Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation
Reliability Spectrum VS. FAKE News
Librarians and educators today spend a lot of time educating students in regards to fake news. The AASL Standards Framework for Learners has a standard (VI.A.3) that states "Evaluating information for accuracy, validity, social and cultural context, and appropriateness for need". (AASL) In my role as a Library Media Specialist I have done many lessons on fake news and how to tell a valid source from a not so valid source. I have seen many lessons by other librarians that concentrate on the areas of accuracy, validity. These are the biggest evaluations used to decide if something is fake news or not. The new Social Studies exams are now asking students to rate sources based on a reliability spectrum. This connects with the remaining parts of the new library standard.
The new standard includes the need to evaluate sources not only on the accuracy and validity but also the social and cultural context and the appropriateness for the need. This is the core thought process behind the reliability spectrum. Students will have several articles to read and they must rate them on this spectrum. Students will need to know that it is not asking if the articles are fake news or not but how reliable are the sources to answer the questions that are being asked.
My example to students is as follows:
I am looking to create a healthy meal plan for the week. I have three sources available to make my decisions.
- My grandmothers recipe box that is filled with our family recipes for generations.
- Local chef who wrote and published a cookbook.
- A friend who is nutritionist and studying to be a dietitian.
Now I need to evaluate each source but what are the questions? Plus I need to state my reasoning. Why did I rate that source the way I did?
Question 1: Which source is reliable to create a meal plan for someone with a health issue, which one would be reliable? Would you choose the friend studying to be a dietitian? I would say that source would be between reliable and somewhat reliable, since the friend is still studying to be a dietitian. Plus a dietitian is the better choice for nutrition decisions for health issues than a nutritionist.
Question 2: Which source would be reliable to cook a meal for a night when everyone wants comfort food? Would you choose Grandma's recipe box or the Chef that published a cookbook. I would say that my family would want Grandma's Cooking and that makes it reliable. Everyone likes Grandma's cooking. The Chef I would say is somewhat reliable because to publish a cookbook you have to keep in mind what the reader would like to see in the cookbook. That cookbook also needs to look appealing to get people to buy it but that doesn't guarantee that the recipes would be considered comfort food.
My example doesn't cover all the aspects of the reliability spectrum but it is a start that will get students talking. Getting students to understand that the new Social Studies exams want them to take a stance and back it up. There is no right or wrong answer to the rating but they need to be able to back up their decision with reasons and it can't be "just because" or "because it is".
The big take away is that students need evaluate their sources and be able to state how reliable those sources are. Everyone not just students need to be able to chose a stance (using the reliability spectrum) and be able to articulate why they took that stance. It's OK to not agree but you must be able to back it up with your reasons. Not everyone in my family would agree that my Grandmother's recipes would be considered comfort food. They might say that the Chef's cookbook is more reliable. That's OK because I know my family and they will not hesitate to tell me why, but they will also listen to my reasoning. Are your students that comfortable with making a decision and stating why?
Remember it's not just about fake news but also about the reliability. Lessons on Fake news are a great way to get student's attention and engage them in learning. We also need to remember that there is more to evaluating sources and help students develop those skills.
Works cited:
(2018), National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. Chicago, ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association.
AASL_ReadingtheStandards_OnePager_2017.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 4, 2018, from
http://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL_ReadingtheStandards_OnePager_2017.pdf
