In the 21st century, fake news has detrimental consequences on global communities, relationships, and democracies. Unfortunately, youth unknowingly engage with misinformed content on their social media platforms. Teenagers often turn to social media for information, and it is essential that teachers address reading strategies such as sourcing to…

Recently, many have released calls for the need to help students evaluate online information. Additionally, many have offered strategies, lists, and other heuristics for helping students evaluate. However, educators lack a method for organizing these various practices into a systematic framework that captures the complex (occurring within online…

Immune literacy--the ability to hear, learn, read, write, explain, and discuss immunological content with varied audiences--has become critically important in recent years. Yet, with its complex terminology and discipline-specific concepts, educating individuals about the immune system and its role in health and disease may seem daunting. Here, we…

In early February 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) named a new kind of media consumption ailment, saying, "The 2019-nCoV outbreak and response has been accompanied by a massive 'infodemic'--an over-abundance of information--some accurate and some not that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when…

Courses: Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Organizational Communication, Introduction to Communication Studies, Business Communication. Objectives: The goal for this activity is not only to provide students with an understanding of their initial, derived, and terminal credibility when relating a personal, edifying story but also to…

The changes in the online information landscape, the divisive nature of political life, and the growing distrust in democratic institutions have all contributed to the increasing circulation of misinformation. These dynamics have made assessing the credibility of information challenging for youth and adults alike. While we have much to learn,…

Reflecting on the mediascape since the 2016 elections, it's tempting to think that "fake news" is strictly a twenty-first century phenomenon--designed by webmasters as clickbait for shadowy networks seeking power and profit. This article will explore some ways in which teachers can use the analytical tools of news literacy to unearth the…

Recent surveys have indicated a worryingly low level of support for democracy among Australian youth and around the world. For example, in the 2017 Lowy Institute Poll, 36% of Australians indicated that, in some circumstances, a nondemocratic government is preferable. Such concerns, while hardly new, have triggered calls for more civic education…

The Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is one of the most important financial institutions in the world. As the central bank of the United States, it influences the domestic money supply, credit, and interest rates with the goal of achieving stable prices and full employment for the world's largest economy. It provides a variety of services to…

This article introduces a framework designed to improve students' awareness of the need to critically evaluate websites as sources of information and to improve their skill at doing so. The framework, called the WWWDOT framework, encourages students to think about at least six dimensions when evaluating a website: (1) Who wrote this and what…

The development and use of a research tool to guide fourth-grade students' use of information sources during a research project is described in this article. Over a period of five weeks, 21 fourth-grade students in an international school in Singapore participated in a study investigating the extent to which the use of a "research resource…

As online research has become an increasingly standard activity for middle school and high school students, Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) has simultaneously emerged as the bane of many teachers who include research-focused assignments in their courses. An online encyclopedia that allows anyone to edit its entries, Wikipedia has educators…

This article describes three interacting phases of the New Lexington City Schools' staff development program, which began in 1979. The first phase, overcoming psychological resistance to the program, had three components: convincing staff, designing a plan ensuring staff control of events, and developing a climate to foster openness, trust, and…

Interest in the topic of trust both within and between organizations has grown greatly in recent years. One key issue to understanding trust and how it can be more effectively fostered is understanding its causes. Based on the 1995 Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman model of trust, this article describes exercises that allow students to inductively…

Discusses the historical validity of "The Hitler Diaries" and other historical forgeries. Maintains that forgeries and other hoaxes will continue to be part of human history. Questions why many people seem to need "historical revelations." (CFR)