LESSON PLAN1

The bias game

Overview: There is no such thing as complete objectivity. At best, journalists strive for balanced reporting. However, with so many different backgrounds and experiences, it is difficult to keep bias from creeping into reporting. Often it is more of a struggle to get reporters to own up to their biases. The following exercise is a safe and fun way for student reporters to acknowledge their partiality and also conduct self-audits.

The Process: Ask your class to think of two falsehoods and one fact about themselves. Encourage them not to think of outrageous untruths like just being released from Al Qaeda or something far out there. Also, depending on the maturity of the class, you may want to caution them from sharing anything too personal.

After a couple of minutes of thought, ask for a volunteer to share his or her three statements. List the statements on the board and then ask the class to vote for which one is the true statement. It is okay to let them vote more than once.

After all the votes are tallied, ask the volunteer to state the true statement. Then, ask the students why they voted in the manner they did and paraphrase the responses. Many of the responses will be based upon assumptions based upon the way a person looks, talks, or appears.

This is a good way to begin discussions around ethical reporting and/or removing bias from reporting.

--Submitted by Billy Montgomery, co-editor, Columbia Links