We live in the Information Age, with more facts, data, and opinions at our fingertips than at any time in history. So why is it that, in a nationally representative 2021 survey, 12% of respondents reported believing the moon landings were faked, and 10% that the Earth is flat?
Librarians have long been on the front lines of helping students evaluate information. But effective evaluation doesn’t start with the source — it starts with the self.
In this session, students will explore how their affective reactions, cognitive shortcuts, and cultural background shape the way they receive and judge information. Drawing on neuroscience (Vinod Goel’s concept of tethered rationality), reflective practices from Ignatian pedagogy, and in-class exercises demonstrating brain shortcuts, we’ll build a case that objectivity is not a default setting, but a skill which requires conscious and deliberate self-awareness.
This session builds on work I’ve done to add a self-evaluative step to library instruction on source evaluation, and focuses entirely on students’ affective response to information. In doing so, it directly targets FYS Learning Outcome 2: “Students will be able to articulate how their own personal and cultural perspectives affect their discovery and generation of knowledge and understanding.”
