Investigating the transfer of scientific content with
the help of comic stories at a level of
higher education
2021 Research, Invention, and Innovation Congress: Innovation Electricals and Electronics (RI2C) | 978-1-6654-0300-9/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/RI2C51727.2021.9559778
Parham Karimi Roghayeh Gavagsaz-Ghoachani
dept. of Renewable Energies dept. of Renewable Energies
Shahid Beheshti University Shahid Beheshti University
Tehran, Iran Tehran, Iran
parh.karimi@mail.sbu.ac.ir R_gavagsaz@sbu.ac.ir
Abstract— A story is a narrative that has a long history of
conveying concepts. In addition, the image makes the content
more memorable. The combination of story and image forms the
comic story. The use of comic stories in education may enhance
the attractiveness and durability of the transmission of scientific
concepts. It requires special conditions to apply this kind of
story at a high educational level. These conditions include the
qualitative conditions and the place of use of the comic story.
Appropriate scientific content, outward attractiveness, and
proper characterization are essential points in designing
scientifically comic stories. In addition, the strengths,
weaknesses, and position of using comic fiction are essential
factors in the effectiveness of comic stories. In this paper, field
study and analysis of public feedback are used to determine the
framework for using comic narratives at the higher education
level. For this purpose, a scientific comic story is designed based
on the project of simulating the power of a hybrid car in
MATLAB. The scientific comic story is formed through
PowerPoint software. The Comic story is presented in an
undergraduate classroom in mechanical engineering. Then the
students' feedback on the story is recorded. Students find that
this method is effective and appropriate for presenting,
teaching, and publishing in educational journals. Additionally,
the diversity of content is one of the strengths of this method.
Lack of focus on detail is also one of the weaknesses of this
method. Based on the feedback received, this method makes the
audience attracted to continue the content. It also raises
questions in students' minds. For these reasons, it is suggested
that this method be used more in pre-study.
Keywords— scientific comic story; educational comic story;
illustrated story; Simulink; hybrid car; knowledge transfer)
I. INTRODUCTION
A story is one of the simplest and easiest ways to convey
concepts. Stories are used to convey the essential meanings of
life by parents to children. Governments need to find the right
way to educate, particularly in engineering. For this reason,
significant investments are made in this way [1], [2]. In
education, teachers such as parents try to convey lesson
concepts to their students as stories. Stories, poems,
anecdotes, jokes, etc., can help educators convey their
concepts in a conceptually entertaining way [3], [4]. This
implication was used for many years and in different societies
and cultures to convey concepts. The use of entertainment in
the educational process requires a particular framework [3]-
[5]. The story promotes creativity, and this result helps
education.
This work was supported by the International Research Partnerships:
Electrical Engineering Thai-French Research Center (EE−TFRC) between
Université de Lorraine (UL) and King Mongkut’s University of Technology
North Bangkok (KMUTNB) under Grant KMUTNB-FF-65-40.
978-1-6654-0300-9/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE
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205
Matheepot Phattanasak
dept. of Teacher Training in Electrical
Engineering
King Mongkut’s University of
Technology, north Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
matheepot.p@fte.kmutnb.ac.th
With the advancement of technology, story, and
storytelling in virtual reality and even mobile games use. It
promises that as technology advances, the same goes for the
story [6], [7].
The comic story is a story that conveys concepts with a
narrative and visual framework. According to the polls, this
story has an excellent capacity to transmit concepts, even at
the level of academic concepts. The obligation to use visual
memory in this storytelling style is a strength in this field [8],
[9].
The use of comic stories in education was a successful
experiment. Comic stories were used to teach software
engineering as an experience. In the comic story design,
unique grammar was used. This comic story received
excellent comments [10]. However, the comic story is
proposed in this paper does not follow any specific rules or
grammar. For this comic story, only the understanding of
scientific content is essential. Because of this reason, the
audience can easily connect with it.
In another experiment, several actual photos were used to
teach renewable energy concepts [8]. The comic story in this
paper is designed with the help of software. This feature
allows greater freedom to act in designing illustrated stories.
Education in renewable energy with the help of comic
stories had another successful experience. In an example, the
property of a microbial fuel cell with urine is introduced by a
few graphic fictional images [3]. The story is short, and the
conclusion is made throughout the story. However, the comic
story designed in this project is longer than the mentioned
story. In addition, this comic story leaves the conclusion to the
reader in different parts of the story. These advantages
motivate the audience to try to answer their questions.
The story has a significant background in conveying
concepts. This paper is trying to measure the story's
effectiveness in education and the number of concepts
conveyed through the story with the help of a scientifically
comic story. For this reason, the comic story is designed. The
simplicity of design, animation to mathematical variables and
formulas, and the design of an environment similar to
emulator software are features of the designed story.
This paper is divided into three main parts. The method
section discusses the process of doing work and the scientific
topics used in the story. In the results and discussion section,
students' diagrams and answers to survey questions are
discussed. Finally, the conclusion section examines the results
of the survey and paper results.
 II. METHOD
Two goals are pursued in this paper. The first one is the
effectiveness of a science fiction story. The second one is how
the concept is conveyed in the comic story based on a practical
project. For these purposes, a scientific comic story is based
on a MATLAB/Simulink project designed. The first part,
called the scientific concept, deals with the science topics used
in the story. In the second part, called story design, the tools
and steps of story design are discussed.
A. Scientific concepts
The Simulink project is the basis of a scientifically
designed comic story. The MATLAB/Simulink project is a
project that simulates the power of a hybrid car based on (1).
Fig. 2 is a view of the MATLAB/Simulink. With the help of
it, the comic story of this research has been designed. A car's Fig. 2. The MATLAB/Simulink is used in the Comic story.
power (P) is the amount of power that a propulsion engine
can produce to cope with the opposition forces. Equation (1)
calculates the hybrid vehicle power. [11],[12]. In this
Equation, V is the vehicle speed, M is the vehicle mass, Cf is
the coefficient of friction, Ca is the aerodynamic coefficient,
A is the front area of the vehicle, θ is the road angle, g is the
gravity of Earth and ρ is the air density. The speed of the car
in this story is considered by the European standard NEDC
[12]. Fig. 1 is a view of MATLAB code. With the help of the
MATLAB/Simulink show in Fig. 2, this code is the basis for
designing the Comic story of this paper.

P=V (M (Cfgcosθ + gsinθ + (dV/dt)) +0.5ρACaV2) (1)

NEDC is a standard speed cycle for driving. The four-

cycle iteration of the ECE-15 generates a standard urban
driving cycle called the UDC. In addition, the EUDC is a
standard speed cycle for suburban areas. The UDC and EUDC
together form a standard European cycle called the NEDC.
Fig. 3 shows a standard European driving cycle called NEDC.

Fig. 3. The standard European driving cycle [12].

Fig. 1. MATLAB code used in the Comic story
B. Story design
It is recommended to use professional design software to
increase the visual appeal. In this paper, the comic story is
designed in PowerPoint software. The choice of this software
is due to the simplicity of working with this software.
PowerPoint is a useful software for producing presentation
content. PowerPoint does not have the complexities of
professional creating drawings and illustration software.
Therefore, PowerPoint is good software for designing comic
stories.
In this paper story, an attempt is made to animate the
variables. There were also attempts to describe the process of
a simulation as narrative events. This feature makes the
simulation process attractive. The designed comic story
contains many scientific points. For this reason, comic stories
can be used to teach and present to the audience. Designing
comic stories requires a proper understanding of scientific
content. Therefore, illustrated story design can be assigned to
students as a task. Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 summarize and select the
comic stories from slide 1 to slide 18. A red number in the
picture's corner is the slide number.

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 Fig. 4. Slide 1 to slide 9 of the story. Fig. 5. Slide 10 to slide 18 of the story.

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207

Fig. 6. Surveys' questions.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This method is a link between engineering, education, and
comic story. Making and using this method is easily possible.
This method is expressed In simple language, the calculation
of the hybrid vehicle's power with the help of
MATLAB/Simulink. For this reason, it can easily convey the
content to the audience.
This section analyzes students' feedback on the comic
story. First, the general process of preparing feedback is
described. Then the details are given in three sections. The
first section, called activity analysis, focuses on the feedback
given during and immediately after the presentation. The
second part, called optional question analysis, deals with the
analysis of multiple-choice questions. Analyzation of the
descriptive feedback received from students is provided in the
third section. Surveys' questions show in Fig. 6. In addition,
flowing graphs are obtained with the help of excel software.
The findings of the survey are from undergraduate degree
students in mechanical engineering. The survey took place on
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208
two occasions, before and after the presentation. In addition,
students' opinions were collected in the form of classroom
activities and answers to descriptive questions. The result of
the comments can be considered positive. However, students
also see that the current form of the story needs to change.
Based on the feedback, it can be concluded that the story is
more suitable for pre-study.
The story motivated the audience and created questions in
the audience's mind about the subject. The following is an
analysis of the survey results. Some students did not take the
survey before the presentation, and some students chose
several options.
A. Activity Analysis
Students were given time to ask questions about the
presentation during and immediately after the presentation.
Many questions have been related to parameters. These
questions can be divided into three groups. The first group is
questions that are at the genesis of the parameters. In
particular, the speed parameter, which has already been
created in the story from other parameters. The second group
is questions that scientifically target the parameters. For
example, the "s" parameter is written differently in (1) and the
MATLAB file. The third group of questions was related to the
appearance of the parameters. Other questions are asked about
the happenings in the story. For example, what is ECE, or why
does the function wall crack.
B. Optional question analysis
In question 1, students were asked to rate the story's impact
on a scale of 1 to 10. They did it once before and once after
the presentation. The presentation took place in the classroom.
The presentation includes showing the story slides, reading the
story, and a brief explanation of what happens in the story.
Fig. 7-part a shows the effect of the story before and after the
presentation. The scores show that the impact of the story was
greater after the presentation. Higher scores were obtained
after the presentation. According to the explanatory answers
of the students to this question, the presentation has been
effective. But more suitable for familiarity and pre-study. Five
students believed that the story's tone should be more
humorous, and two students believed the opposite. Also, 52%
of people have a score above 7.
Students are then asked to identify the scientific turning
point of the story. Fig. 7-part b shows the scientific turning
point of the story chosen by the students. Most students'
comments after the presentation were on slides 15 and 12.
Slide 15 is considered because of the primary relationship
between power and the breaking of the function wall. Slide 12
is notable for ECE speed descriptions and other scientific
documents.
Scientific content and the place of the slide in the story are
the main reasons students choose the story's scientific turning
point. Fig. 7-part c shows the students' responses to the
questions in question 3. According to questions 2 and 3, it can
be concluded that the scientific content of the slides is
significant. However, slides with low scientific content must
also be designed to convey the concepts in the form of a story.
These slides are intended to enhance the appeal of the story.
Then, the students were asked whether the slide selected in
question 2 alone can convey the scientific concepts.
According to it, the students' opinion was mainly against
transferring concepts by the slide alone. Fig. 7-part d shows
the result of question 4.
 Fig. 7. Result of questions 1-7.

From the students' point of view, the advantage of

choosing this method is the simplicity of conveying the
concepts at first. In addition, the attractive design and the
variety in presenting the content are the advantages of this
method. Fig. 7-part e shows the results of answering question
5 by students before and after the presentation. Before
presenting the story charms, it has been more considered by
students. However, after presenting the diversity of the
presented materials, it has received more attention.
From the result of question 6, it concluded that this method
would be practical. However, inaccuracies in the details and
lack of accurate transmission of the subject are weaknesses of
this method. Fig. 7-part f shows the results of question 6.

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 According to the results obtained from question 7, discussions using imaginative stories as a method of teaching in Urine
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audience can motivate the audience to follow the content. The
comic story can also prepare the audience's mind for the main
content. As a result, it is suggested that this style be used for
pre-study purposes.
The visual appeal of the story and the characterization of
the parameters are some of the things that are very important
to the audience. According to the students in the scientific
turning point of the story, the scientific content of the story is
significant. However, an image with the proper scientific
content alone cannot convey concepts.
According to the students, the details and accurate transfer
of scientific concepts is the weakness of this method. In
addition, story designing should pay attention to simplicity
and maintain the charms of the story.
According to students, this style can be used directly in
teaching and presentation and indirectly in educational
journals. In addition, observing the items suggested in the
previous sections improves content transfer to the audience.
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