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The role of higher education in separating fact from fiction

What can universities do to equip students, academics and the public with the tools to tackle misinformation?

Misinformation spotlight image

Each day, we face an information overload with claims, facts and figures flowing across screens faster than we can check them. This is fertile ground for inaccurate reports and “fake news” to abound. When presented with seemingly limitless sources and channels of information, it’s hard to know who and what to trust in relation to our health or our governments. Never has the ability to critically assess and communicate information been more important. So, what can universities to do equip students, staff and the wider public with the tools and knowledge they need to understand the complex nature of evidence, invite varied perspectives and seek the truth?

How Socrates can help your students question information

In a world full of answers, we must take time to ask questions, and the approaches favoured by Socrates can still be useful today, explains Konstantinos Arfanis

Konstantinos Arfanis

Arden University

Improving the reliability of evidence

Image depicting the need for the public to understand evidence and fact

How to improve the public understanding of evidence

The ability to critically analyse information and differentiate fact from fiction is a skill needed far beyond higher education. So how can academics trained in evaluating evidence engage the wider public in this important process?

Rebecca Dewey

University of Nottingham, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Image representing critical analysis of research

Great citations: how to avoid referencing questionable evidence

Researchers don’t always stick to careful citation practices and occasionally cite evidence that has been questioned or even retracted. Find practical tips on how to avoid citing faulty evidence and maintain good citation hygiene

Dmitry Malkov

Elsevier

panel-of-reviewers-holding-scorecards

Peer review is frustrating and flawed – here’s how we can fix it

What would peer review 2.0 look like? Mark Humphries offers ways to optimise the process for better efficiency and research outcomes

Mark Humphries

University of Nottingham

Two men yelling at each other

We’ve forgotten how to communicate science to the public at a crucial time

As we try to tackle climate change, it feels like the pandemic has pushed us back decades to the bad old mode of scientists lecturing the public, says John Womersley

John Womersley

University of Oxford

Tips for sharing your research and professional expertise with consumer media

Academics can offer insight based on research and professional experience that is applicable far beyond the scope of academic journals. Samuel Kim Kwong Kwok shares a guide to engaging with the mainstream consumer media

Samuel Kim Kwong Kwok

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Fostering the art of respectful debate

Diverse group of students in discussion

Four steps to robust and respectful classroom discussion

This video offers a four-part approach that gives space for students to speak up eagerly in classroom debates and shows them how to disagree well. Brian Ray, director of the Poe Business Ethics Center at the University of Florida, explains how to put it into practice

Brian Ray

University of Florida

Group of protesters illustrating article about vaccine hesitancy, difficult conversations, empathy, listening

How to disagree about Covid vaccination and manage other difficult university staff discussions

Jonathan Lord outlines the role of empathy and listening skills in navigating potential conflict when colleagues disagree about sensitive issues such as vaccination

Jonathan Lord

University of Salford

Managing conflicting perspectives of international students when teaching online

Negotiating the minefield of global online teaching: dealing with difference  

Farish A. Noor offers advice on managing the conflicting viewpoints of students living and studying in different countries and cultural contexts when teaching international groups online

Farish A. Noor  

Nanyang Technological University

Woman examining written evidence

Starting from scratch to promote critical thinking in your classes

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for all areas of life. Adriana González Nava and Paulo Mendoza Rivera explain how to promote it in course design

Adriana González Nava , Paulo Mendoza Rivera

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Educating trainee teachers in critical thinking

Effective approaches to training student teachers in critical thinking so they can apply it across multiple disciplines and pass on their knowledge to their own pupils, by Joseph Sanacore

Joseph Sanacore

Long Island University

Tackling fake news and disinformation

Propaganda and disinformation are rife on social media and beyond, and in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, universities need to play their part in countering it

Fake news and disinformation abounds, but what can universities do?

Few universities offer courses on countering propaganda, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brings this weakness of provision into sharp relief, says Paul Baines

Paul Baines

University of Leicester

Gun with flowers

What can universities do to protect Russian and Ukrainian academics fighting for truth?

Academics’ struggle is a stirring reminder that the freedom of scholars and students to speak, teach and publish is neither inviolable nor dispensable, says Ron Daniels

Ron Daniels

Johns Hopkins University

Fake news and bias can infect social media feeds, so university teachers need to educate students on how to read their platforms critically

Students aren’t giving up social media, so teach them how to question it

Whatever our own opinions on social media, we must educate our students about locating bias and reading their preferred platforms critically, says Stone Meredith

Stone Meredith

Colorado State University Global

Image representing a diversity of opinion and perspective

Universities must promote pluralism to ward off threats to democracy

Once the moral basis of anyone who disagrees with us is rejected, then democracy inevitably implodes, says Matthew Flinders

Matthew Flinders

University of Sheffield

Inclusion of thought v inclusion of feelings: a showdown

In the pursuit of inclusivity, should we adjust what we teach to include students’ sensitivities or expose them to the full range of serious ideas? asks Arif Ahmed

Arif Ahmed

University of Cambridge

Teaching to seek the truth

Image showing unequal support being offered on the pathway to success

How to address bias in the classroom and in assessment in five steps

Biases can affect personal interactions, course design, learning activities, assessment and institutional practices, thus it is vital that educators work to remove bias from their teaching. Donna Hurford and Andrew Read share helpful approaches

Donna Hurford, Andrew Read

University of Southern Denmark

Female student wearing glasses reading a newspaper

How to use journalism and current affairs to support your teaching

Noam Schimmel explains how to use news articles, video and obituaries to teach complex subjects such as human rights

Noam Schimmel

University of California, Berkeley

Why primary sources are so important as a learning tool

Why are primary sources important in teaching?

Seth Cayley explains why primary sources are important learning tools to help students gain a better understanding of current events and hone critical-thinking skills

Seth Cayley

Gale Primary Sources

Hands up in the air during a protest

How open knowledge strengthens democracies

No longer just guardians of knowledge, public universities are critical to the health of young democracies. To support civil society and democracy, flagship institutions must embrace their role as coordinators of open knowledge exchange

Justin Axel-Berg

University of São Paulo

How universities can promote ‘democratic competences’ among students

A guide to how higher education can help develop a culture of democracy among students, through study programmes, a whole institution approach and community engagement, by Sjur Bergan

Sjur Bergan

Council of Europe