Critical Information Literacy as Core Skill for Lifelong STEM Learning in the 21st Century: Reflections on the Desirability and Feasibility for Widespread Science Media Education

Overview & Synopsis

Grace Reid and the late Stephen Norris argue in this issue the urgent need for widespread Science Media Education (SME) as an integral part of formal and informal science education. SME is to achieve two goals: First, allow learners to critically evaluate any media as a source for scientific information by understanding the socio-economic and socio-cultural context of how and why news and entertainment media are created, and secondly, utilize media as a legitimate and productive source for science education and science learning. While laudable, I will argue that SME as an integral part of STEM education is unrealistic, and offer instead that the broader concept of Information Literacy might be more easily achieved within the current strong movement to conceptualize STEM education via science and engineering practices and within the broad goals of strengthening learners' 21st century skills. [For "Scientific Media Education in the Classroom and Beyond: A Research Agenda for the Next Decade" (Grace Reid and Stephen Norris), the article which this review addresses, see EJ1091573.]