The Finnish approach to teaching IL and the fight against fake news

There is an excellent article in The Guardian by Jon Henley, published 29th January 2020.

It explores how Finland decided to tackle the problem of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation (terms that are preferred over "fake news").

Have a wee look here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/28/fact-from-fiction-finlands-new-lessons-in-combating-fake-news

The nub of it is that since 2016, the Finnish national curriculum has embedded teaching and learning across a variety of subjects to encourage children to develop critical thinking skills.

The result is that Finland has topped a European index measuring each country's resistance to fake news.

The author spoke to some young people about their views and experiences of this approach to developing critical thinking skills, and the following snippet resonated with me: 

Alexander, 17, said he had learned a lot from devising a fake news campaign. Asked why fake news mattered, he said: “Because you end up with wrong numbers on the side of a bus, and voters who believe them.”

The article has some interesting ideas about the need for society at large, and citizens generally, to upskill their fact checking. In practical terms it has involved training librarians, teachers, civil servants and journalists, as well as school children. Heartening reading for anyone involved in IL.

Claire Roberts
City of Glasgow College