Critical Thinking Bootcamp Skills, tools, and resources to help patrons navigate a world of misinformation. We’ve compiled a list of resources recommended by our panelists, audience members, and the SAGE team to help you best educate patrons on misinformation and boost their information literacy skills. Included within this toolkit, you will find: • A link to the Bootcamp’s recording and slides • Top three tips from our panelists • Advice from the chat log • Course resources • A list of recommended SAGE content If you have any feedback or questions, please reach out to [email protected]. Bootcamp Recording and Slides Access the recording and slides here: bit.ly/CriticalThinkingBootcamp Top Three Tips for Librarians environment, the better. There are an infinite from Our Panelists number of places where they can see algorithms at work – social media, reviews, We asked our three panelists to summarize Google searches, YouTube – so real-world their top advice for librarians, based off their examples are easy to find. experience working with patrons to combat misinformation. Tips for librarians from Sarah Morris, Head of Instruction and Engagement at the Emory Tips for librarians from Rosalind Tedford, University Libraries: Director of Research and Instruction at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest 1. Find a hook: Misinformation is everywhere, University: and media literacy education doesn’t have to be confined to just one subject area. 1. Never waste a good crisis: We have the Librarians can work with partners across perfect example RIGHT NOW of the horrible disciplines to find ways to help patrons impact of mis/disinformation on society deal with misinformation, and we can use – so use it. Use COVID as your example examples from different disciplines and and it instantly becomes more relevant to topic areas that can resonate with our everyone. various audiences. 2. Use humor: Memes are a great way to 2. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel: get students and young people engaged Librarians already teach about skills and in thinking about mis/disinformation. It’s a topics that relate to misinformation, such ‘language’ they already know and getting as evaluating sources, identifying scholarly them to think critically about it really sparks sources, or developing search skills. We great discussion and engagement. can build on what we’re already doing to 3. Algorithms, algorithms, algorithms: The introduce timely and topical content on more we can get students to understand misinformation to our patrons. the impact algorithms have on their online 3. Focus on context: Misinformation doesn’t 2. Cultivate lists of good sources: When you exist in a vacuum, and finding ways to find a great source or news organization or incorporate content on topics like internet writer on the internet, bookmark them in a culture, cognitive bias, media ecosystems, folder in your browser, add them to a “Good or science literacy can help our patrons Sources” list on Twitter, or set them to “See gain a richer understanding of what First” on Facebook. This way you see higher misinformation is and how to deal with it. quality information more easily during your day and you can share it with interested Tips for librarians to share with students friends, family, or colleagues. from Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian at Drake 3. Assess your information habits: Ask University: yourself questions like, “When I scroll 1. Know your author/creator: Before you through Twitter, why am I doing it?” or “When read or watch something online and I read articles on the web, when am I doing definitely before you share it, take a look it?” Our information moods/habits change to see who made it and ask yourself why throughout the day depending on our work, they put it out onto the internet. This one schedule, and general level of busyness. step can often prevent you from sharing Learn your habits and improve upon them. something fake, misleading, or lacking And ask yourself, “What do you want to get evidence. out of your information experiences?” Advice from the Chat Here, we’ve included questions and advice provided by attendees in the chat. They are organized by session, with various links and tips included at the end. Practices and Tools You Can Use Lightning Talks “Have your students compare their “I try to stay away from a lot of demos in standard searches with ‘incognito’ class... BUT it is needed sometimes! It searches or with other search engines, like really does help, so long as students are ‘Duck Duck Go.’” given a chance to try it themselves, or in small groups.” “I’ve been tasked on creating a libguide on finding reliable information. So far I’ve “When it comes to natural language decided to base it on the SIFT method.” searches vs. fixed vocabulary, use Boolean operators.” “Check out the News Literacy Project. Lots of good information.” “I was so stoked to learn that PowerPoint 365 auto-generates captions during live “I use Articulate Rise to create interactive presentations, so now I plan to use that scenarios. If you have LibGuides, so that people don’t have to wait until LibWizard is good. SurveyMonkey can I post the recording with captions to also be useful.” engage in instruction.” “Theirtube is a cool filter for YouTube that “I loved the link supplied by SAGE lets you see the recommendation algorithm organizers with instructions on accessible for various types of people.” presentations. I learned something new!” Recommended Sites Bad News “Comparing fact checking sites for Political Speeches (NPR, Politifact, “Dihydrogen monoxide is a fun website to www.factcheck.org, etc.)” demonstrate evaluating information.” “Check out ‘The Cognitive Bias Codex’ All Sides &/or ‘The Cognitive Bias Codex With “This is a great source to prompt reflection on Definitions.’” privacy online and information use.” “A really good op/ed on COVID and news “I know a few people have mentioned it, but literacy: ‘Teaching kids news literacy could Snopes is always great. be a matter of life and death.’” I also like www.factcheck.org/ and its sister EdPuzzle sites.” CRAAP Test “I also use this and these videos (with prompt questions) in my classroom.” More on accessibility from Angie Brunk: www.angiebrunk.com “Verywellmind.com has a good series on cognitive bias.” Recommended Methods Course Resources “I use memes A LOT in my classes to have These resources were provided by our students foster critical thinking – have them three panelists Rosalind Tedford, Dan find one that has a ‘fact’ on it and have Chibnall, and Sarah Morris. them go fact check it – they LOVE it.” “SIFT is awesome!” • Newsguard (browser plugin and app) • Bot Sentinel (browser plugin) “Cephalonian Method – series of questions” • Fact vs. Opinion Quiz (from Pew Research) “ProQuest Research Companion has • TheirTube (shows YouTube algorithm) some great activities for evaluating sources.” • Blue Feed Red Feed (shows Facebook division) “John Oliver’s recent segment on • Misinformation online workshops conspiracy theories is brilliant. (video library from The Z. Smith He talks about how when huge things Reynolds Library at Wake Forest happen, we have trouble believing that they University) come from small sources.” • Fake News, Fact-checking and Junk Science (course description from The Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University) Jump to the Appendix for more examples and resources from our panelists, including course syllabi, slides, and class exercises. SAGE Content A mix of free and for-purchase content, these resources were suggested by SAGE staff, including Bootcamp moderator Mila Steele. You can also stay up to date on SAGE’s Critical Thinking initiatives here. For the classroom: • Critical Thinking: An Online Course: This course equips students with the skills and habits of critical thinking. It teaches practical techniques for confident, discerning critical engagement with sources, evidence, arguments, and reasoning. Sign up to see a sample module: campus.sagepub.com/critical-thinking-course#critical-thinking-course/intro • Listen to Tom Chatfield on critical thinking, bias, and the shortcuts in our thinking (free): www.socialsciencespace.com/2017/10/tom-chatfield-critical-thinking-bias/ • What kind of thinker are you? Take our quiz and find out! (Free): www.buzzfeed.com/tomchatfield/what-kind-of-thinker-are-you-2x5cd?utm_term=. vrOajNORKy#.kv22lv8nX0 • Get some posters: Use these downloadable classroom resources to inspire your students with critical thinking (free): study.sagepub.com/criticalthinking/download-classroom-materials Recommended reading: 9781473947146 (2017) 9781526497406 (2019) Critical Thinking Tom Chatfield Think Critically Tom Chatfield The definitive introduction to critical thinking A short, sharp starters kit on how to think as a set of learnable techniques. A complete critically. Practical skills are presented in a toolkit that provides skills, insights, and step-by-step format with interactive pedagogy confidence – it helps students learn how to to encourage application and to facilitate build an argument, spot errors, identify bias, immediate improvement. and add criticality to their writing. 9781473918801 (2015) 9781412961820 (2016) How to Read Journal Articles in the Social Critical Reading and Writing for Postgraduates 3e Sciences 2e Wallace & Wray (new edition April 2021) Phillip C Shon Builds on basic critical thinking skills to add layers No-nonsense, practical guide that uses a of complexity and nuance. Full of applied tools specially developed reading code to help for analyzing texts and structuring critical reviews, students to read journal articles and to the book turns a reflective lens towards essays, decipher them structurally, mechanically, and dissertations, theses, research papers, and oral grammatically. The focus is on decoding and presentations. critiquing academic writing and on distilling and retrieving large amounts of information. 9781473997158 (2018) 9781529713350 (2020) The Academic Handbook Read Critically Alex Baratta Hopkins & Reid A basic introduction to finding meaning in texts Presents a flexible, adaptable approach and sources.