Why history instruction is critical for combating online misinformation
A teacher in North Carolina conducts a lesson about the D-Day invasion of Normandy in an Advanced Placement class. Photo by Gerry Broome / The Associated Press
The Conversation
Can you tell fact from fiction online? In a digital world, few questions are more important or more challenging.
For years, some commentators have called for K-12 teachers to take on fake news, media literacy, or online misinformation by doubling down on critical thinking. This push for schools to do a better job preparing young people to differentiate between low- and high-quality information often focuses on social studies classes.
As an education researcher and former high school history teacher, I know that there’s both good and bad news about combating misinformation in the classroom. History class can cultivate critical thinking – but only if teachers and schools understand what critical thinking really means.
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