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This convergent mixed method study investigates learner engagement during a blended, transmedia curriculum called CryptoComics, which is designed to teach 3rd-5th graders about cryptology and cybersecurity. Curriculum design is presented through the lens of four engagement facilitators: (1) anchoring the curriculum with a comic book, (2) blending digital and unplugged media, (3) supporting situational interest via a transmedia narrative, and (4) designing for social-cultural relevance. Latent profile analysis is used to develop profiles of learner engagement using quantitative indicators of cognitive and emotional engagement collected across 204 students at 13 implementation sites in the Eastern U.S. Qualitative indicators of engagement include teacher weekly check-ins submitted by 17 teachers working at the 13 implementation sites, student interviews, and classroom observations of 26 students participating in the curriculum at two local sites. Quantitative and qualitative results converge to suggest the majority of the students participating in the curriculum were highly engaged cognitively and emotionally. Qualitative data (1) suggest some third graders may be less cognitively engaged due to challenging content, (2) provide evidence for how the design of the blended, transmedia curriculum supported, and some cases hindered, engagement, (3) highlight the importance of transitions between blended learning components in facilitating engagement, and (4) uncover questions regarding one of the quantitative measures selected as an indicator of cognitive engagement.

During the summer of 2021, we taught a series of lessons on social media literacy during a 6-week summer bridge program designed to prepare students for their first year of community college. Community college students represent nearly 40% of all U.S. undergraduates (AACC, 2022), with nearly 50% of all first-generation college students attending community college (Cataldi et al., 2018). However, community college students are rarely participants in research studies on media or information literacy (Latham et al., 2022), including in this journal. We also specifically focused on social media literacy, a topic not typically addressed in schools (Higdon, 2022), even though young adults are regularly engaging with social media, including as a source for news and information about the world (Anderson & Jiang, 2018; Robb, 2017). This study was designed in part to fill these gaps.

The recent evolution of technology and the Internet has transformed how individuals find and share information. Research shows that citizens of all ages and backgrounds struggle with critical online information evaluation (COIE), which could result in serious societal consequences. Although it is crucial to develop student proficiency within this key information literacy construct beginning in middle school, there is currently no interdisciplinary framework for designing COIE instruction or assessments. To address this gap, we have developed a comprehensive COIE model for curriculum developers, assessment creators, and practitioners to implement at the secondary and post-secondary level. In this paper, we provide cross-disciplinary theoretical context and empirical grounding for our model, offer guidance for its practical application in the 6-16 curriculum, and discuss metacognitive and sociocultural considerations for developing and measuring learners' COIE proficiency.

Many young people learn about scientific topics online, yet middle school students have trouble identifying where scientific information comes from and what characterizes good sources of scientific information online. In this article, we discuss five lessons we embedded into an NGSS-aligned, sixth-grade comprehensive science course to increase students' scientific information literacy. Drawing on SEP-8, 'obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information,' these lessons gave students an opportunity to search for scientific information, critically evaluate the sources of scientific information, and generate science texts using the information they found. We focused on two concepts—scientific consensus and multiple perspectives—to help students recognize who engages in scientific research, how scientific findings are communicated to the general public, and who else may have important perspectives on socio-scientific issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]