Social media has the power to spread information faster than any other news source. The science community has experienced this firsthand during recent years, unfortunately to its detriment. When scientific and medical claims are made without responsible examination of scientific evidence, misinformation is allowed to spread. While all users are likely faced with misleading claims on social media, this is especially troublesome for young adults. As the most prevalent users, many in this age group have never known a time without social media. Educators have an opportunity to use social media as a real-world application to teach students how to critically analyze scientific and medical information. The Social Media Reflection Assignment (SMRA) was created to help students develop such scientific literacy skills. This intervention requires students to find social media posts that make scientific claims, citing published scientific data. Students locate the corresponding research article and describe the results in their own words. Finally, a comparison is drawn between scientific findings in the research article and the interpretation described in the social media post. Students are taught to judge whether social media claims are supported by the scientific evidence. This activity is adaptable and applicable in a variety of classroom settings, from upper-level majors courses to science courses for nonmajors to disciplines outside the sciences. Importantly, the SMRA helps students question claims in social media while training them to find and elucidate answers from reliable resources.
Keywords: health misinformation; nonmajors; science communication; scientific literacy; social media.
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