Students' awareness and conceptions of science-related communication mechanisms on social media

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Autoren

  • Andreas Nehring
  • Soraya Kresin
  • Kerstin Hildegard Kremer
  • Alexander Georg Büssing

Externe Organisationen

  • Technische Universität Braunschweig
  • Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Forschungs-netzwerk anzeigen

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
FachzeitschriftJournal of Research in Science Teaching
Frühes Online-Datum29 Juli 2024
PublikationsstatusElektronisch veröffentlicht (E-Pub) - 29 Juli 2024

Abstract

The rise of social media platforms and subsequent lack of traditional gatekeeping mechanisms have enabled the proliferation of scientific disinformation. Users attempting to properly evaluate scientific information and disinformation are immensely obstructed by media communication mechanisms such as filter bubbles and echo chambers. Given the recent approaches to reconceptualizing the nature of science represented by facets of media communication mechanisms, we report results from seven focus groups of 26 tenth-grade students (M = 15 years; 58% female, 38% male, 4% nonbinary) investigating such mechanisms as applied to climate change content on social media. Using qualitative content analysis, we identified the students' awareness and conceptions of mechanisms such as filter bubbles and echo chambers on a continuum between rather simple and elaborate. The findings suggest that the students have a general awareness of most mechanisms based on their own experiences and describe additional media communication mechanisms, such as bots, microtargeting, and, particularly, algorithms, which appear specifically relevant in dealing with scientific disinformation on social media. Based on the results, we derive a set of needs for science educational learning materials and science media literacy to prepare students to tackle scientific disinformation on social media.

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Students' awareness and conceptions of science-related communication mechanisms on social media. / Nehring, Andreas; Kresin, Soraya; Kremer, Kerstin Hildegard et al.
in: Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29.07.2024.

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

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AU - Kremer, Kerstin Hildegard

AU - Büssing, Alexander Georg

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Research in Science Teaching published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Association for Research in Science Teaching.

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