“Unprogramming” A new wave of teaching at libraries?

This is a program that I worked on recently and thought it would apply to the ever evolving library setting.

Using the creation of a comic or comic book for an “unprogram” allows STEAM to be used in multiple ways. The obvious factor that is used is art. Adventures in Cartooning by James Strum, Andrew Arnold and Alexis Fredrick-Frost gives the reader a basic understanding of how to incorporate different aspects of drawing into a comic strip or book. This is the building block of the “unprogram” from here it is up to the creator to use his or her knowledge of different subjects to create something new and amazing.

For the “unprogram” itself topics can be used to highlight areas of knowledge to be incorporated into the comic itself. Examples of areas that can be used could be the areas of STEAM. By combining the art aspect with any of the other aspects of STEAM a crossover occurs that allows for educational opportunities, highlighting the library’s collection for different subjects, and the four C’s (Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, and Collaboration.)

Taking something simple as drawing and tying it into other areas of STEAM challenges the participants to create something new while using existing knowledge or researching their topic to create their final product. The key to this “unprogram” is that the art doesn’t have to look like it does in mass-market comic books. It can reflect the individual and they can make it as realistic or silly as they want to.

This “unprogram” allows those attending the event to collaborate together with the knowledge that they have and the information that the library supplies by highlighting their collection. If the idea for the comic is rockets those that are participating can use the information that they already know about rockets and convert it into an artistic form. Also by having highlighted materials from the library’s collection teens/tweens can learn and apply it to the work they are creating. This allows them to use the communication, collaboration and critical thinking aspects of the 4 C’s at the same time they are thinking creatively about the creation of their comic.

A great aspect to the creation of a comic to explain something science based or to just create a story incorporates the use of teaching new skills and using the materials that are at hand at the library. It can be as simplistic or complicated as the individual wants it to be and it isn’t program specific. The “unprogram” doesn’t take much room to run and the skills that are learned from it cross over the STEAM concept while allowing the individuals participating to move at their own pace within the creation process.

Librarians can assist tweens/teens in this “unprogram”, but for the most part it is a very hands off approach to learning. Librarians can assist by answering questions and also show individuals where to find books that will assist in the creation of the comic as well as the subject matter they want to use. Moving forward from the simple pencil and paper method depending on the library’s level of technology and programs digital drawing and coloring applications can be used to further use technology to assist in the creation of the comics themselves.

An “unprogram” of this style allows the teens/tweens to develop something at their own pace without the feeling of being judged on their level of knowledge on the topic that is being used for the creative process. In using art as the cornerstone in this STEAM “unprogram” many doors can be opened to new subject areas that tweens/teens might not have been interested in before. By giving them a new medium to explore while teaching about different subject areas they will possibly find more interest in subjects that they had no interest in before.