Integrating Media Literacy in Science Instruction
How can we help students evaluate scientific information? Media literacy education! Our science-focused media literacy project aims to incorporate media literacy into K-12 classrooms.
*New* Database of Science Instructional Materials Available
Media Literacy Now has created a searchable database of lesson plans, videos, and games for science teachers to help prepare K-12 students to find and evaluate scientific information. The new database, created by a team of science educators, includes materials from 30+ sources, including science teacher journals, universities, public television, media literacy groups, and others.
Using the Resource Library
The URL for the Science Resource Library is medialiteracynow.org/science-resources. The database is searchable using specified categories (such as “high school”) or with keywords (like “chemistry”), or both. To make it easier, you can also access specific types of resources using the links below. Learn more about how we compiled the Science Resource Library.
Calling All Educators!
Media Literacy Now is looking to convene teachers, librarians, administrators, media literacy experts, and education organizations from a wide range of perspectives to represent the diverse needs of elementary, middle, and high school students for the purpose of gathering and vetting resources, instructional materials and routines, and identifying important missing pieces pertinent to media literacy education in all subjects and at all grade levels. If you’re interested in participating or want to learn more, please fill out the survey.
Report: Recommendations for K-12 Science Classrooms
Like others before us, we believe that science teachers can help prepare students for a world where both accurate and inaccurate information is available at the touch of a button, and where, more than ever, people of all ages need to use science to inform decisions they make in everyday life. That’s why teaching students to find trustworthy information needs to become a priority in more science classrooms, just as it has become a greater priority in other subject areas. This report, published in September 2023, identifies our goals and recommendations to help K-12 students better evaluate scientific information.
You can’t expect to leave school with all the information you need for the rest of your life. You’re going to constantly be encountering new information and need to make decisions on that information – it’s a lifelong process.
As a science journalist, I heartily support Media Literacy Now’s vital role in fostering critical literacy skills among students – crucial for discerning fact from fiction. Their advocacy ensures that media literacy education is a staple in American classrooms. This sows the seeds for a healthier democracy.
As scientific misinformation continues to spread at an alarming rate, especially with the increased use of AI using language learning models, NABT is joining a growing community of scientific and education experts calling for science media literacy to become an integral part of the science education curriculum.
There is an urgent need for instruction and resources to help young people resist the proliferation of false and manipulative science-related information on TikTok, YouTube, cable news, and other media.
[Learning to Find Trustworthy Scientific Information]’s emphasis on identifying the trustworthiness of sources is both refreshing and actionable, and meshes well with the needs of educators attempting to help their students navigate the daily maze of modern information.
Being exposed to an overwhelming amount of information can be confusing and I want students to be able to understand why messages are being shared so that they can make informed decisions for both personal consumption and general community/world wellbeing.
Science education has long ago moved away from being a list of facts to memorize. Central to understanding science is understanding how it is produced, evaluated, and communicated. Being able to navigate and assess information is an essential practice for lifelong learning for all students.
Share your story! Are you taking action in your school or community? Let us know! We love to hear what advocates are doing around the country. Share your story.
