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ERIC Number: EJ1290566
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0024-1822
EISSN: N/A
The Mind Is a Mask: Protecting Students against False and Misleading Information during a Pandemic
Canada, Mark
Liberal Education, v107 n1 Win 2021
The dramatic spread of COVID-19 has given rise to widespread "mis"information and "dis"information. Even seasoned journalists have to work hard to avoid misinformation, a term for, among other things, inadvertent mistakes made in the reporting process. More troubling are the numerous examples of deliberate fabrications, or disinformation. The latter can be difficult to identify with certainty, as it is not always clear where a claim originated. But any kind of unfounded speculation or conspiracy theory can be problematic if people start to believe or even act on it. This article discusses how to protect students and ourselves from the panoply of pollutants running amok in information ecosystems. Instead of taking aim at specific examples of misinformation and disinformation (the approach of many other interventions with similar aims), Mind Over Chatter (MOC) teaches students to recognize the enemies within. Students learn how our minds' innate and sometimes irrational tendencies in processing information--what psychologists call cognitive biases--can make us all susceptible to misinterpretation and deception. In engaging with MOC's online modules, students identify and analyze different kinds of cognitive biases in video clips, excerpts from news articles, and hypothetical scenarios.
Association of American Colleges and Universities. 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 800-297-3775; Tel: 202-387-3760; Fax: 202-265-9532; e-mail: pub_desk@aacu.org; Web site: http://www.aacu.org/publications/index.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A