Due to COVID-19, teacher candidates in the 2019/20 Bachelor of Education program have had to quickly adapt their teaching and learning styles through the use of online platforms. We are showcasing some of the wonderful examples of projects created by them as part of the community field experience.

Brittanny Downey-MacDonald
BEd Secondary (English)

What is the name of the community partner or group you are working with?

Educators in the Vancouver School Board (VSB), post-secondary educators, social workers, education-based healthcare professionals

What is your project’s subject area(s)?

Information resources, digital literacy, COVID-19 resource

Tell us about your project

IN TIMES OF CRISIS, QUALITY INFORMATION IS CRITICAL

Fact-based information and resources allow educators, students, and their families to stay informed and to focus their energy on the real needs — without the added anxiety caused by poor or false information. Inform is a tool to help teachers, students and members of our broader community identify quality information resources, understand how to spot false or misleading information, and reduce the anxiety caused by the uncertain and conflicting nature of misleading resources.

This four-part packet is designed to be used as a small unit or as standalone sections. The first two sections cover misinformation and disinformation, and scaffold understanding with case studies and discussion questions. The later sections dive into COVID-related resources. It further provides a detailed list of provincial, national and global information sources that are science based, non-biased, peer reviewed and fact checked. The definitions in part four clarify the, often misused or misunderstood, government language used to describe the public health guidelines.

Did you face any particular challenges in the planning, making or delivery of this project?

Because the information regarding COVID-19 was developing so quickly, I knew that finding reliable resources would be critical. I could not simply look at to these resources at the beginning and trust they would prove worthy over the course of the pandemic. As such, tracking and cross checking the resource listings was a very time consuming, process that lasted for over 6 weeks. I was looking to be sure that resources were updated in a timely manner, reflected up to date and accurate information, and refrained growing by monetizing in ways that would influence bias.

How was the project received? Did anything surprise you about the outcome?

I had intended this to serve the teachers and students in the VSB but have been surprised by the application of this package by social workers specializing in child and youth social care. They have applied it in combating the anxiety caused by dissemination of false information in marginalized communities. I have also had some surprising feedback from an elementary school principal who was struggling to manage the concerns of parents who were reacting to misinformation and disinformation. She found the resources helpful for guiding parents who are concerned about children coming back to school.

Can you tell us about a highlight of creating this remote lesson plan?

I was able to workshop the case studies with a group of Grade 9 students, and the conversations that came out of that exercise were very rewarding.

What media did you use to create your project?

This project was created in Adobe.

Where can we view your project?

A PDF download is available here