EDUCATING FOR INFORMATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING TEACHERS IN MEDIA EDUCATION AND IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DISINFORMATION
Teacher training. Media Education. Disinformation.
In an environment of extreme polarization, "Fake News", disinformation and misinformation, underpinned by the structuring information systems of large digital technology platforms, individual opinion ends up taking the place of the news, and even though it is paradoxical to perceive greater freedom of expression for citizens, at the same time it provokes reflections on its limits, making it increasingly necessary to discuss the importance of Media Education within teacher training environments. The research in question problematizes how to train teachers to mediate teaching and learning processes, guided by the context of Media Education, that understand, identify and combat disinformation. The aim of this thesis is to discuss an approach to initial teacher training in ME, implementing and analyzing pedagogical practices that incorporate strategies to combat disinformation, with students on degree courses at the Federal University of Western Pará - UFOPA. As the research is guided by the development of practical solutions, the methodological approach proposed is Design Based Research - DBR, which is a method based on the epistemology of Design Science and Design Science Research, also aligned with the Theory of Psychological Inoculation as a possible path for this implementation. The results of the research show that teachers in initial training are unfamiliar with the concept of Media Education, but when these future teachers come to understand it, they become able and willing to incorporate it into their teaching practices. In addition, we consider it feasible to implement Media Education from a transversal perspective, confirming that teachers have difficulties in identifying true and false information, due to the complexity of the phenomenon of disinformation and that the use of digital games, based on the Inoculation Theory, contributes to teachers understanding the main approaches to psychological persuasion, developing psychological "immunity" against online disinformation.