#44 - How to Teach Critical Thinking to Teenagers in a World of Social Media & Misinformation with Dr Maree Davies

About this episode

This episode discusses how to teach critical thinking to teenagers in the context of social media and misinformation with Dr Maree Davies.

Have you ever asked yourself, in a world shaped by social media, algorithms and constant information, how do we know if our children have the skills to think critically, recognise misinformation and think for themselves? In this episode, I am joined by Dr Maree Davies, a researcher and senior lecturer based at the University of Auckland, whose work focuses on critical thinking and how young people engage with information in an increasingly complex digital world. Her research explores how students develop the ability to question, evaluate and form reasoned judgements, particularly in the context of modern challenges such as social media, algorithms and misinformation. She is especially interested in how these skills can be taught explicitly, rather than assumed within education. Dr Davies is also the author of Teaching Critical Thinking to Teenagers, published by Routledge, a book that offers a structured and practical approach to developing critical thinking skills in young people. She introduces the Street Smarts model, designed to help students navigate information, think independently and engage more thoughtfully with the world around them. In this conversation, we explore…

People in this episode

Host: Dr Anna York-Weaving

Guest: Dr Maree Davies

Topics covered

• critical thinking
• social media
• misinformation
• education
• teenagers
• parenting

Keywords

• critical thinking
• teenagers
• social media
• misinformation
• education
• skills
• algorithms

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Auckland, Routledge

Books & works: Teaching Critical Thinking to Teenagers

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