Empowering adult learners: Teaching information literacy in a changing world

Learning to distinguish reliable information from disinformation, misinformation and fake news requires an understanding of both the media landscape and how to apply critical thinking skills within it. For educators working with adult learners, teaching information literacy adds complexity to the challenge of building literacy and digital skills.

To support educators, AlphaPlus hosted a community of practice exploring information literacy in June 2025. We examined a set of curriculum resources on information literacy and discussed various topics, including verifying information online, understanding algorithms and information zones, and how journalism works. We also discussed the challenges educators face, including anxiety about navigating the information landscape, access to reliable sources and the difficulty of taking the time to critically analyze content.

Our time together left us contemplating questions about skill-building, tools and resources, and how to address topics in various contexts with a diverse range of learners. As one next step, we decided to share a closer look at the experiences and approaches of one of your peers: Wendy Teahen, group instructor at The Literacy Group in Kitchener.

Educator’s perspective on information literacy: Wendy Teahen

Like others, Wendy was motivated to participate in our June conversations by a mix of concern and practical need as well as the information coming out of the Canadian election news cycle in early 2025:

“The community of practice was promoted shortly after the elections. I had been noticing inflammatory, fear-based advertisements: one example depicted political leaders in handcuffs. I knew that this content was designed to scare people, that it’s easy for anyone to get caught up in it, and that if I was seeing it, others were as well. I wanted a way to help learners critically evaluate these stories and images,” explains Wendy.

Information forms and sources

Wendy, who primarily teaches reading, writing and computer classes, often hears examples of the overwhelming and confusing information landscape. In conversations before class, her students will sometimes mention articles they’ve read or other content they’ve been thinking about. According to Wendy, learners may not realize they’ve been looking at completely fabricated news or other forms of disinformation:

• Information that is intentionally shared out of context.
• Unintentional sharing of information that hasn’t been verified.
• Satire that has been mistaken for news reporting.
• Bias in content intended to sell products or advertising.
• News sources with a slant or particular perspective.

“We want learners to be able to think about the signs that a media post or article is not accurate to help them identify what is genuine, credible news.”

Encouraging interest in current events while evaluating sources

“I like to help learners think critically about information sources; to sit back, look at and research each one. I show learners tools like reverse Google image search and lateral reading to confirm or review a topic or source they are unsure about,” says Wendy. “Ellii (formerly ESL Library), The Westcoast Reader (a newsletter from B.C.) and News For You (an American news source) offer current news stories adapted for lower literacy levels with links to original sources, which helps with credibility and allows learners to do further research.”

To balance the weight of negative stories, Wendy also incorporates stories from Good News Network, a website featuring positive news stories from around the world. “For difficult topics like climate change, for example, if we only have negative stories, it makes people want to shut down. Looking at positive news about subtopics like renewable energy, countries with zero emissions and the restoration of coral reefs can help support our learners’ interest in global current events and meaningfully engage in discussions.”

Wendy offers a few additional tips from her practice of incorporating information literacy in adult literacy teaching:

• Creating infographics to understand complex ideas.
• Having students identify and understand advertising and its potential impact on the information being presented.
• Providing basic explanations of key concepts, such as how algorithms work, for vocabulary practice.

Teachers need more information literacy tools and supports

Educators like Wendy are innovating within their teaching practice, but they’re working around gaps in resources available for teaching adults. Materials that we reviewed together in June, like Checkology and CTRL-F, are useful but youth-focused. Websites featuring news articles for lower literacy learners (such as those that Wendy uses) lack Canadian or local content. These gaps leave educators with the work of adapting content.

Moving forward, to equip adult learners navigating misinformation and disinformation, the adult literacy education field in Ontario needs to bridge the efforts, strategies and approaches of individual teachers like Wendy with additional support. Our field needs teaching tools and other resources specifically designed for adult literacy learners as well as opportunities to share challenges, practices and tips.

For now, Wendy emphasizes the importance of having conversations, not being afraid to look at the bigger picture and conveying an understanding that anyone can be misled.

“Encourage adult learners to ask questions; we know that’s a key part of adult literacy. Ask them to bring you things that they’ve read or seen and found interesting so you can review and discuss them together.”

Continuing the conversation about information literacy

Information literacy is a literacy skill, a digital skill and a life skill. At AlphaPlus, we’ll continue to explore this topic and provide support: offering resources, sharing your peers’ perspectives and creating space for conversation.

To learn more about our recent community of practice and the resources we explored, read the June recap and summary guides. And as always, contact Guylaine or Tracey with questions or ideas.