Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Exercises: Cracked Edition

I’ve come up with a new exercise to be done after going over basic information literacy skills and determining that the students are ready to take on a more difficult task.  Cracked.com is a fun, yet often frightening, place full of sarcasm, crude humor, descriptions of violence, and cussing.  It’s a great place to practice info lit and critical thinking skills, but use caution.  If I assigned an exercise like this at the local community college, I’d get complaints at the least (mostly due to the cussing).  Of course, evolution, climate change, and thought provoking literature also results in complaints at that place (true story-apparently The Secret Life of Bees is heretical and unfit for the classroom and Persepolis is of the devil-who knew?).  So, you may want to alter this exercise, depending on where you’re located.

Cracked.com is a humorous website.  It is in no way a scholarly resource.  However, this website can also be rather informative if, and only if, we fact-check the authors’ claims and analyze the resources used in the articles.

Most of the articles on Cracked are written in a countdown format (top ten…, the worst seven…, five great…, etc.).  This allows some flexibility for instructors with this assignment.

The basic assignment will have students checking the links/resources provided in the article(s).  They need to vet the links provided using the skills they’ve developed in class.  Students should also provide additional resources outside of those provided in the article(s).  This encourages fact-checking and instills the habit of utilizing multiple resources.

Assignment #1

Select an article (in numbered/countdown format) from Cracked.com (instructors are encouraged to provide a selection to simplify the selection and grading process-Examples here, here, and here).  Choose only one section of the article to work with.

Read your chosen section carefully.  Summarize and ask questions in your journal.  Write down comments and pay attention to fact versus opinion.

Follow the link or links provided as evidence.  Are these sources valid, relevant, up-to-date, etc?  Analyze the links and determine if the sources are credible or not. 

           

After vetting the provided resources, find additional resources either backing up or refuting the article’s claims.  Analyze your resources for credibility.

Paper (research based but may be considered with an exploratory slant) or Presentation (PowerPoint is always an option) should include the following:

·       Provide an overall summary of your chosen article-focusing on your chosen section.

·       Discuss your findings concerning the links

·       Discuss your additional resources

·       Critique your article section based on your research.  Were the ideas presented in the article actually facts?  Remember, don’t confuse opinions, humor, and sarcasm as hard facts.

·       Conclude with what you’ve discovered through this exercise and with any comments on the Cracked humor/info format.

Assignment #2

This is the same as assignment #1, except the student should work with a full article instead of one section.  This might be an interesting final assignment for a credit based information literacy class.

Assignment #3

This is the same as assignment #2.  However, have the students work in groups (the number of group members to be determined by the number of article sections).  Each group member is responsible for one section (as in assignment #1).  However, the final paper/presentation should be a collaborative effort with group members reviewing and checking other members’ progress.

Here’s the slightly modified version in Google docs.

Critical Thinking Exercises: The Gossip Series 1 & 2

Wonderful new idea for critical thinking exercises.  This is the start of the gossip series.  These are very general exercises that can be tailored to suit course needs and requirements.  I would encourage class discussion of these exercises.  Papers may also encourage individual reflection but aren't exactly necessary.  I'm also promoting the use of a critical thinking and information literacy journal.  Such a journal could be kept by students during the semester and used for discussion sessions.  It's also a great way to get students more aware of their skills and where they need improvement. 

Critical Thinking Exercises:  Gossip Series 1 & 2

When it comes to critical thinking, everything is fair game.  Gossip may seem like a simple and inconsequential activity in several cases, but it is a great place to practice critical thinking skills.  It’s also a great time to start working on critical thinking because gossip is so easy to break down.  In the following exercises we’re not necessarily looking for answers.  We’re looking for questions and patterns of thinking.

Exercise #1

Find two entertainment stories.  These will ideally be short articles pertaining to persons in the film or music industries.  One should focus on a person you admire or at least like on some level.  The other should focus on a person you cannot stand.  Summarize both articles (one paragraph per piece). 

Next, go through the articles line by line.  Write down any questions or thoughts that come to mind as you read (no matter how sappy or snarky) in a journal entry.  I will not be looking at these entries for substance.  I just want to know you got your thoughts down on paper. 

Write a brief paper discussing the following:  What kinds of questions did you ask for each article?  Did the questions and thoughts you had vary from article to article?  Did you find yourself agreeing with one article more than the other?  Which one?  Do you know why?  Provide some examples from your journal entry.

Exercise # 2

The next time you hear gossip at home, work, etc. write it down in your journal when you have a chance.  Summarize what you heard without using real names or identifying information.  When you were listening to the story, did you think of any questions or ask any out loud?  Did you think something you didn’t share with the gossiper?  Did you participate in the gossip?  Why or why not?

After you’ve written everything down, review over the event a few times.  Write down any new questions that come to mind?  Do you trust the story?  Why or why not?  Does it matter if you trust the gossiper?  Can you see your opinion of the story changing based on your feelings toward the gossiper or your feelings toward the subject of the story?  Why or why not?  How does this influence your view of fact versus opinion?  How could you go about finding out whether or not the gossip is true?

Write a short paper detailing your experiences. 

Here it is in Google Documents.

I need to give credit to my fabulous Mother for inspiring the gossip series.  She uses her critical thinking skills to shred gossipers.  Seriously, it always ends in metaphorical blood and guts.  She does beautiful work.