Texas Woman's University (Texas Woman's University SLIS)

In this Early Career Research Development project, Dr. Tara Zimmerman of Texas Woman’s University will investigate and strengthen school libraries’ role in educating students about the dangers of online misinformation, how to detect it, and avoid it. The research project will start with a survey and interviews to find out what K-5 school librarians are teaching students regarding detecting and avoiding misinformation. Based on these findings, they will develop a curriculum to address information literacy and observe school librarians as they implement the new curriculum for one school year. They will gather feedback from the school librarians and their students about the curriculum, assess its impact on students’ understanding of how to avoid and detect misinformation, and then refine the curriculum based on this feedback. The research will result in a curriculum and training materials to build the information literacy teaching skills of school librarians while also providing students critical skills they need to be thoughtful consumers of information.