DRAPER, Utah — Students are honing their critical thinking skills to find their way through a sea of misinformation and disinformation. More than 300 teachers in the Canyons School District have been trained in the information investigators curriculum, part of the News Literacy Project.
“We have an abundance of information,” said Lacee Kendall, a biology teacher at Corner Canyon High School. “They can get information everywhere and they do get it everywhere.”
Ms. Kendall used one lesson to help her students navigate medical information they find online. “When you are trusting people with healthcare, you are literally trusting them with your life,” she told the class.
Her students, who have grown up with access to the internet and social media, have seen plenty of sources of good and bad information.
When asked about the most bizarre piece of medical information he’s found online, 9th-grade honors student Maddix Gardiner described seeing a video advising viewers to put mayonnaise on their forehead to cure a headache. Maddix immediately knew that information was false. “I know that stuff is mainly just for views, so I go to places I know I can trust,” he said.
Part of Ms. Kendall’s course teaches students a skill called lateral reading. It’s the act of opening several tabs on an internet browser to research multiple sources. “Most of the time you can tell based on the motive,” said ninth-grade honors student Sloan Rowe. “What are they getting out of it? if it doesn’t seem realistic, most of the time you can check it and it's not factual.”
Ms. Kendall is proud that her students are using their critical thinking skills to process everything they find online. “I think it's important they differentiate between what's credible and what isn't. They can make informed decisions throughout their life,” she said.
Her students are confident they have the skills to find the truth. “It’s surprising to see how many people actually believe this stuff," Rowe said.
