Engaging diverse learners in Computer Science (CS) can be challenging. This lightning talk on “CS Education and Comics: Exploring Art, Representation, and Inspiration in Teaching CS1 and CS2 Curricula” gives an example of addressing this challenge through a novel educational comic book based on an R1 University’s CS1 and CS2 classes.

Serving as a source of edutainment— educational entertainment— and employing personified characters like Fabulous Function and Sir Python, the comic book aims to make complex CS concepts more visual, simple, and accessible while still providing code-based examples for CS1 and CS2 students to walk through.

This presentation will briefly explore the underlying philosophies—including visual thinking, the Fractal Gridding methodology, and educational learning psychology— that inform the novel comic book. These principles can support diverse learning styles while encouraging greater student engagement. Additionally, the inclusion of the author’s personal and cultural experiences highlights new possibilities for representation in learning CS. Feedback from the university’s CS community also helped balance the educational content and entertainment value of the book. This community-driven approach is also touched upon in addition to the potential for replicating this experience in other educational contexts.

Hi there! I’m a recent Stanford University graduate. At Stanford, I graduated ’23 with my BS (with distinction) in Symbolic Systems, concentrating in Human-Centered AI, and my MS ’24 in Computer Science (Human-Computer Interaction). Currently, I’m a Data Scientist at McGraw Hill, and am located in Clovis, in California’s Central Valley.

I’m very passionate about education, learning, teaching, STEAM, and this novel visual thinking methodology called Fractal Gridding.

At Stanford, I was a long-time student teaching assistant with CS198, instructor for the CS100ACE course, as well as 3 time class president, writer for the Stanford Daily, VPSA Advisory Board Member, and SAA Board of Directors member. During my junior year, while I was studying abroad at Oxford University, I applied for a Major Grant project combining education, my passion for doodling, Fractal Gridding, and CS Education. I ended up creating a CS Educational comic book titled Bit by Bit: A Graphic Introduction to Computer Science. The book has since been published by the Stanford University Press, sold worldwide, mentioned in a Stanford Commencement speech, and won a Fast Company design award for student innovation. That labor of love involved much community feedback and a balance of education and entertainment. I also wrote Una KushƐ, a Pan-African themed Fractal Gridded comic guide about inclusive teaching tips that has now been incorporated into Stanford’s section leading training curricula.

This summer, I was in Jamaica for JamCoders, a CS Educational summer camp for bright Jamaican high schoolers to learn intro CS and algorithms. I’ve also volunteered to teach for initiatives like Stanford’s Code in Place, Stanford Splash, Black LaIR, and a Girls Coding Camp. I love to discuss topics on STEAM, visual thinking (especially with Fractal Gridding), cognitive psychology, and of course, CS Education! Feel free to contact me at ecy@alumni.stanford.edu.