(via Dr. Andrea Baer, Inquiring Teachers)
Inquiring Teachers is offering the online course “Information Literacy in Politically Polarized Times” from Monday, October 4, to Tuesday, November 2. This course lasts four weeks and meets asynchronously. The cost is $175, and participants who complete the course will earn 1.5 CEUs.
In Brief
At a time of political polarization – when digital environments lend themselves to the spread of misinformation, information silos, and echo chambers that can exacerbate social divisions – many educators have pointed to information literacy education as a way to foster a more informed and civically engaged society. Participants in this course will reflect on and further develop their approaches to information literacy education in polarized moments, as they engage with research and teaching approaches from disciplines like media literacy, information studies, education, cognitive psychology, and sociology. Participants will ultimately develop an instruction plan that they can apply to their teaching practice.
Learning Outcomes
- reflect on current socio-political and socio-technical environments and their implications for information literacy education (e.g., political polarization, the online spread of misinformation, information silos and echo chambers, motivated reasoning, efforts to strengthen civic dialogue and engagement)
- become familiar with research on the relationship between social identity, beliefs, and information behaviors and consider its implications for information literacy education
- share and examine various pedagogical responses to related information literacy skills (e.g., source evaluation, online reading strategies like “lateral reading,” debiasing)
- develop and share instruction activities that encourage more critical engagement with information and that empathically address issues related to the current sociopolitical climate.
For more information on the course’s content and objectives, please go here.
To register or for inquiries, please e-mail abaer@inquiringteachers.com. All Inquiring Teachers courses are designed and facilitated by Dr. Andrea Baer. They are asynchronous, with flexible weekly activities and due dates. Please see these FAQs for more about the course structure or view participant testimonials.