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Supporting science media literacy in science education
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Targeting Misinformation is a project with online resources to help science teachers teach science media literacy.

It hopes to address, in particular, the well known problem of climate-change naysayers, anti-vaxxers, flat-Earthers, pandemic deniers and others who reject the consensus of the scientific experts.

Helping students become well informed citizens and consumers amidst a deluge of scientific misinformation is a new challenge for science educators in the 21st century. This reorientation is reflected, for example, in

All echo the existing NGSS standards for "obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information."

This website offers teachers some background in science media literacy, including an overview of 10 competencies for students, each aligned with the NGSS. It also provides active, inquiry-based lessons which, unlike conventional approaches to general media literacy, involve students in learning themselves how to interpret the sources of (specifically) scientific claims.

Here is an overview of the lessons, organized by thematic concepts:

 
TEACHING RESOURCES
Overview & NGSS Benchmarks -- What do students need to learn about "obtaining, evaluating and communicating information"? Here are 10 basic competencies.
From Evidence to Sources -- It's a major shift from assessing evidence and arguments to assessing sources of information and their credibility -- but not so strange to the seasoned educator. It's still all about how we know what we know, but now guided by understanding the social structure of trust.
Handouts -- summary sheets for students
Other Online Resources & Activities -- Find other available activities and lessons.
Library -- Sources referenced on this website.
 

ORIENTATION
Fantastic Beasts (Renaissance Edition) -- a teaser based on images of exotic animals and "monstrous" humans -- some real, some not
Fantastic Beasts (AI Edition) -- a guessing game based on images of incredible animals-- some real, some not
Fact-Checking 101 -- the basics of checking sources, in a "fast-and-frugal" way
 

CREDIBILITY
The Vaccine Skeptics of 1721 -- Revisit the origins of smallpox variolation in Europe, and associated doubts. What scientific claims and sources would you trust?
The New Madrid Earthquake of 1990 -- a prediction of devastation that never came true -- but why did residents believe the non-expert?
The Covid Conundrum -- revisiting the pandemic to reassess the credibility of claims made historically, now clearly false
 

EXPERTISE
Inquiry into Expertise -- Who is a scientific expert worth trusting? What, indeed, is expertise?
Who's the Expert? -- a guessing game based on interpreting expert credentials
Institutional Tour -- Learn about the major U.S. organizations and agencies supporting science.
 

DECEPTIVE TACTICS
The Plausibility Trap -- It's easy to be fooled -- here's how. So, learn to trust the experts.
Science Liars Game -- Have some fun trying to persuade classmates of bogus science news stories -- to learn about deceptive strategies.
  
   The Editor is veteran science educator Douglas Allchin, with over 30 years of classroom experience and a Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science. He is author of Teaching the Nature of Science (2013), Sacred Bovines (2017), co-editor of An Introudction to the History of Science in Non-Western Traditions (1999), and recipient of the Hazen Prize from the History of Science Society.
  
© SHiPS Education Resource Center | http://shipseducation.net/misinfo