![]() ![]() ![]() It may seem counterintuitive to base an assignment about source accuracy on a fictional text-and fictional informational texts within it-but the key is the thinking process behind discerning source limitations and strengths. A useful and suitably complex exercise asks students to evaluate sources within the wizarding world of Harry Potter, particularly focused on the topic of Albus Dumbledore’s uncertain past. Pop culture approaches to source materials can make this rather workmanlike topic more immediately interesting to students. Students will find even more valuable the knowledge of how to use inherently biased sources effectively as evidence. Given this crowded yet flawed information landscape, evaluation of the quality and content of source materials has become a more essential skill than ever before. Although today we find ourselves inundated with information, most of our sources are not vetted by experts, are partisan (with varying degrees of openness about their bias), or have entertainment instead of accuracy as the top priority. Most humanities and social science teachers spend at least some class time discussing how to regard documents and other evidence with a critical eye. But any educated person must have these abilities. For historians, the ability to analyze sources of information about the past and to use them appropriately has always been a central requirement of the discipline. Despite the topic’s relevance, students are likely to approach the material with either an indifferent shrug or rolling eyes, chin in palm. Teaching students to evaluate sources for quality and usable content remains a constant challenge at almost every educational level. With cries of “fake news” at every turn, the urgency for teaching critical reading skills has mounted in recent months. Keywords: Critical Thinking, Historical Consciousness, Source Evaluation, Analysis, Evidence, Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Pedagogy As a result, this exercise allows students to develop their critical thinking skills and their sense of historical consciousness. When muggle students sort through these fictional accounts from the wizarding world, they nevertheless gain experience needed for navigating real-world sources to determine their own future paths. Only by sorting through these contradictory accounts can Harry, Ron, and Hermione defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. Conflicting views of Albus Dumbledore in The Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter’s book The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, and Aberforth Dumbledore’s eyewitness testimony about his brother, raise questions about the Hogwarts headmaster’s motivations and moral integrity. Throughout the series, but particularly in the last book, characters must weigh evidence and gain important information from biased sources to help them determine their future actions. The Harry Potter stories intrinsically value the past, though Rowling is not naïve about the difficulty of understanding the truth from flawed sources. Rowling presents in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to understand Albus Dumbledore’s troubled youth can provide students the analytic skills they need through an entertaining exercise. Using the fictional informational sources J.K. Most humanities and social science teachers spend at least some class time helping students develop a critical eye for documentary evidence. ![]() Teaching students to evaluate sources-for accuracy, bias, and agenda-and to use them effectively despite their weaknesses, presents a challenge, and yet is essential in today’s crowded media landscape. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |