Finding Facts Amidst Fiction
With the amount of information available in the world today, how do we know what claims made about the environment are trustworthy? While some scientific articles, ads, and headlines make claims that seem too good to be true, others make outlandish claims to draw readers in. Fake news published in articles, blogs, and ads have been distributed by organizations and individuals who have interests that benefit from dissuading people from believing in real scientific studies. In recent years, fake news has reached more people than ever before due to social media sharing and information bubbles.
To fight scientific misinformation in the classroom, Andy Zucker and Penny Noyce have developed a “Resisting Scientific Misinformation” curriculum for science teachers who educate 6th – 12th grade students. It’s a free online curriculum program aims to help young students distinguish scientific ‘misinformation’ from reality.
Learn more about it here: https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/02/lessons-on-telling-scientific-fact-from-fiction/
Here are the top 4 ways to fight scientific misinformation in the classroom and beyond:
– Ensure that your news is credible by reading through some citation sources and checking in to see if the piece is an opinion piece or from a blog written by a non-professional. Opinion pieces allow people to state their opinion rather than absolute facts.
– Be aware of claims based on personal stories, people using their status to assert that their opinion is correct, and the phrase “the science is uncertain.”
– Check out these news related tips to see how fake news works and how to be aware of sources that use “truth-stretching” methods. This will help you determine more accurate news sources for what you want to learn!
– Download the Resisting Scientific Misinformation Teacher Guide here at https://tumblehomebooks.org/services/resisting-scientific-misinformation/