The Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University is committed to teaching students how to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and news sources. It is the only center of its kind in the United States.
With start-up funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2006, Stony Brook developed the nation’s first undergraduate course in News Literacy and launched the Center to share and propagate its work with educators and the public.
More than 11,000 Stony Brook students across all academic disciplines have completed the course in the past decade. In addition, students at several dozen U.S. universities and in 11 countries have taken versions of the course. Through its Overseas Partnership Program, the Center has brought News Literacy to countries including Poland, Russia, China (Hong Kong), Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Recognizing the increasing need to train younger students, as well, the Center has in recent years partnered with schools and school districts in New York City and Long Island to adapt elements of its curriculum for middle school and high school students through its Institute for News Literacy Education, which provides teacher training and curriculum development workshops and ongoing support and resources to the schools.
A grant to boost civics education in Illinois from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation also enabled the Center’s staff to train middle school, high school, and community college educators in the Chicagoland area.
Beyond our individual partners and collaborators, the online Digital Resource Center serves as a clearinghouse for innovative news literacy curriculum materials for students, teachers, and the general public.
Our massive open online course, Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens, developed in collaboration with our partners in Hong Kong, has extended the Center’s reach on the online platform Coursera, with more than 20,000 global learners.