JoinErrors as Teaching Tools—The Mass Media Mistake: Engendering in Students a Healthy Skepticism for the Printed Word
While scientists may recognize a mass media mistake, the level of basic scientific understanding among many students—even college students—is too often insufficient to recognize an error. This article describes a classroom exercise used in the introductory chemistry course for chemistry and biology majors. The exercise involves the identification and discussion of what is described as the "Mass Media Mistake." Students identify an error in a report of a chemistry topic found outside of class, re-write the example correctly, and discuss the consequences of the original error on the unsuspecting reader.