Down the Rabbit Hole: An Exercise in Intellectual Curiosity

• In Event: 3423 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 3: Engaged Student Learning

Abstract

The activity I will present encourages students to view factual claims made in social media, in news sources, and in opinion pieces through a lens of intellectual curiosity. Students typically have the technology right in their pockets to interrogate such claims, but they often do not have the skills or inclination to do so. I propose that we harness smartphone technology as a tool to move students from accepting or rejecting claims based on what feels true to being able to develop complex arguments supported by information from high-quality sources about what is actually known about the claim. Essentially, this activity demonstrates for students what social scientists do when we read articles in the media that pique our curiosity. This is a crucial skill in the contemporary political and media environment.

Starting with a factual claim from an article, students interrogate the claim in small groups by “going down the rabbit hole” to find information that confirms, fleshes out, or sheds doubt on that claim. To do this, they can follow the article’s links and track down its sources. They can also search the web and academic databases for other pertinent material. Students keep track of the relevant facts and findings, as well as information about the source itself, in an annotated bibliography. Then, the entire class discusses what they found and collectively develops an argument that is more complex than the original claim. Finally, the students reflect on what they learned about this process and how they might use it in the future.

In this presentation, I will describe the activity in more detail, provide feedback from students, and discuss potential pitfalls and ways to avoid them. Audience members will go home with a copy of the activity and follow-up assignments that they can adapt for their own use.

Author

• Brenda Wilhelm, Colorado Mesa University