Today’s News from the University of Kansas
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
Headlines
Scholars develop method to improve students’ evaluation of information credibility
LAWRENCE — Two University of Kansas scholars have developed an assessment that shows the extent to which journalism students can improve their ability to evaluate source credibility, and the rubric is adaptable across disciplines. Their study was recently published in the journal College & Research Libraries.
Educate & Act Series resumes dialogue around civic engagement
LAWRENCE — The fall Educate & Act series at the University of Kansas will feature opportunities to learn about democracy in the United States and equip attendees with information around civic participation. At 6 p.m. today, Sept. 1, the series continues from the spring with “Part III – Voting from the Margins.” Register now for tonight’s event on Zoom.
KUIA names International Support Services director
LAWRENCE — KU International Affairs has welcomed Ali Soltanshahi as its International Support Services director. He most recently was the director of the Center for International Services & Programs at Cleveland State University. As ISS director, Soltanshahi will lead the implementation of immigration-related policies and procedures, international orientation, emergency fund management and scholarship administration for international students, among other responsibilities.
School of Architecture & Design announces Fall 2020 Hallmark Symposium Lectures
LAWRENCE — The School of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas has announced a series of online lectures by prominent artists and designers and creatives, beginning Sept. 10 with illustrator Andy Pizza. Other upcoming speakers include Jenn Ely, an artist working on a color script for the upcoming animated Netflix feature “Pinocchio.”
Full stories below.
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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
Scholars develop method to improve students’ evaluation of information credibility
LAWRENCE — We live in an era in which misinformation is readily available and seemingly credible sources easily share unreliable information quickly. With dubious information so prevalent, it is especially pressing for students to be able to fully evaluate sources of information, especially those who will work in the media and mass communications. Two University of Kansas scholars have developed an assessment that shows the extent to which students improve their ability to evaluate source credibility that is adaptable across disciplines.
Journalists have frequently been accused of spreading fake news, while fake news does readily circulate on social media. Students often have not received rigorous training in how to verify the credibility of sources before reaching college. Peter Bobkowski, associate professor of journalism & mass communications, and Karna Younger, assistant librarian and open pedagogy librarian in KU Libraries, adapted a source evaluation rubric they use to measure if students improved both the amount and quality of their evaluative steps taken to verify the credibility of a source. Their study was published in the journal College & Research Libraries.
“Misinformation and information accuracy have been on people’s minds more since 2016, but information science and library scholars have studied these concepts for a long time, so it was natural for us to partner with them,” Bobkowski said. “Most of us in our daily lives are satisfied with how superficially we evaluate information. We don’t always have time to evaluate everything we read. So when we train students to stop and think about the cues that contribute to how credible something is, we are asking them to develop a counterintuitive habit. They often start at a pretty basic level, but our assessment shows us that they improve over the course of the semester.”
Bobkowski and Younger adapted an existing evaluation assessment originally designed in library science for students in a journalism class. The assessment consists of students reading an article and explaining whether it is a credible source of information. Later in the semester, after receiving instruction on the evaluation process and practicing it in different contexts, students again read a similar article and examined its credibility. Students’ responses are scored for the number of cues they use in their examinations and the depth of their analysis.
Bobkowski and Younger’s article discusses results from the first semester they deployed the assessment. Early in the semester, students’ responses lacked evidence for their rationale on whether a source was credible and tended to use ritualized language, such as saying someone was biased or not credible, but without providing sufficient evidence. At the end of the semester, students’ evaluation breadth, or the number of credibility cues they cited, stayed roughly the same, but their evaluation depth improved dramatically. In other words, after learning about the importance of looking further into the author, publication, sources and language of an article, students who used the technique explained why they did so and were better able to determine credible information and support their claims with evidence.
“Being able to evaluate the credibility of information is a marker of information literacy, an educational reform movement in library science,” Younger said. “Information literacy aims to equip students with a set of interconnected concepts to think critically and ethically about the information they consume and create. In other words, librarians don’t want to simply show students how to click in a library database and trust whatever they find. We want to cultivate students’ abilities to evaluate, use and create information well after they graduate. This project demonstrates how such concepts can be integrated into courses at KU.”
The authors’ adoption of a credibility evaluation assessment was part of a larger process of revising an information-gathering journalism class. The established rubric the authors adapted had to be redesigned for a journalism class. Students have long been evaluated on the credibility of their information by the sources they list in the bibliography sections of research papers. However, most journalism and mass communications student assignments are unique in that they do not include dedicated source sections. Rather, journalists cite their sources in the body of their work. Given this difference, the authors had to redesign the assessment to work with assignments that do not include bibliography sections.
It is easy today to end up in a “filter bubble,” Bobkowski said, in which the information people receive is curated for them by online algorithms based on their interests and the people with whom they connect online. This can lead to a tendency for people to assume that information that aligns with their opinions is automatically credible and to dismiss information that challenges them. This cuts across professions and demographics, making the ability to evaluate sources and share accurate information especially important. People in nearly every profession communicate information in one way or another, and an ability to discern credible sources can be beneficial across academic disciplines.
Information literacy is a set of interrelated threshold concepts, as defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries. Like many threshold concepts, information literacy is a framework designed for but not bound to library science. To that end, Bobkowski and Younger cite engineering and business scholars who have successfully used information literacy threshold concepts similar to those in the assessment to think in new ways about a concept or discipline. In doing so, students gain a deeper understanding of interrelated concepts that allows them to perform deeper considerations and evaluations of information they use in their work. The assessment could easily be adapted to social science, English, business or other classes.
“Information literacy is an incredibly broad framework adaptable across disciplines,” Younger said. “The integration of information literacy into an assignment, a course or the curriculum has been proven to improve student performance and retention. KU Libraries have a number of programs, such as our Research Sprints and mini-grant programs, to partner with instructors to adapt information literacy to their field. Of course, we are always happy to chat with folks about integrating information literacy into their teaching.”
Bobkowski and Younger have used the assessment over several semesters, and it has consistently shown to improve the depth and breadth of students’ information assessment. They also wrote “Be Credible: Information Literacy for Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing Students,” an open textbook that includes lessons applied in the assessment and others to help students better evaluate information sources and create reliable information. The open educational resource was created with support from KU Libraries Research Sprints initiative and its OER grant initiative. It is openly accessible and freely available.
“These are skills that have to be practiced for students to be more efficient with them and for them to use in non-school or professional settings,” Bobkowski said. “I think the assessment has shown that our students recognize the benefit of these skills.”
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Contact: Emily Ryan, Biodiversity Institute, 785-864-6923, [email protected], @TheCommonsKU
Educate & Act Series resumes dialogue around civic engagement
LAWRENCE — The fall Educate & Act series at the University of Kansas will feature opportunities to learn about democracy in the United States and equip attendees with information around civic participation.
Led by The Commons, the Center for Service Learning and the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, events will take place at 6 p.m. the first Tuesday of September and October.
On Sept. 1, the series continues from the spring with “Part III – Voting from the Margins.” This event will explore barriers to participation, center experience of voters who hold marginalized identities and consider representation in politics.
The discussion will be led by Bulaong Ramiz-Hall, director of the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, and will include Shannon Portillo, associate professor in the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration and associate dean for academic affairs at the KU Edwards Campus and School of Professional Studies; Tezbah Smiley, graduate assistant at the Center for Sexuality & Gender Diversity; and Juan Ramiro Sarmiento, KU alumnus.
Register now for tonight’s event on Zoom.
The Oct. 6 event is titled “Part IV – The Feminist Agenda.” The Zoom registration link is now available.
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Contact: Christine Metz-Howard, International Affairs, [email protected]
KUIA names International Support Services director
LAWRENCE — KU International Affairs has welcomed Ali Soltanshahi to the Jayhawk family as its International Support Services director.
Serving in the field of international education since 2001, Soltanshahi has worked at four higher education institutions before coming to KU. Most recently, Soltanshahi was the director of the Center for International Services & Programs for Cleveland State University.
International Support Services (ISS) provides recruitment, admissions and immigration support to international students, faculty, staff and visiting scholars as well as activities and programming for the international community. KU’s Lawrence campus has nearly 1,700 international students from more 100 countries, as well as more than 900 international faculty and staff.
As ISS director, Soltanshahi will lead the implementation of immigration-related policies and procedures, international orientation, emergency fund management and scholarship administration for international students, sponsored and visiting student services, and institutional programming and support to foster the success of the KU international community. In addition, Soltanshahi will oversee KU’s international enrollment management, including student recruitment and undergraduate admissions.
“I am so excited to welcome Ali Soltanshahi to our community,” said Charles Bankart, associate vice provost for International Affairs. “He brings to us deep knowledge, experience and expertise in the field of international education and a strong national reputation as an advocate for our international community. He is well-poised to partner with everyone across our community as we work to further our efforts in the international education space.”
Prior to his time at Cleveland State University, Soltanshahi was director of International Student and Scholar Services at Vanderbilt University, manager of International Student Services at Iowa State University and an international student advising specialist at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Soltanshahi joined the field of international education through his interest in student development, engagement and leadership.
“It’s my ultimate pleasure and privilege to join KU and an amazing community of faculty, students, staff and community members dedicated to education, research, internationalization, student development and change management,” Soltanshahi said. “I look forward to working together to develop the world leaders of tomorrow.”
Soltanshahi is originally from Tehran, Iran, and has also lived in Strasbourg, France. He immigrated to the United States in 1996. He said his international experiences have given him an opportunity to develop sensitivity to the needs of the international community.
Soltanshahi completed his biology degree at Southern Illinois University and earned a master’s degree in education with a focus on student affairs and student leadership from Iowa State University.
Succeeding Charles Olcese, who retired as ISS director in May, Soltanshahi started the position Aug. 24.
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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”
a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.
https://kansaspublicradio.org/when-experts-attack
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Contact: Dan Rolf, School of Architecture & Design, 785-864-3027, [email protected], @ArcD_KU
School of Architecture & Design announces Fall 2020 Hallmark Symposium Lectures
LAWRENCE — The School of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas has announced the Fall 2020 Hallmark Symposium Lecture Series lineup.
The Hallmark Symposium Lecture Series was established in 1984 through the generosity of the Hallmark Corporate Foundation with the goal and intention of enriching the education of students at the University of Kansas and in support of those in particular in the Department of Design through exposure to designers, artists and educators from the United States and abroad. During these nearly 30-plus years of collaboration, approximately 10,000 students have been exposed to this rich array of practitioners.
Lectures begin at 6 p.m. on Zoom. See event site for Zoom details.
Sep. 10
Andy Pizza is an American illustrator, podcaster and public speaker based in Columbus, Ohio. His illustration client list includes The New York Times, Nickelodeon, Amazon, YouTube and Warby Parker. His Creative Pep Talk podcast, a motivational podcast for creatives, has been featured by Apple, BuzzFeed and Threadless. His book, Creative Peptalk, was published by Chronicle Books in the Spring of 2017. See Pizza’s work at Andyjpizza.com and Creativepeptalk.com.
Sep. 24
Paul King is the product design executive for Mattel Inc., where he has worked for 16 years. He has previously worked in various product design roles at Slingshot ID LLC, Hauser Inc., Joss Design, Benrus Watch Company and Kemnitzer Design. King received a BFA in industrial design from KU.
Oct. 8
Paul Conrad is a concept artist and production designer for animated and live-action films. His client list includes Pixar, Walt Disney Imagineering, Marvel Comics, Nickelodeon, Lego and others. A multifaceted designer, he has worked professionally on projects related to brand identity, apparel, packaging and illustration. See Conrad’s work at http://www.paulconraddesign.com/.
Oct. 22
Kelli Anderson is an artist, designer and tinkerer who pushes the limits of ordinary materials and formats by seeking out hidden possibilities in the physical and digital world. In 2008, she worked as part of a large team, including the Yes Men, to distribute a meticulously recreated copy of The New York Times — filled only with articles from a utopian future. As a group, they won the Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction in 2009. In 2011, she created a paper record player that garnered attention from numerous media outlets including Mashable, Kottke, Slashdot, Make, PCWorld, Swiss Miss, Wired, the Toronto Star and NPR. Her work has been published by Wired UK, Gestalten, Rockport Publishing, iDN, How Design Magazine and Hemispheres Magazine. In 2011, she left her position as a digital collections photographer at the American Museum of Natural History to focus on independent work. See Anderson’s work at https://kellianderson.com/blog/.
Nov. 5
Drew Voegele designs and conducts usability, benchmark and telemetry-based research as a contractor for Microsoft Game Studios. He has a bachelor’s degree in cognitive psychology and a master’s degree in interaction design/design management, both from KU.
Nov. 19
Jenn Ely is a freelance artist based in Portland, Oregon. She is currently working developing a color script for an upcoming stop-frame animated feature film, “Pinocchio,” directed by Guillermo Del Toro and Mark Gustafson for Netflix. She mostly works in animation as a visual development artist, illustrator and production designer for a variety of commercial, film and television animated projects. See Ely’s work at jennely.com.
Dec. 3
Kris Graves is an artist and publisher based in New York and London. He has been published and exhibited globally, including the National Portrait Gallery in London, England; Aperture Gallery, New York; University of Arizona, Tucson; among others. Permanent collections include the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Brooklyn Museum, New York; and the Wedge Collection, Toronto.
Graves creates artwork that aims to use art as a means to inform people about social issues. He also works to elevate the representation of people of color in the fine art cannon; and to create opportunities for conversation about race, representation, and urban life. Kris Graves’ work at krisgraves.com and krisgravesprojects.com.
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