5 strategies to address scientific literacy in the digital age

Key points:

Scientific literacy is a fundamental skill for modern students. It provides them with the knowledge to critically evaluate information, understand scientific concepts, and make informed decisions in a rapidly changing world.

However, in today’s digital age, students and educators alike are at risk of information overload. Every day, we are bombarded with content from websites, social media, and hundreds of other sources that demand our attention and seek to influence our behavior. It’s enough to short-circuit the human brain.

So how do we prepare our students to navigate this confusing world of digital tools without getting lost in a jungle of misinformation? We start by cultivating a mindset that makes critical engagement second nature and fosters the confidence they need to meet challenges head on.

Below are five simple strategies that can help students approach scientific literacy in the digital age:

1. Is it crap?:The CRAAP strategy teaches students to evaluate information sources based on five criteria: Badge, Relevance, Authority, Accuracyand AimThis teaches students to first ask important questions like: “How old is this information?”, “Is it being published by a reliable source?” and “How does this compare to other research?”This allows students to evaluate the reliability of information and helps them discern credible sources from misleading ones.

2. Use fact-checking websites: It never hurts to consult a professional. Educators should encourage students to check their own information against websites such as FactCheck.org and SpiesBoth websites do a great job of explaining why something is true or false and what details may have been exaggerated.

3. Bias Bingo:This activity allows students to identify different types of bias in texts, advertisements, or media by marking the corresponding squares on a bingo card. This interactive exercise helps students develop critical thinking skills and recognize bias, improving their ability to evaluate information objectively. There are many free bingo creation sites where educators can create their own cards to use with their students.

4. Data your way: Students can take ownership of their learning by choosing how they represent data in an investigation. This will allow them to develop their skills and teach them a new way to graph or represent data. They may also observe other students' representations and want to learn that method. By sharing different representations with students, educators can allow them to rank them in order of how they best represent data. As students improve their data representation skills, they can begin to provide feedback on their own creations of data representations.

5. Data Selection Box: As students begin to learn how to make their own data representations, educators should use this resource to maximize their growth. The flowchart helps students determine what type of graphical representation they might want to make for their research. From there, they can use the graphing tips to help them create a representation that can successfully show what happened in their research.

Let’s face it: Teaching students scientific literacy is a challenge that won’t be solved overnight. It will require diligence, creativity, and more than a little determination. Still, by using simple strategies and staying up to date with the latest digital tools, educators can create a path forward for students in the changing digital landscape. With the right attitude, students will not only tackle today’s problems, but will create a future in which curiosity, critical thinking, and a steadfast commitment to scientific inquiry can flourish.