Bridges 2011 Regular Paper

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the author K. wrote three issues of Operation Comics, a comic book with embedded mathematics content appropriate for 4th through 6th grade students. Several printed comics were placed in Cumberland Trace Elementary in the Warren County School System in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US. The author Ta. was enlisted to measure the impact of the comics on the attitudes and motivation of the students using the comics. A preliminary report was given by K. at the 2009 Bridges Banff Conference, and the written report appeared in [5]. Since then, data has been collected on the initial cohort of students using the comics, and the project has been given new life with an infusion of money from an anonymous corporate donor and a new illustrator, author Tu. This manuscript will give an abbreviated summary of our initial findings, and will show how Tu. is addressing the presentation of mathematical content in her illustrations in three new comics. We will also outline the 2-1/2 year study we are beginning during the Spring 2011 semester, and how the project is spawning other outreach activities.