Climate education at the university: applying the CRAAP Test against misinformation

Abstract

Climate change generates increasing informational and educational interest. This study aims to assess the ability of higher education students to distinguish between information and misinformation about climate change using the CRAAP Test, which is based on the criteria of currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose. The CRAAP Test was implemented in workshops with 154 students from various degrees and faculties at the European University of Madrid, following the research line of the university's group: Education and Critical Thinking: The Challenge of Integrating Them into Students. The results of this qualitative-descriptive study showed varying levels of skill in identifying the credibility of information depending on the students' fields of study. Social Sciences students more easily recognized the veracity of information, possibly due to better media habits and greater exposure to critical evaluation of sources, in contrast to Health Sciences students who found the CRAAP Test more effective but were less familiar with evaluating media information. The CRAAP Test proves to be a useful and pedagogical tool for motivating students to verify information, although these findings suggest the need to integrate tools that enable critical thinking into the curricula of students from all types of university degrees.