The spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary challenges in recent history. Amidst this global crisis, various controversies have been emerging about how to manage the virus, ranging from whether face masks should be required as a preventive measure to whether hydroxychloroquine is an appropriate treatment. There has been a barrage of contradictory claims related to these issues. However, in many cases, it is not possible for an individual to wait until consensus is reached before deciding on a course of action. Meanwhile, to avoid misplacing trust, trust must be well grounded. Conventional school science largely focuses on the trustworthiness of data and evidence, rather than that of the people making scientific claims. This failure to consider the human factor renders conventional school science inadequate for helping students make informed judgements about granting trust. Drawing on the literature in epistemic practice, this paper highlights four epistemic processes potentially useful for students to ground their trust, including (1) identifying whether recognition from peer reviewers has been obtained; (2) examining the credentials of those who claim expertise; (3) determining the level of expert consensus; and (4) identifying possible sources of bias. Through critical reflection on events related to the Covid-19 pandemic as examples, this paper examines how these epistemic processes inform judgement about the trustworthiness of people in terms of their competence and motives. The discussion highlights the need to develop students’ capacity to identify expertise/ credentials, the nature of journals and of organisations when trust is assigned. This paper offers a frame for science educators on guiding students to place trust as a part of their decision-making process. The capability would be relevant to contexts beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.

2019 年冠状病毒病 (Covid-19) 的传播无疑是近代史上最非凡的挑战之一。在这场全球危机中，关于如何管理病毒的各种争议不断出现，从是否需要戴口罩作为预防措施到羟氯喹是否是一种合适的治疗方法。与这些问题有关的相互矛盾的说法一连串。然而，在许多情况下，个人不可能等到达成共识后再决定行动方案。同时，为了避免错位信任，信任必须有良好的基础。传统的学校科学主要关注数据和证据的可信度，而不是提出科学主张的人的可信度。这种没有考虑人的因素使得传统的学校科学不足以帮助学生就授予信任做出明智的判断。本文借鉴认知实践中的文献，重点介绍了四个可能有助于学生建立信任的认知过程，包括（1）确定是否已获得同行评审员的认可；(2) 审查声称具有专业知识的人的资格；（三）确定专家共识水平；(4) 识别可能的偏见来源。通过对与 Covid-19 大流行相关的事件的批判性反思，本文研究了这些认知过程如何根据人们的能力和动机判断人们的可信度。讨论强调了培养学生识别专业知识/证书的能力的必要性，当信任被分配时，期刊和组织的性质。本文为科学教育工作者提供了一个框架，指导学生将信任作为决策过程的一部分。该能力将与 Covid-19 大流行之外的环境相关。