Research Article: “News Literacy Education in a Polarized Political Climate: How Games Can Teach Youth to Spot Misinformation”

The following article was recently published by the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review.

Title

News Literacy Education in a Polarized Political Climate: How Games Can Teach Youth to Spot Misinformation

Authors 

Yoo Kyung Chang
Teachers College, Columbia University

Ioana Literat
Teachers College, Columbia University

Charlotte Price
Teachers College, Columbia University

Joseph I. Eisman
Teachers College, Columbia University

Jonathan Gardner
Teachers College, Columbia University

Amy Chapman
Teachers College, Columbia University

Azsaneé Truss
Teachers College, Columbia University

Source

Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review
2020, Volume 1, Issue 3
DOI: 10.37016/mr-2020-018

Essay Summary

In this article we discuss the efficacy of LAMBOOZLED!, a card game — set in a fictional narrative environment — designed to teach middle and high school students strategies for identifying misinformation. We collected data from a)students who played the game in playtesting workshops (in the form of field notes, audio recordings, surveys, and youth-created artifacts), and b) educators who implemented the game in their classrooms (in the form of post-intervention interviews, across different grades and subject settings.) We found that the game was largely effective, in that:

• Students of diverse grade levels, academic subjects, and literacy levels were able to engage with the learning goals of the game and transfer news literacy strategies to real life contexts.
• The fictional narrative of the game allowed students to focus on deploying news literacy skills and engaging with misinformation without the distraction of contentious politics.
• Applying news literacy skills as a winning strategy within the game allowed students to articulate and practice these skills.
• From a practical perspective, the card game—designed for quick, multiple rounds—allowed for easy implementation across multiple classroom contexts, with varying class sizes and short instructional periods.
• Teachers’ preparation to integrate game-based learning into their overall curriculum was crucial, as teacher buy-in led to deeper and more effective student engagement. Additional support is needed for the curricular integration of games in general, and news literacy games in particular.

Direct to Full Text Article

Direct to PDF Version
9 pages; PDF.

Filed under: Data Files, Interviews, News