MTSU is hosting two events designed to help educators and students unravel the term “fake news.”

Joel Breakstone

Joel Breakstone, director of the Stanford University School of Education, will lead “Media Literacy Exercises for the Classroom,” an exercise for educators, at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building.

A campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus visitors should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and Transportation at www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

Breakstone’s research focuses on how teachers use assessment data in instruction. The exercises he presents aim to help faculty integrate digital media literacy into their teaching.

Madeleine Baran

He received the Larry Metcalf Exemplary Dissertation Award from the National Council for the Social Studies in 2014.

Madeleine Baran, a reporter for American Public Media’s national investigative reporting team, will present “On the Frontline: How Leading Researchers and Journalists Are Combating Fraudulent News” at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, in MTSU’s Keathley University Center Theater.

Dr. Molly Taylor-Poleskey

Baran is the host and lead reporter of the podcast “In the Dark.” Her reporting includes the revelation of a decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

She is the winner of two Peabody Awards and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, regarded as the Pulitzer Prize of broadcasting.

“Informed citizens are the pillars of a democracy,” said Dr. Molly Taylor-Poleskey, an associate professor of history at MTSU.

“This series bridges the research, analytical and communication skills that students are learning in MTSU classrooms with the lifelong duty citizens have to inform themselves.”

MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts, College of Media and Entertainment, James E. Walker Library and the Digital History Program are sponsoring the events.

Both are free and open to the public, but Breakstone’s event is designed specifically for teachers. For more information, contact Taylor-Poleskey at 615-898-2423 or molly.taylor-poleskey@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)