Assessing Misinformation in Science: A Framework and an Illustrative Task (Poster 24)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 1:15 pm
  In Poster Session: Classroom Assessment SIG Poster Session

Abstract

Science misinformation has implications for students’ learning of key science concepts such as vaccines, human nutrition, and global climate change. This study describes a framework for addressing misinformation in science to help students acquire knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop (mis)information literacy. Drawing on literature from civic education, socioemotional learning, cognitive psychology, and digital literacy, we define six dimensions for science misinformation. This framework informs the development of instructional and classroom assessment tasks that address misinformation. As an illustration, we present a task prototype case designed to address the components of this framework. The prototype supports students’ assessment of digital investigations to evaluate the validity of a claim about food nutrition shared on the Internet.

Authors

• Dante Cisterna, University of Kansas

• Cheryl S. Lavigne, Educational Testing Service