Conversations after lateral reading: Supporting teachers to focus on process, not content

High school students need support learning to evaluate online information. As curricular resources are developed in this area, how teachers use these resources and engage students in learning to evaluate online information is a critical question. Research is needed that focuses on teachers in action in their classrooms, analyzing their areas of strength and identifying places they may need more support. This study analyzed whole-class conversations during four lessons in six high school social studies classes in a large U.S. district where students learned an approach to evaluating online sources called lateral reading. We used qualitative methods to investigate whether these conversations focused on content specific to the assigned examples or on knowledge and skills likely to apply to future experiences evaluating online information. We found that discussions focused on the original sources being investigated instead of on the process of lateral reading. Teachers often shared and prompted details about the original sources and put less focus on how or where students uncovered those details. Faced with teaching a new approach to evaluating online information, more specific and extended supports may be required for teachers as they learn to teach lateral reading.