of learning material, just like I would have.　★★★★★ Lisa Sieg, Librarian, Bodo-Uhse Library I think it’s a great idea to write stories that aren’t about superheroes, but rather about multiplication and things like that. ★★★★★ Oda von Herder, 3rd Grader, Koppenplatz Elementary School I think it’s a great comic. I can imagine using these educational comics in class, and it matches perfectly with what we’re covering in class now.　★★★★★ Kolja The comic sparked an interest in math. They realized that math and multiplication can be fun. The stories also make it really fun.　 ★★★★★ Carsten Marggraf, Psychologist, Father of Two My child found the learning comic very funny, read it quickly, and didn't think of it as learning, but just as a comic! ★★★★★ Parent of a 3rd grader
27. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 27 Result
28. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 28 Consideration 1. There is undoubtedly a demand for educational comics in Germany 2. German educators were also supportive of educational comics　 3. Our comics had a learning effect in Germany as a learning material 4. Our characters and stories were also accepted by the German market 5. Even educational comics for children can be useful learning materials for adults, especially for migrants
29. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 29 Conclusion Needs for Educational Comics ・Even in Germany, where educational comics are not standard, there is a certainly demand for educational comics😊 ・German educators are highly supportive of educational comics and see its potential for the educational field😍
30. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 30 Conclusion International Comics Production ・It is possible to create high-quality educational comics on our own with a proper workflow ・Supervision by local educators is essential in the production of educational comics ・The quality and the style of our educational comics would certainly be acceptable to the German market👍
31. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 31 Conclusion Issues ・Each states and countries have different curriculums, teaching methods and textbooks. Educational research is difficult, complex and costly.😩 ・Even in mathematics, teaching methods and notation differ from country to country. Need to understand and fix them when localizing comics.😩
32. ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 32 Outlook We are looking for global business partners in educational publishing and development! info@aha-comics.com / aha-comics.com ∙ Supervisors of educational content Spanish / English / French elementary school teachers ∙ Distribution and publishing partners ∙ New comics content development partners
33. info@aha-comics.com aha-comics.com ©Aha!Comics | WTFC Inc. - 33