Authority is Constructed / Contextual (Frame 1)

Submitted by Kirsten Hansen on November 20th, 2018
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Short Description: 

In this assignment, students are given a range of newspaper article about science topics and work in pairs to find the original research article that the newspaper article is based on in the library databases. Students then assess when they might use an original research article vs when they might use a well-written newspaper article.

After the activity, the librarian gave short lecture about online fact checking based on Mike Caulfield's excellent fast and frugal fact checking strategies. If time allows, students can do some of the activities that Caulfield lists in his textbook.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Powerpoint presentation to accompany the assignmentdisplayed 1330 times93.52 KB
Outline of the assignmentdisplayed 1040 times17.73 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Frames: Authority is constructed and contextual/Information creation as a process
Students will be able to:
• recognize that information may be perceived differently based on the format in which it is packaged
• Assess the fit between a source’s creation process and the particular information need
• Assess the fit between a source’s argument, methodology, and authority and the particular information need
• Use research tools and indicators of authority to determine the credibility of sources, understanding the elements that might temper this credibility

I will know students have achieved the learning outcomes:
Students wil be able to move “backwards” from popular science articles (i.e. NPR, NYT, Scientific American and the like) to the original research articles on which the articles are based. Students will then articulate strengths/weaknesses of the types of articles and when they might use them.

Discipline: 
Multidisciplinary

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

The genesis of this activity was a class about why people do or do not believe scientific conclusions. Mechanically, it can be used to help students practice moving from information “in the wild” as reported by the media to the original research articles. Conceptually, it can be used to help students evaluate how well or poorly scholarly research is reported by the press and to understand that different formats are useful at different times, and that different types of authority (reporter vs researchers) are constructed and contextual.)

This activity could be used in any class where students need to learn how to find the original scholarly articles that give birth to newspaper or other media articles.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

If you are not very familiar with a subject area, it may be challenging to find appropriate articles for this assignment. In my case, the professor found the articles we used and it worked out well.

Suggested Citation: 
Hansen, Kirsten. "From newspaper article to research article: backtracking to find original research." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/newspaper-article-research-article-backtracking-find-original-research.
Submitted by Elisa Acosta on October 28th, 2018
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Short Description: 

This 30-minute activity was a quick introduction to algorithmic bias and the importance of critically evaluating search engine results. Algorithms increasingly shape modern life and can perpetuate bias and discrimination. In pairs, students analyzed the results from Google Image searches and Google Autocomplete suggestions. This activity was based on “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism,” by Safiya Umoja Noble. This lesson plan was Part 1 of an hour-long workshop that also included a 30 minute Google Scholar activity. Please see Jennifer Masanaga's Google Scholar activity for Part 2: https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/exploring-google-scholar-summer-b...

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plandisplayed 4816 times154.64 KB
Presentation slidesdisplayed 2245 times3.37 MB
Worksheetdisplayed 1795 times326.34 KB
Suggested Readingsdisplayed 1196 times65.96 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

1. Students will discuss the effects of algorithm bias in order to articulate how some individuals or groups of individuals may be misrepresented or systematically marginalized in search engine results. 2. Students will develop an attitude of informed skepticism in order to critically evaluate Google search results.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

The Computer Science Summer Institute Extension Program, or CCSIX, is a 3-week on-campus summer experience for first-year students studying computer science and related STEM fields. This program is designed for groups underrepresented in computing (i.e., women, underrepresented minorities in STEM, and first-generation or low-income college students). https://cssiextension.withgoogle.com/

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Incoming first-year students were shy and quiet. I revised the lesson plan to include more Think-Pair-Share and less all-class discussion. The instructor should model the Google Images activity first (Professor Style), then let students do the second activity (Computer Scientist) together in pairs. The students liked “partner time.” This was a summer bridge program, so we decided to keep the worksheets short and the activities social (students talking to each other).

Collaborators: 
Suggested Citation: 
Acosta, Elisa. "Exploring Algorithmic Bias with a Summer Bridge Program." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/exploring-algorithmic-bias-summer-bridge-program.
Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on July 24th, 2018
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Short Description: 

Synthèse ludique des ateliers d'évaluation des sources. Peut être utilisé comme récompense : un exemplaire plastifié est offert à l'étudiant qui trouve l'erreur volontairement insérée dans la formation (les autres n'ont que la feuille en papier). Autre utilisation : trouver le document le plus faible parmi vos références, ou parmi les références du syllabus de tel cours.

Gamified summary for the evaluation of sources activity. A laminated copy could be used as award for the first student who discovers the mistake deliberately put in the learning activity; the other participants only get a paper copy of the sheet. Another use : in a list of bibliographic references, find the weakest one.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
foutaisometre-french.pdfdisplayed 1752 times278.34 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Summary of the evaluation of sources activity. Wrap-up.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "Foutaisomètre / Bullshit-o-meter." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/foutaisom%C3%A8tre-bullshit-o-meter.
Submitted by Jen Hasse on July 9th, 2018
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Short Description: 

A one-shot or seminar class on fake news tied to source evaluation. Examination of the factors at play in the creation of misinformation; insight into how to select sources; tools and strategies for evalutating content of stories, authors, and news outlets.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
evaluating information - fake news & craap + stereotypes + epic.pptxdisplayed 1771 times2.87 MB
Learning Outcomes: 

● Students will discuss and reflect on their own encounters/experiences with “fake news” and erroneous information ● Students will investigate and consider different theories or explanations for why people fall prey to “fake news” ● Students will identify motivations for the creation of misleading or inaccurate information ● Students will be introduced to tools for identifying and counteracting fake news and develop their own strategies for weeding out problematic sources and selecting credible sources

Discipline: 
Multidisciplinary

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This course is typically taught as part of a one-credit information literacy first year seminar. Class is 50 minutes once per week.

Suggested Citation: 
Hasse, Jen . "Fake News: Fight Back ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/fake-news-fight-back.
Submitted by Sara Davidson Squibb on June 25th, 2018
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Short Description: 

The Value of Free and Deep Web Resources (aka Google vs. Databases)

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plan - Value of Free and Deep Web Resourcesdisplayed 3602 times27 KB
Handout - Scenarios - Where to Search?displayed 1475 times80.45 KB
Handout Key - Scenarios - Where to Search?displayed 1192 times16.26 KB
Blank Chart - Compare Pros Cons - Google vs Databasesdisplayed 1164 times48.41 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will be able to …
• articulate the value of using both the free web (e.g. Google) and the deep web (e.g. databases) to find sources.
• recognize that an information need may influence where one chooses to search.

Discipline: 
Multidisciplinary

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

We created this lesson for using in beginning composition classes with the intent that Writing instructor could adopt and incorporate this content and conversation into their course. A librarian taught this lesson in one of these classes though she modified Part III to be less formal.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

See attached.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Return to the outcomes and ask students to articulate the value of Google and databases. Ask what factors they will consider when determining where to search.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

It is helpful to have two screens when comparing results from Google vs. a selected database. It can be easy to get into the weeds of using the search tool when this is not the focus of the lesson. There is opportunity to change search scenarios to topics being discussed in the class.

Suggested Citation: 
Davidson Squibb, Sara . "Where Should I Search? It Depends!." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/where-should-i-search-it-depends.
Submitted by Katrina Stierholz on June 24th, 2018
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Short Description: 

A hybrid teaching module with two elements: an interactive online module for students to complete ahead of class and a face-to-face lesson plan that builds on the skills learned in the online lesson. The in-class session provides students with a critical exploration of the purchasing power of minimum wages across states and/or the earnings gap between men and women employed full time.

The pre-class online course is titled: “FRED Interactive: Information Literacy” available through www.econlowdown.org. In the online course, students review a FRED graph made in the course; define the concepts nominal, real, and inflation; and discuss basic strategies for establishing the reliability of a data source.

The in-person class lesson is titled: ACRL Information Literacy Frames as FRED-Integrated Abilities: The frames Research as Inquiry, Information Creation as a Process, Scholarship as Conversation, and Authority Is Constructed and Contextual are highlighted. The instructor has two possible tasks for students;
-Option A, students work in FRED and use the formula real = (nominal/CPI)*100 to plot inflation-adjusted minimum wage rates for two states and compare the results.
-Option B, students work in FRED to plot and compare nominal and real earnings differentials for men and woman.

The lesson includes a variety of in-class and out-of-class assessment activities and links to resources and a glossary of terms provide additional learning opportunities.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Keeping_It_Real.pdfdisplayed 1081 times281.15 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will:

Create
❏ New FRED® graphs

Define
❏ Minimum wage
❏ Nominal and real wages
❏ Consumer price inflation (CPI)

Identify
❏ Metadata in a FRED graph
❏ Additional questions for further research

Describe
❏ The frequency of data collection
❏ The components of a data citation
❏ The difference between data sources and aggregators
❏ The reasons for knowing how data are collected
❏ The difference between nominal and real wages
❏ The issues of authority regarding trustworthiness, reliability, and credibility of data sources

Individual or Group:

Suggested Citation: 
Stierholz, Katrina. "Keeping It Real: Teach ACRL Information Literacy Frames with FRED data ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/keeping-it-real-teach-acrl-information-literacy-frames-fred-data.
Submitted by Jo Angela Oehrli on June 20th, 2018
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Short Description: 

What is “fake news” anyway? Are we living in a post-truth world? These University of Michigan course materials will provide opportunities to discuss and analyze news production, consumption and evaluation. Students will develop the critical thinking skills necessary to be an informed citizen; understand how their worldview affects their interpretation of the news; and create a personal strategy for fact-checking and evaluating the news. Topics include types of “fake news” such as misinformation and disinformation; economic and technological contexts of the news media; psychological and social factors of media consumption; and the impact of news on our society.

Learning Outcomes: 

After participating in this course, students will be able to:
1. Critically evaluate news sources in order to determine content credibility.
2. Develop and implement a strategy to make an informed opinion about current topics and issues in order to become a better informed citizen
3. Identify types of “fake news” including misinformation, disinformation, biased information, propaganda, and satire in order to determine the credibility of news content
4. Describe the news production process and information landscape in order to recognize the impact of the economic and technological context
5. Analyze the impact of psychological and social factors on media consumption in order to reflect on their own personal media consumption behaviors and practices
6. Discuss the individual and societal impacts of news literacy in order to understand its importance to public policy and democracy.

Discipline: 
Multidisciplinary

Individual or Group:

Tags:

Suggested Citation: 
Oehrli, Jo Angela. "Fake News, Lies, and Propaganda: How to Sort Fact from Fiction." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/fake-news-lies-and-propaganda-how-sort-fact-fiction.
Submitted by Gail Gradowski on June 14th, 2018
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Short Description: 

This is designed to introduce students to the wonderful world of periodicals, in their great variety, and to how they will appear in different databases. It also begins the work of building their skills at evaluating information sources, determining perspective.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
This is the worksheet, including the answers!displayed 986 times52 KB
This is the optional worksheet described in the lesson plan.displayed 725 times15.12 KB
This is, essentially, a lesson plan and script.displayed 832 times16.82 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

• Identify a periodical source;
• Describe different periodical information sources;
• Identify relevant author credentials;
• Describe relevant author credentials.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This activity is a great one to be done right before students are going to begin searching for articles for their own research projects. I have used it that way many times.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

This exercise works well as a prelude to another I've uploaded here, What Exactly IS the Source You are Quoting From?, which works on teaching students how to contextualize their evidence/sources in their writing.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

One pitfall is that students very often answer the questions with very obvious and superficial remarks, so it is important to really respond to their answers and make them "go back and try again!" It can be helpful to have "prizes" for coming up with insightful responses!

When selecting the articles to use in this exercise, I always try to make sure the links are to different databases so part of what they learn is that the article can appear very different in different databases. e.g. EBSCO, Gale, Nexis, Proquest!

Suggested Citation: 
Gradowski, Gail. "You Say Periodical. I Say Magazine. And then there are Journals! What Does It Matter as Long as I can Get the PDF?." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/you-say-periodical-i-say-magazine-and-then-there-are-journals-what-does-it-matter-long-i.
Submitted by Gail Gradowski on June 14th, 2018
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Short Description: 

This exercise was designed for 1st year writing students with several different goals in mind: • encourage deeper, closer reading; • introduce the concept that information sources have perspective; • develop vocabulary around describing information and perspective; • acquaint students with the many values/uses of subject encyclopedias; • practice topic narrowing using these types of encyclopedia articles.

Learning Outcomes: 

• Distinguish/discern differences in treatment of the same subject in different texts. • Differentiate/recognize different types of information sources in lists of references. • Assess/compare/contrast author credentials. • Assess/compare/contrast authority, audience and perspective of various subject encyclopedias.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

Students love wikipedia, and this exercise builds on that. They tell me that one of the ways they use wikipedia is to help them narrow their topic. I've often recommended to students that they read some encyclopedia articles to help them focus/narrow/define their research question. This exercise can serve as a way to encourage that use. It could be immediately followed by having them locate subject encyclopedia articles for themselves.

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

When they are in their groups composing their presentation, you will need to encourage them to go into more detail, cite examples from the texts to support their claims. They will initially be making very broad, general statements. Students working on the 4th question will probably need the most assistance.

Suggested Citation: 
Gradowski, Gail. "Pick One, Any One? They're all just encyclopedia articles . . .." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/pick-one-any-one-theyre-all-just-encyclopedia-articles.
Submitted by Jeffrey Dowdy on June 11th, 2018
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Short Description: 

This session was part of an undergraduate, critical thinking and global perspectives course. The course is offered by various disciplines on campus. This instance focused on global challenges (The Seven Revolutions developed by csis.org). For the session the students applied two frameworks to data: authority is constructed and contextual and scholarship as conversation. Students learned about a data life cycle concept with emphasis on evaluation. One of the main goals in introducing the students to the life cycle of data (see attached) was to broaden their understanding of how to search for data. Students may encounter data via social media or in a magazine article. Often those formats are more accessible and present data in a way that is easier to understand. The exercise helps students to see how data can sometimes be manipulated in those formats, while also developing search techniques to track data to its source.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Slide 2 gives an illustration of the data lifecycledisplayed 1092 times663.82 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Employ credible resources in studying key global challenges

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

The data literacy session was part of a semester-long, scaffolded research paper on a specific global challenge. Students were encouraged to use data to back up their arguments and research.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
One issue with the assignment in its present form: students misunderstood the first question of the assignment (Provide two examples of types of data that inform your research topic). Many interpreted 'types' to mean actual data sets or reports instead of brainstorming about what data could exist. One hurdle students face, as Daniel Russell research scientist for Google would put it, is understanding how search works and what it can do for them. Students must know what questions they can ask. The first question was intended to help them think about what they could ask. This will require more modeling in the introduction.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

For future iterations of this topic, I would like for students to evaluate multiple examples of data used in journalistic writing. Both to understand how to write with data and to see how data can be employed to make a point or to support a story.

Suggested Citation: 
Dowdy, Jeffrey. "Data Literacy." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/data-literacy.

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