While I have similar experiences to those reported in this thread, with students having read little outside of textbooks and magazines, I want to suggest that a more potentially destructive aspect of this issue is the equivalence that many students view between information obtained via the Internet and published, even refereed, sources. While students readily state that you can't believe everything that you see on the internet, they rarely exercise critical thinking in judging the validity of that information. When asked how one chooses what to believe, students are typically at a loss beyond a simplistic judgment of the purported author. When I have students review web sites for an assignment, they often have difficulty discerning the purpose of the web site, viewing some persuasive sites as merely informational.
Rather than developing a reasonable strategy for judging the validity of web sources, I see many students simply applying the same distrust to more reliable sources, like refereed journals. Almost as if they are thinking, "If I can't trust internet sources, I can't trust any sources." The idea that one can make judgments about the evidence presented, the methods used, the potential for secondary gain, and other aspects relevant to judging the validity of information (not merely sources of information) seems to be lost. The result of this lack of critical valuation is to equate mere opinion with conclusions based on evidence. This seems to be consistent with the "post modern" belief that all opinion has equal merit. For these reasons, encouraging critical thinking, providing a framework for logical thought, and an introduction to the scientific method (including the value of these methods in our history of knowledge) are critical aspects of any introductory science class. Kevin P. Burns Behavioral Studies [EMAIL PROTECTED] Shelton State Community College 9500 Old Greensboro Road Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 391-3934 ---
