Lesson Plan

Confirmation Bias

Students will learn about Confirmation Bias, and use simple reflection questions to mitigate the impact of this bias as they research different topics.

Studies have shown that when people are presented with facts that contradict what they believe, the parts of the brain that control reason and rationality go inactive, but the parts of the brain that process emotion are highly activated. This hard-wiring results in Confirmation Bias, a limitation in our thinking that can lead us to seek out information we already believe and ignore or minimize facts that threaten what we believe. By learning about confirmation bias, and pausing to reflect on their research behaviors, students can make efforts to mitigate the influence of this bias.

CB.9 – Recognize and actively resist confirmation bias.

Lesson:

Introduction:

Teacher briefly introduces the Confirmation Bias.

Suggested language:

All of our brains are hard-wired in ways that lead us to take mental shortcuts, and this is often really helpful! But sometimes these shortcuts cause errors in our judgment. These errors are known as “cognitive biases.” There are dozens of cognitive biases and researchers are always identifying more. Today we will be exploring just one: Confirmation Bias. Confirmation Bias leads us to seek out information we already believe and ignore or minimize facts that don’t align with what we already think or believe. And this makes it really hard to change or update our thinking! Sometimes this shows up in the social media accounts we choose to follow, the places we choose to get our news, and the politicians, celebrities, and activities we listen more closely to. Our brains are hard-wired to want to feel right!

Students then choose or are provided topics to research. This can be related to topics they are already learning about in class, or this can be done as a stand-alone activity (i.e., separate from the regular content of the classroom). Non-content related topics might focus on school-based issues (e.g., homework or cell phone policies), community-based issues (e.g., whether to build a local skatepark or the local public transportation policies for students), or more national/global issues (e.g., student loan forgiveness).

Before, during, and after researching, students reflect on questions to guide their thinking.

Suggested Pre-Research Questions:

  • Do you already have an opinion about this topic? If so, what is it?
  • Have you learned about this topic before? If so, from whom or from what source?
  • How confident are you in your current understanding of the topic, on a scale of 1-10 (1 = very unsure, 10 = extremely confident)

Suggested During-Research Questions:

  • Have you come across any viewpoints that oppose each other or oppose what you already believe?
  • Have you found any information that disproves or adds details to what you already know about this topic?
  • Does any of your research raise new questions for you?
  • Has anything you’ve read or learned surprised you?

Suggested After-Research Questions:

  • Has your opinion on this topic changed or evolved or strengthened in any way?
  • Is there something you are wondering about now that you hadn’t thought of before?
  • How confident are you in your current understanding of the topic, on a scale of 1-10 (1 = very unsure, 10 = extremely confident)? Has this changed from before you started your research? [Note: the goal here is not for students to necessarily feel MORE confident. Sometimes a student might feel less confident in their understanding as they explore more nuanced or conflicting information. This is okay!]

Differentiation:

Determine whether students will work independently, in pairs, or in groups.

Consider whether to have students record their answers to the reflection questions in written format or in discussion with partners or groups.

Make accommodations for the level of autonomy students can manage when choosing topics and searching for resources. For some students, it may be helpful to provide both the topics as well as the resources to use for research. In some classrooms, it may make sense for the whole class to research the same topic.

Determine what type of research students will be conducting. For example, for school-based issues, having students interview peers, teachers and/or administrators may be an interesting way to learn about different viewpoints on the same topic.

Optional extensions:

Conduct a closing discussion on Confirmation Bias. Possible discussion questions:

  • How did it feel to research viewpoints that opposed what you believe?
  • Did you notice a difference in how it felt to read viewpoints that you agreed with versus ones you didn’t agree with?
  • How might this activity connect to the ways you learn about topics in order areas of your life?

Record and map how confidence levels rose or fell as a result of the research and what students think about this.

Brainstorm ways that confirmation bias shows up in other ways in students’ lives. Keep a running list.

Stay informed and join our mailing list