Digital Comics as an Alternative Teaching and Assessment Tool for Biotechnology Courses

Nurashikin, Suhaili and Awang Ahmad Sallehin, Awang Husaini and Dayang Salwani, Awang Adeni (2022) Digital Comics as an Alternative Teaching and Assessment Tool for Biotechnology Courses. In: Innovating Education for A Better Tomorrow International University Carnival on E-Learning (IUCEL) Proceedings 2022, 28-30 June 2022, UPM, Serdang.

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Abstract

Storytelling has been long applied in teaching and learning. Nevertheless, application of storytelling through digital comics for teaching and learning Biotechnology is still limitedly explored. This presentation highlights the initiative of using digital comics as an alternative teaching and assessment tool for Bioprocess Technology and Environmental Biotechnology. The courses were taken by 136 students of Resource Biotechnology programme at Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, UNIMAS in Semester 1 and 2 2021/2022. Engaging digital comics entitled Ahmad’s FYP story, To RIP: Landfills or Composting?, Save Our Souls and From Textile Waste to Biofuel were topics of Environmental Biotechnology. The resulting comics produced by the students were disseminated to selected schools and matriculation centres and also in social media. Upon the created and used in the teaching and learning session of the aforementioned courses. Questions that assess students’ understanding were also integrated in the comics in order to engage the students to think and reflect whilst reading the comics. We have also used comics as a means of a graded assessment whereby the students were required to produce digital comics related to the implementation of the approach, the students’ average scores for both courses have improved by 30 to 36%. This is further supported by the positive feedback from the students indicating good acceptance of the approach. The initiative has also resulted in several added values amongst the students such as enhancement of art skill, digital skill, science communication skill, storytelling skill, community responsibility besides promoting the culture of learning during leisure time. Moreover, the comics also have a potential to be used as life-long learning materials in both formal and informal contexts besides having the commercial potential to be marketed in the form of digital or printed comics. In summary, the positive impacts of this initiative have clearly proved the efficacy of digital comics as an alternative teaching and assessment tool for Biotechnology courses.

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