Outcomes
CRB10.3- Listen to, comprehend, interpret, and summarize information and ideas presented in a variety of literary and informational texts including group discussion, oral readings, interviews, prepared talks, and a talkback show about a topic or issue being studied.
CRB10.4- Read, interpret, and summarize a wide variety of classical and contemporary literary (including drama, biography, autobiography, poetry, short stories, novels) and informational (including letters, diaries, memoranda, electronic communications) texts.
Digital Continuum Skill
Examine the “viral nature” of online communication and identify strategies to combat
the spread of negative and anonymous postings.
ELA B10 Course Theme
The World Around Us and Within Us
Fake News and Its Impacts on Students
The online media landscape has allowed for an easier spread of misinformation than ever before. As it becomes easier and easier for anyone to post anything with little vetting it becomes more important for consumers to be critical of the information they are getting from digital sources. However, many of these non-credible online sources are difficult to distinguish from legitimate sources because of a seemingly professional appearance and a tone that can sound credible. This is why it is vital for people to develop a critical lens when it comes to online content. Since schools are the primary teachers of literacy skills, it is then important that they begin to prepare students to understand how they can be tricked online
However, many students are currently not getting enough of a understanding of how they can be fooled by online information. A 2021 study found two thirds of American students studied were unable to distinguish between news stories from ads on a popular website (Breakstone et al.). As online information continues to become more sophisticated it is the responsibility of educators to instruct their students about how fake news sources can try to persuade them to believe untrue information.
How it fits with ELA B10?
One of ELA B10’s key themes is “The World Around Us and Within Us.” This theme asks students to think about the aspects of the world that impact their view of the world, and how they can challenge these perspectives, but also these forces can change them if they are not critical about what they are consuming.
The media environment students are in can have major impacts on how they view the world at large. This lesson from Common Sense Education asks students to examine their biases and question where they came from. Students should engage with their biases and ask these kinds of questions to gain a better understanding of themselves and the constructed worlds around them.
Overview of the Lesson
This lesson hopes to teach students about the concept of confirmation bias and why it is so easy to fall into. It provides students with a working definition of what confirmation bias is, and by the end it asks them to come up with strategies for how they think people should combat their own confirmation biases.
Along with the lesson plan itself, Common Sense Education has also provided a slide show, handouts, and a final quiz that can be used as well.
- The lesson begins with giving students a list of three potential news stories. You tell them one is real and other two are fake. In reality, all three of them are fake. The examples from Common Sense Media are:
- “Japan finally abandons microwave ovens by 2020”
- “New iPhone will come with a holographic keyboard and projector”
- “Australia to introduce 33 different genders on passport
- When you are explaining to the class that all of the stories are fake, this reveals a confirmation bias we have. This is when we believe something because it conforms to things we already believe and not because it is really true
- Play this video from PBS Digital Studios “Why Do Our Brains Love Fake News?” which tries to explain how confirmation bias works and how it affects the real world. It is important to note that it is an American source, so some terms like Republican or Democrat may need to be defined for students as they are watching.
- As students are watching, they should be trying to take notes to answer the question “Why does confirmation bias make us more likely to be fooled by “fake news”? After you are done watching, discuss this question with the class.
- After discussing with the class, students will get a chance to work in partners to watch a video and read one of two articles about confirmation bias. The video, “Defining Confirmation Bias”, is a short 2 minute video that attempts to give students example of confirmation biases. The two articles, “Cover up Your Confirmation Bias is Showing” and “Scientists Discover Simple Psychological Tools to Battle Fake News”, go deeper into confirmation bias and its affects on the world students see today. As students watch and read the resources, they will be taking notes about what their chosen resources have to say about confirmation bias and how it can be challenged.
- The final piece of assessment students are asked to take part in is to use the skills they learned about from their article and video to create a mnemonic device remember the skills for how to combat confirmation bias.
- Examples: CHeK (Consider other perspectives, Hold back from drawing conclusions, Keep asking questions), GAL (Google other sources, Ask if the story supports what you already believe, Look for articles that show the other side).
- To add on to this final assessment, I would recommend having students make posters or other visuals to display their mnemonics. These could possibly be displayed around the school to remind students about these skills.
Conclusion
Confirmation bias and how it helps to spread fake news are topics students should have to grapple with in courses such as ELA B10. As students begin to understand how their world is shaped overtime, they should also have to confront the harsh truths of the biases they hold, and how these biases can be exploited to spread misinformation. By learning about how fake news can spread, hopefully students can recognise what they can do to help stop it.
References
Breakstone, J., Smith, M., Wineburg, S., Rapaport, A., Carle, J., Garland, M., and Saaverda, A. (2021). Students’ Civic Online Reasoning: A National Portrait. Education Researcher, 50(8), 505-515. https://doi-org.libproxy.uregina.ca/10.3102/0013189X211017495.
Common Sense Education. (2019, August). Challenge Confirmation Bias. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/challenging-confirmation-bias.
Couros, A. & Hildebandt, K. (2015). Digital Citizenship Education in Saskatchewan Schools. Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. file:///Users/jordanhalkyard/Downloads/83322-DC_Guide_-_ENGLISH_2%20(5).pdf.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2011). Saskatchewan Curriculum: English Language Arts 10. https://curriculum.gov.sk.ca/CurriculumHome?id=37.
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