Information Literacy Pretest
Let's see what you already know and what you need to learn
No Grade Here
This guide provides examples of fact-checking sites and infographics for evaluating news stories and social media posts.
Video Link: This is What Students Think about Fake News by PBS Newshour
Why are critical thinking skills important?
How do these skills relate to academic success and life outside the classroom in our careers/professions and everyday decision-making?
Describe/discuss the consequences (listed below) of relying on news and information sources that are false.
Academic integrity and damage to professional reputation
Health risks
Financial risks
Threats to democracy / the right to participate in the democratic process
Scholarly research is a systematic process to establish facts or principles.
Peer Review is evaluation of research by experts in the field who can ensure its accuracy and validity before publication.
Scholarly research reports a researcher’s findings.
The intended audience is other researchers.
The research has been evaluated by other experts or peers in the academic community before it is recommended for publication in a scholarly or academic journal.
Journalists often interview or cite research in news stories that are shared on social media. These sources should be verified.
This Video provides a brief introduction on how to evaluate sources using RADAR
Environmental Objects and Classroom Attention: A Pilot Study
By Sarah. D. Lee
September 2021
A pilot study conducted at Midwestern Regional College suggests that placing small plants on student desks may improve short-term attention during lectures. Researchers reported that students with plants scored higher on immediate recall quizzes compared with those who kept their mobile phones nearby.
According to the report, average quiz scores were nearly double for the plant group (18.4 out of 25) compared with the phone group (9.1 out of 25). Students also reported lower levels of distraction in self-assessment surveys.
The research team describes the effect as a “low-cost intervention” that will totally replace other classroom strategies. The study provides some details on methodology. Summaries of the raw data were made available.
Independent reviewers have raised questions about the plausibility of such large differences in test performance from a single intervention. Without transparency on randomization methods, participant demographics, or long-term outcomes, it is difficult to assess whether the results reflect a real cognitive effect or uncontrolled variables such as novelty or instructor influence.
Lee, Sarah. D. (2025). Environmental objects and classroom attention: A pilot study. Journal of Educational Innovation, 12(3), 45–52.