Critical thinking in a digital society
WP2 investigates the design of learning opportunities that foster critical thinking, focusing on both the use of. digital technology as a source of information and as a means of communication. When engaging with digital spaces, students gain almost unrestricted access to information. However, they also face ethical and societal issues such as algorithmic bias and inclusivity (Van Mechelen et al., 2023). WP2 aims to address these challenges by equipping students not only with technical proficiency but also with a critical lens to evaluate the social, ethical, and sustainability dimensions of technology (Mäkinen, 2006; Kinnula et al., 2017), and in additiondrawing on Lim’s (2015) social and moral dimensions in critical thinking.
WP2 raises the following research questions:
i) How do students and student teachers critically evaluate the credibility and reliability of online information?
ii) How can educators design learning opportunities to promote critical thinking for students when using digital technologies?
WP2 aims to draw on current status and needs concerning students’ assessment of information and the application of digital information and communication technologies to design robust educational strategies designed to foster critical thinking. WP2 will design a contextual (Nordic) replication of the Wineburg et al. (2019) study, focusing on how students and student teachers evaluate the quality of sources of information and design learning opportunities drawing directly from the challenges identified in the replication study. Analyses of the learning opportunities will be based on video and participant observations, interviews and students’ self- generated reflection logs. Data will be analysed together with practitioners drawing on thematic and interaction analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2017; Jordan & Henderson, 1995). These data combined will provide a unique basis for understanding the design of learning opportunities for fostering critical thinking.
WP leaders are Fazilat Siddiq (University of Oslo) and Katarina Pajchel (OsloMet)