Even young students can learn how to understand and combat misinformation, and it's a key information literacy skill in 2024.

In this episode, I'm talking to Melanie Trecek-King of Thinking is Power, because I love how her approach to the topic of misinformation is characterized by compassion and empathy.

Melanie emphasizes that everyone is susceptible to misinformation, and falling for it doesn't indicate a lack of intelligence. This perspective humanizes those who believe in conspiracy theories or disinformation, so we can view them as people who--like ourselves--have unknowingly accepted false information.

Melanie and I discuss 3 primary reasons we fall for misinformation:

Confirmation Bias: Our tendency to interpret information in ways that confirm our existing beliefs. Once we believe something, we see evidence for it everywhere, reinforcing that belief. Skepticism is crucial for protecting oneself from misinformation, but it's most challenging when information confirms our biases.

Appeals to Emotion: Emotions, particularly anger, outrage, and fear, can trigger the part of our brain that hinders critical thinking. Many forms of misinformation specifically appeal to our emotions to convince us without evidence. When we feel emotionally triggered, it's a good time to slow down and practice emotional skepticism.

Reiteration Effect: Also known as the illusory truth effect, the reiteration effect means that the more we hear something repeated, the more likely we are to think it's true, even if it isn't. Our brain equates ease of processing with truth, so repeated exposure to false information can lead us to believe it.

We also discuss the problem with "doing your own research," and why Melanie sees 2024 as a the post-trust era, not the post-truth era, and how we can respond.

The remainder of our conversation is centered on how to teach information literacy to students. Melanie provides actionable tips and ready-to-use resources to help you:
1. Demonstrate to students that they can be fooled (e.g., through personality reading exercises).
2. Discuss how beliefs are formed using non-triggering examples (e.g., historical witch trials).
3. Include misinformation in lessons to help students recognize its characteristics.
4. Use tools like the FLOATER toolkit to help students evaluate claims systematically.
5. Have students create misinformation to understand its techniques better.

While these concepts are typically taught at the college level, they can be introduced as early as middle school. Even elementary students can begin to understand concepts like author's purpose and recognizing persuasive techniques.

Understanding misinformation is crucial in our daily lives, yet it's often absent from educational standards. Check out Melanie's site for lots of free resources to teach about misinformation using humor and non-triggering approaches to help students recognize it in the real world.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.

Yes, we’re talking about accommodations FOR TEACHERS…

I recently asked educators on social media if neurodivergent staff were being offered any support, and folks had a LOT to say! In this episode I’ll share:

• What we mean when we talk about neurodivergence
• Why neurodivergence isn’t a deficiency, just a difference
• What teachers say about accommodations that are (and aren’t) happening in their schools
• The legal rights that U.S. teachers have under the Americans with Disabilities Act
• The types of supports you can request and the logistics of making them happen

From there, I’ll share the commonalities and patterns in the response from educators about what’s been helpful and what’s needed.

I’ll talk about the 5 ways schools can offer support to neurodivergent educators and what these recommendations look like in practice:

#1: Allow for flexibility and autonomy, especially within breaks
#2) Designate quiet areas and mitigate the effects of overstimulating environments
#3) Communicate proactively about scheduling and changes
#4: Give clear directives, so the invisible expectations become visible
#5) Differentiate PD and offer topics related to executive function and organization
Additionally, I’ll make the case for universal design: that’s what good for neurodivergent educators also benefits neurotypical educators, and that these practices can (and should) be implemented school-wide.

Listen in to hear more about what’s helping neurodivergent teachers thrive, and how to advocate for the support YOU need in your school.

"Transformative change means feeling different, having different experiences every day, not just little changes that feel like a band-aid."

These are the words of today’s guest, Elena Aguilar, an instructional coach whose latest book is called Arise: The Art of Transformation Coaching. (https://amzn.to/3Srseot) Through her book and our conversation today, you’re invited to teach in a “human-centered, compassionate, wildly optimistic way.”

Listen in as we discuss:

• What “transformation” looks like and how it applies to the work of classroom teachers
• Why transformation results from addressing the Three Bs: beliefs, ways of being, and behavior…
• and why that order matters Which conditions allow for beliefs to change and how we can implement them in our classrooms
• How our “ways of being” as teachers tie to transformation

As we look toward the start of a new school year, I hope that Elena’s thoughts will help you reimagine what’s possible in your classroom, and create conditions for both student transformations and your own.

Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.