Developing Critical Thinking Skills with a Mockumentary Assignment
By Emily Stark
Do you believe everything you read on social media or hear on the news? Even if you think that you are carefully considering the information that pops up in your Facebook or Instagram feed, you have probably shared or talked about something that wasn’t real. As the American Psychological Association describes here (2024, https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/how-why-misinformation-spreads ), we tend to automatically share information that we agree with, or that is leading to a strong emotion. How can we counter this growing pull of misinformation?
The spread of misinformation through news, social media, and other outlets is a growing focus of researchers, educators, policy makers, and many other groups (Roozenbeek et al., 2023). Many people do not critically evaluate information or evidence for claims—for example, in 2016, Americans spent over 30 billion dollars on complementary and alternative medicine, which represents medical approaches that do not have scientific evidence for their efficacy (Nahin et. al, 2016). Similarly, a 2005 Gallup survey found that 75% of Americans held at least one paranormal belief (Moore, 2005), and a 2018 study from Chapman University found similar results, where only 24% of people surveyed reported no paranormal beliefs (Chapman University, 2018). If the majority of people value belief over skepticism, how can we teach students the ability to think critically about information and to be able to distinguish science from pseudoscience?
Some research has found that incorporating information on pseudoscience or the paranormal into different types of psychology courses has helped develop critical thinking abilities in undergraduates (Wesp & Montgomery, 1998; Morier & Keeports, 1994; Stark, 2012). For example, Lawson and Brown (2018) incorporated an assignment where students were asked to evaluate information promoting a pseudoscientific therapy (specifically, dolphin-assisted therapy for children with autism) and found that this improved students’ information literacy skills. Students generally find information on pseudoscience interesting (Lawson et al., 2016), and so assignments or courses that include topics of pseudoscience or the paranormal can be effective and engaging tools to build critical thinking skills in undergraduates.
Over the past several years, I have developed a ‘mockumentary’ assignment to engage students in applying critical thinking topics. Students create a web-based ‘mockumentary’: a scientific-looking and entertaining presentation of a paranormal or pseudoscientific topic. The mockumentary must make a claim for the existence of something related to the paranormal or pseudoscience, and include some of the following types of elements:
Fake research about their phenomenon
Claims related to expertise, or anecdotal accounts
Misused or poor logic justifying their claims
Visuals related to the phenomenon
Links to other web information
Students first choose a topic and brainstorm about the type of presentation they wish to complete, such as making a video, creating a fake website, or recording a podcast episode. Next, they describe peer-reviewed research related to their topic as well as related web sources. They present their mockumentary product to the class, explaining the specific elements they chose to include and how they are connecting those to the course readings and content. Finally, they write a paper where they reflect on what they learned throughout this process and describe how they developed their idea over the semester.
Mockumentary Examples
An example of a student project.
I give students a lot of flexibility in both the topic and the specific form they would like their mockumentary to take, which has resulted in a creative array of final projects. Students have created fake websites, such as a site promoting essential oils or psychic readings. Others have created a podcast episode, often recruiting a friend or two to act as an additional ‘host’ or to share a story of a paranormal encounter. Other students have created their own short videos presenting a paranormal investigation, such as using technical language, mysterious equipment, or fake experts to prove their claims. These are always enjoyable to see and hear about during student presentations!
Outcomes and Recommendations
In their final papers, students reference that they improved their technology or information literacy skills, such as interpreting academic articles, or trying different programs or applications to create voiceovers or recordings. Additionally, students have reported becoming more skeptical of videos they encounter on the internet—one student commented, “it is shockingly easy to put together a video to convince someone a paranormal phenomenon exists.” In general, they become more skeptical of paranormal and pseudoscience in the media, noting “this project and class taught me to look out for companies and others who are using these methods to make profits” or stating that they will be more skeptical of ghost stories or other paranormal reports that they encounter in the future.
An image from one student project.
Students also mention that they appreciate the opportunity to be creative and choose their own topics and format for the project. They find themselves putting in more work on the project than they originally intended, due to enjoying the process and the ability to express themselves. For example, one student paper stated “the amount of creative freedom I had to be able to express myself was an absolute joy.” They also appreciate seeing their classmates’ projects, noting the variety in topics and projects is both engaging and lets them apply their critical thinking skills to a range of realistic types of media.
As an instructor, I found that it is useful to have a balance between giving students some specific guidelines, to ensure that course goals are met, and allowing students flexibility in choosing the topic and format of the project. This also helps to ensure that students with differing access to technology or level of technology skill can all be successful in this project, or that students who want to extend their skills in a certain area (such as recording a podcast) have an opportunity to do so. Also, scaffolding the project by breaking it down into different components throughout the semester helps students structure their time, and know that they are on the right track as they develop their ideas, leading to more successful final projects.
Overall, this project has been engaging for students (and for myself as the instructor) while also developing their critical thinking abilities. The psychology major is a natural space to focus on critical thinking and information literacy, and these skills will benefit all students throughout their lives. I encourage other instructors to consider how hands-on projects, like this mockumentary, can fit into their own courses.
(Note: You can access a full description for this assignment, with grading rubrics, at https://osf.io/b6qgc/?view_only=45086003a3e5477d8161d3e435858cc0.)
References
American Psychological Association. (2024). How and why does misinformation spread? https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/how-why-misinformation-spreads
Chapman University. (2018) Paranormal America 2018: Chapman University Survey of American Fears Wave 5. https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2018/10/16/paranormal-america-2018/
Lawson, T. J. & Brown, M. (2018). Using pseudoscience to improve introductory psychology students’ information literacy. Teaching of Psychology, 45 (3), 220-225. DOI: 10.1177/0098628318779259
Lawson, T. J., Blackhart, G. C., & Gialopsos, B. M. (2016). Using the power balance wristband to improve students’ research-design skills. Teaching of Psychology, 43, 318–322. doi:10.1177/0098628316662763
Moore, D. W. (2005). Gallup News Service, https://news.gallup.com/poll/16915/three-four-americans-believe-paranormal.aspx
Morier, D. & Keeports, D. (1994). Normal science and the paranormal: The effect of a scientific method course on students’ beliefs in the paranormal. Research in Higher Education, 35, 443-453.
Nahin, R. L., Barnes, P. M., & Stussman, B. J. (2016). Expenditures on complementary health approaches: United States, 2012. (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr095.pdf) National Health Statistics Reports. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Roozenbeek, J., Culloty, E., & Suiter, J. (2023). Countering misinformation: Evidence, knowledge gaps, and implications of current interventions. European Psychologist, 28 (3), 189-205. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000492
Stark, E. (2012). Enhancing and assessing critical thinking in a psychological research methods course. Teaching of Psychology, 39, 107–112. doi:10.1177/0098628312437725
Wesp, R. & Montgomery, K. (1998). Developing critical thinking through the study of paranormal phenomena. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 275-278.