Promoting undergraduates' awareness of the importance of thinking critically about false or inaccurate scientific information presented in news articles

Being aware of the importance of thinking critically about wrong scientific information presented in news articles is an important form of scientific media literacy. However, little is known about how undergraduates evaluate wrong scientific information presented in news articles. This article discusses the effect of a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) in promoting students' awareness of the importance of thinking critically about false or inaccurate scientific information presented in news articles. It examines the written and oral arguments produced by 141 university students (73 females and 68 males, 16-22 years old) in Colombia during a complete TLS supervised by the same instructor. The data used in this analysis was collected from students' written responses, and audio and video recordings. The first aim of this investigation was to provide evidence of how undergraduates evaluate wrong scientific information presented in news articles when purposely no definition of misleading information is given. The second was to assess the effectiveness of the TLS in promoting students' awareness of the importance of thinking critically about wrong scientific information presented in news articles. The findings show that not all participants perceived misleading information in the same way, and students usually over-estimate the truth or certainty that can be attributed to scientific information communicated in news articles.