Cultivate students’ Ability to Identify Information During the Outbreak

Dr. Shi Yuchen

ICI, ECNU

In order to jointly combat the COVID-19, some people went to the “frontline” to treat the disease; some people went to the factory or workshop to make protective equipment; however, most of us stayed at home and prayed for the fight against the outbreak as soon as possible!

Since January 2020, with the continuous development of the outbreak, the information about the outbreak on the Internet has been fermenting. Various kinds of news reports and official account articles have attracted the attention of the public.

At the same time, readers are entangled by a large number of contradictory messages. Sometimes a report is denounced as a rumor as soon as it is published, and then there are reports that refuting rumors…

It is no wonder that many readers exclaimed on the message board: “The news of the past few days has made me seriously doubt my IQ!” “I don't know what to believe!”

Here, it is necessary for us to distinguish two kinds of sources of contradictory information. The one is the inevitable correction and iteration in scientific exploration, and the other is the misinformation caused by deliberately spreading rumors. As to the former source, knowledge is constantly constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed in the course of exploration, is not buried in the ground, and waiting for us to discover.

As Newton said, “If I see farther than others, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants.” In the face of the sudden outbreak, no one can accurately judge the new form with existing knowledge, experts and doctors can only “cross the river by feeling the stones”.

Therefore, it is necessary to help students establish correct epistemology. Knowledge is not definite and authoritative, but relative, situational, it is subjective interpretation based on evidence. Subjective interpretations are different, so contradictions are inevitable. Experts may also make mistakes, and the views of experts may also be contradictory.

Let's talk about the second source. How could we enhance students’ ability to distinguish true and false messages?

First of all, it is necessary to cultivate students’ “information literacy”. Information literacy is a kind of basic literacy that people need to have in the global information age. People should be able to effectively judge what information is needed, how to obtain information, how to evaluate information, how to make effective use of information and so on.

Secondly, we should cultivate students’ critical spirit, encourage students to make independent judgments according to the evidence, and critically think about interpretation of other people.