Open AccessTransforming Confirmation Bias to Generate Critical Consciousness in News/Information Literacy and Social Science Courses
Author(s) -
James H. Wittebols
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the canadian journal for the scholarship of teaching and learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1918-2902
DOI - 10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2020.2.9472
Subject(s) - curiosity , experiential learning , consciousness , information literacy , psychology , critical consciousness , critical thinking , consciousness raising , critical literacy , social consciousness , pedagogy , social psychology , sociology , epistemology , philosophy , neuroscience
This paper synthesizes theory and research on confirmation bias (CB), curiosity, and news/information literacy education with the goal of understanding how helping students critique their tendency to engage in CB spurs curiosity and critical consciousness about learning. Curiosity about the self is spurred when people realize their CB tendencies. Curiosity about the larger social world is spurred when students learn how CB affects the way they look at the world. A flipped classroom approach reflects the work of Paulo Freire, who argued critical education should be experiential with faculty playing a facilitating, rather than an “expert” role.