LearningTimes Green Room

In this episode, Susan and Dan consider ideological amplification and its impact on teaching and learning online.



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Show notes:

Did you know as you shop and search for information, your preferences and habits are stored and then serve up content that it tailored for you? That is an example of ideological amplification. Finding people who think like you is ideological amplification. It is also a naturally occurring phenomenon for humans. Similar to an echo chamber (which Dan gives a historical review of), the concept amplification has moved from the political arena to online learning.

Susan introduces a point written by Marc Comtois at http://www.anchorrising.com/barnacles/003309.html. “It is intellectually necessary to venture outside of one’s own ideological box to encounter–and confront–ideas that are different.” So how do we then help students sort through and deal with divergent ideas?

Susan also introduces “Ideological Amplification is when a belief within a tribe (niche) becomes the “norm” or “accepted” and often “expected” and is then exponentially amplified among its members.” - Chris Hambly at http://chrishambly.com/content/ideological-amplification

So this is where critical thinking comes in. Dan gives an example from pre-internet days. Susan raises questions about social media and
transparency. You can find out a lot about your professor these days! Dan is for dissonance.

Cass Sustein wrote Why Societies Need Dissent. From this, Susan draws out the difference between amplification and dampening, to which Dan asks if she introduces competing ideas in her own classes. She admits the students do a better job and gives examples. The two continue to think about examples and reference In Defense of Cheating as a provocative, alternative example of presenting opposing views.

Dan references a New Yorker magazine cartoon about thinking outside the box which leads to the wrap up. We’d like to hear from those who are teaching online as to how they avoid amplification in its negative context and what they do when students get emotionally connected to one particular view?

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