Last week, I continued to work with students on their basic research skills. As juniors, they're mostly aware of the necessity of evaluating the trustworthiness of their sources, however most still lack the skills or motivation to do so.
My current course, Critical Thinking and Argumentation, focuses on evaluating, assessing, and creating arguments. I really wanted to focus on getting students to think about the websites they're choosing to get information from, but I didn't want it to be "yes, the website is good, or no, it's not". Instead, I wanted to focus on possible bias or ulterior motives within websites that may have quality information. It all falls back on author's purpose.
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| Anchor chart that I created for my classroom that goes over the basics of evaluating a source using WHO and WHY! |
I created an anchor chart that encourages students to, if they do no other evaluation, ask two questions -- who and why?
- Who created or wrote the information?
- Who published the information?
- Why did they create it? (Intended audience, purpose, and ulterior motives)
Initially, students found the website to be trustworthy, and they thought it contained quality information. They felt the fact that it was a .org and a non-profit organization made the site even more trustworthy. Students also noticed the celebrity endorsement, and they felt Danica Patrck wouldn't endorse something untrustworthy.
After I asked students for their decision and listened to their feedback we had the following conversation. Keep in mind that I'm summarizing the answers I heard from 3 different classes, so their wording may not match exactly, but I want to convey their overall thinking.
Q1: What is the purpose of the website?
A1: To teach people about different types of insurance. To educate people about purchasing insurance and choosing insurance companies.
Q2: So they're teaching people what insurance they need out of the goodness of their heart?
A1: (Usually) Yes.
I then asked,
Q3: Who is the publisher?
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| Screen shot from the Life Happens website outlining who the organization is and how they got started. |
Q4: Who is in charge of Life Happens?
A4: Most found the CEOs name, some found that it was started by a group of insurance companies.
At this point, I directed the students to the About page and ask them to look at the page that says Who We Are. I gave them time to read through the paragraph and then we discus why that might make the website a bias source. If they don't catch on right away, I ask, "What do insurance companies do?" Almost all respond with, "Sell insurance".
Q5: Does the fact that this was started by insurance companies, make them bias?
A5: Most answer yes, but can't explain why. Most still truly believe the purpose of the website is to educate people on insurance options.
If they're still struggling we discuss the meaning of ulterior motives. I give them the example of doing volunteer work out of the goodness of their heart versus doing volunteer work to put it on a resume. Either way they're still doing volunteer work, but the reason behind it is different.
Then I ask,
Q6: What might be this non-profits ulterior motive? Why would they want to educate people about insurance?
Q6: To get people to buy insurance!
I also pointed out that everything on the website explain why I NEED insurance. Nowhere does it give me reasons a particular policy or type of insurance might be unnecessary.
We ended the discussion by explaining that this doesn't mean that the information on this website isn't quality. There might be an article on the site by an insurance expert that is very informative. BUT I use this to show students that you have to think about the author's/publisher's purpose. What do they want you to think/do/say as a reader?
Students are used to the "assess your sources" conversation. It's something they hear over and over in our building, but they rarely actually do it. I think by narrowing the information they have to look for to the WHO and they WHY makes it a bit easier for students to digest and use. I actually had a colleague come up to me this week and say, "Hey, we're talking about evaluating sources and writing research questions in my Chemistry class and students said that they'd done that in your class already."
Students making cross curricular connections and realizing that sometimes the skills we teach them go beyond a single classroom or assignment.
It' a beautiful thing.
Q5: Does the fact that this was started by insurance companies, make them bias?
A5: Most answer yes, but can't explain why. Most still truly believe the purpose of the website is to educate people on insurance options.
If they're still struggling we discuss the meaning of ulterior motives. I give them the example of doing volunteer work out of the goodness of their heart versus doing volunteer work to put it on a resume. Either way they're still doing volunteer work, but the reason behind it is different.
Then I ask,
Q6: What might be this non-profits ulterior motive? Why would they want to educate people about insurance?
Q6: To get people to buy insurance!
I also pointed out that everything on the website explain why I NEED insurance. Nowhere does it give me reasons a particular policy or type of insurance might be unnecessary.
We ended the discussion by explaining that this doesn't mean that the information on this website isn't quality. There might be an article on the site by an insurance expert that is very informative. BUT I use this to show students that you have to think about the author's/publisher's purpose. What do they want you to think/do/say as a reader?
Students are used to the "assess your sources" conversation. It's something they hear over and over in our building, but they rarely actually do it. I think by narrowing the information they have to look for to the WHO and they WHY makes it a bit easier for students to digest and use. I actually had a colleague come up to me this week and say, "Hey, we're talking about evaluating sources and writing research questions in my Chemistry class and students said that they'd done that in your class already."
Students making cross curricular connections and realizing that sometimes the skills we teach them go beyond a single classroom or assignment.
It' a beautiful thing.
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