Group 1 participants of the 21st Century Skills program met with Professor Don Bysouth, from Kansai University for this week’s session on critical thinking. The first lecture of the week focused on evaluating evidence. Students were introduced to various kinds of evidence and given examples of each. They were asked to discuss ways in which the evidence presented different narratives and how our own biases often affected the review of evidence which is presented to us. Examples of evidence included research studies, personal observations, testimonials and others each with their own pros and cons.

 

The various kinds of evidence were discussed as a group using examples and thinking about the problems which arise from relying on that kind of evidence. One example looked at the challenges that might occur from relying on personal observations. In this case our observations are filtered by our own values and biases. In serious cases such as court cases with a witness, errors are made when there are significant time delays between observations and reports. 

 

 

 

The second session the students met again to discuss the differences among misinformation, disinformation and propaganda using the lessons learned from the previous session on evaluating evidence to help them better understand how information can be presented in different ways. The students watched a short video documentary about the infamous Qanon group which rose to fame in America throughout former President Trump’s term at the White House. Students then broke into groups to share examples of misinformation, disinformation and propaganda that exists in their own cultural context. The examples shared by students related to the COVID vaccine, claims about advancements in technology and even some examples in the field of optometry with misinformation on the effects of blue light on our eyes.

 

 

The students will use these skills in researching and presenting their final assessment.