Students are met with claims from various media everyday, including Facebook, websites, radio, television and newspapers. Some claims are based on samples of size one, which is a single incidence of some event, or on sensational headlines.
One of the general capabilities described in the curriculum is Critical and creative thinking. Among the organising elements of this capability are:
- Inquiring – identifying, exploring and clarifying information
- Analysing, synthesising and evaluating information. (Source: ACARA)
These skills are needed for students to engage critically with reports in the media, whether those reports are about current affairs or about commercial products available for purchase.
Related to the general capability for critical thinking, the Framework for critical statistical literacy when encountering media claims includes:
- identifying statistical terminology used
- exploring and understanding the use of the terminology in the context
- evaluating and criticising claims made without proper justification.
