Each month, LWVWA members responsible for the Media Literacy and News Education Project share a media literacy tip with the Project for Civic Health, an initiative housed in the office of Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and which was established to foster greater civic dialogue and health.
This is the most recent tip the League shared:
On Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is essential for civic health because it enables you to draw sound conclusions and make informed choices.
Using critical thinking to analyze information takes five steps:
- Ask questions.
- Gather relevant information.
- Think through solutions and conclusions.
- Consider alternative systems of thought.
- Communicate effectively.
The hardest parts of critical thinking include admitting when you’re wrong or don’t know the answer and preventing emotions or a gut reaction from influencing your thinking. That’s because our brains don’t automatically practice critical thinking.
Our brain has two systems. The System 1 brain is fast, subconscious, automatic, useful for everyday decisions and error prone.System 2 is slow, conscious, requires effort, helps with complex decision-making and is reliable.
Critical thinking is the practice of engaging the System 2 brain.
Learn more about your two-system brain in The Decision Lab.
In Jan. the League shared the following tip:
Making sense of information
When a group of people creates a shared understanding of a complex or ambiguous situation in order to make decisions and take action, we call that collective sensemaking.
Today, our collective sensemaking is disrupted because of a number of factors, including facts and frames that can be faulty, either intentionally or through misinterpretation.
Here are a few quick definitions that put this into perspective.
- Facts: Data points that provide evidence about the world and what happens within it. (Can be faulty.)
- Frames: Mental structures that help us organize, interpret and make sense of those facts. (Can also be faulty.)
- Interpretation: The facts we have on hand help determine which frames we use. The frames we use often can help us connect those facts and give them meaning.
The media literacy tips above are from the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Washington. Dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy, the League works to expand public knowledge and understanding of media literacy and news education as both are key to developing healthy, civically engaged communities.
Learn more about these terms and definitions from this research article from the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public.
