Did I Hear You Right?: Garbled Science and the Game of Telephone

This lesson, aimed at mid- to upper-level undergraduates, discusses how research findings can be over-inflated, distorted, or misrepresented as the research is shared outside of its original context. Students will build on their fact-checking skills to trace claims back to their source. The lesson uses a flipped classroom approach to introduce students to multiple perspectives on this issue and its impact on the information ecosystem. In the classroom, students will demonstrate this issue in a potentially familiar scenario, a large-group game of telephone. To reinforce their skills, students will review news pieces that are derived from research, identify the claims, locate the original research cited in the article, and compare the findings to the claims shared in the news. Students will understand more about the publishing lifecycle and research integrity; how distorted research can have sociopolitical impacts; and how to be a responsible consumer and disseminator of information through critical thinking and analysis. Although the lesson refers to science, the issue of misrepresented research is interdisciplinary, and students will undoubtedly encounter claims in their everyday lives that will fall out of their area of expertise and need to know how to check them.

This lesson includes flipped content (assigned readings/viewing and a reflection assignment for a discussion board), a lesson plan with timings, and two handouts for the in-class activities.