News literacy education in a polarized political climate: How games can teach youth to spot misinformation

Abstract

We designed, implemented and evaluated a game about fake news to test its potential to enhance news literacy skills in educational settings. The game was largely effective at facilitating complex news literacy skills. When these skills were integrated into the design and fictional narrative of the game, diverse groups of students engaged with the learning goals and transferred this knowledge to real life contexts. The fictional narrative allowed students to learn about misinformation without the distraction of political stances and divisions, and deploying news literacy strategies as a winning strategy within the game allowed students to articulate and practice these skills. However, teacher preparation for game-based learning mattered, and additional support is needed for integrating such games into school curricula.

Keywords

• education
• gaming
• politics
• youth