Education/The Syllabus/for print

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This document provides a full-term sample syllabus for a major Wikipedia writing assignment, incorporating many of the best practices for such projects. You can use it as a starting point for your own Wikipedia assignments, or take bits and pieces to adapt to your course.

Sidebar
Orientation for educators

Before you start constructing your own Wikipedia syllabus, try the online orientation for educators: [human-readable url]. It will introduce you to the culture and rules of Wikipedia, demonstrate the basics of editing, and walk you through a typical Wikipedia assignment like this one.

Using this syllabus and related resources[edit]

If you're new to using Wikipedia in your courses, this sample syllabus should be used in conjunction with the "Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool" guide, which covers pedagogical issues for teaching with Wikipedia, the Wikipedia Ambassador Program (in which local and online volunteers support classes running Wikipedia assignments), and practical aspects of managing a Wikipedia assignment—such as setting up a wiki course page and grading your students' Wikipedia contributions.

Shortcuts to important pages on Wikipedia are listed throughout this syllabus, in the form [[WP:HELP]]. To use one, simply type the shortcut into the search bar on Wikipedia and press enter.

The online version of this syllabus, available at [human-readable url], links to additional handouts and videos, alternative assignments, and a collection of real syllabi for Wikipedia assignments in a range of academic disciplines.

The Syllabus (12-week timeline)[edit]

Week 1: Wikipedia essentials[edit]

Wikipedia assignments work best when you introduce them early in the semester, since the students need to acquaint themselves with the technology. Knowing what they are preparing themselves for makes learning the ins and outs of Wikipedia relevant. Try to integrate your Wikipedia assignment with the course themes, and engage your students with the questions of media fluency and knowledge construction raised by Wikipedia throughout your course.

In class
  • Overview of the course
  • Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
  • Handout: "Welcome to Wikipedia" brochure (available in print or online from the Wikimedia Foundation) [human-readable url]
Assignment (due week 2)
  • Read the Five pillars (shortcut: [[WP:5P]]), an explanation of Wikipedia's basic rules and principles

Week 2: Editing basics[edit]

It is important to get students editing Wikipedia right away so that they become familiar with the MediaWiki markup ("wikisyntax", "wikimarkup", or "wikicode"). As the instructor, you have several options to teach them this technical material. You can teach it yourself, invite Wikipedia's Campus Ambassadors and/or local Wikipedians to do so, or contact a teaching and technology center on your campus and ask for their assistance. You can assign students complete a standard online training. We suggest that, however you choose to do this, you have the students learn the basics of editing, the anatomy of an article, and ways to select articles suitable for the assignment.

Sidebar
Online student training (shortcut: [[WP:STUDENT]])

The online training for students introduces the Wikipedia community and how it works, demonstrates the basics of editing and walks students through their first edits, gives advice for selecting articles and drafting revisions, and covers some of the ways they can find help as they get started. It takes about an hour, and ends with a certification step that you can use to verify that students completed the training.

In class
  • Basics of editing
  • Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good & bad articles
  • Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
  • Handouts and videos: "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" brochure [human-readable url], "Wikimarkup cheatsheet" (included in "Welcome to Wikipedia" brochure)
Assignments (due week 3)
  • Complete the online training for students. During this training, you will create an account, make edits in a sandbox, and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
  • Create a user page, and sign up on the list of students on the course page.
  • To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to any Wikipedians helping your class (such a Wikipedia Ambassador), and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.
Milestone
  • All students have Wikipedia user accounts, have made edits in a sandbox, and are listed on the course page.

Week 3: Exploring the topic area[edit]

It is crucial that lines of communication between instructors, students, and Wikipedians be established and firmed up early in the semester so that all groups can help each other out most efficiently as the projects progress. Ideally, Wikipedia Ambassadors would come to your class and explain to the students how to find help should they run into trouble on Wikipedia, reinforcing their introduction to this topic from the previous week.

It is also critical for students to begin researching their Wikipedia topics early in the term. Finding topics with the right balance between lack of prior good Wikipedia coverage and available literature from which to build new Wikipedia coverage can be tricky. As an alternative to assigning students to propose Wikipedia topics to write about, you may wish to prepare a list of appropriate non-existent or underdeveloped articles ahead of time. This requires more preparation, but gets students to the point of researching and writing their articles sooner.

Sidebar
Getting help

When things go wrong—students' articles are challenged, students get into arguments with other editors, or you or the students are simply unsure about how to solve a problem—you should seek out help immediately. If there are experienced Wikipedians working with your class (such as Online Ambassadors), try asking them first. You can post problems and questions to the "Education noticeboard" (shortcut: [[WP:ENB]]). For guidance getting started for either you or your students, try the Teahouse (shortcut: [[WP:TH]]), a friendly space for new editors. The online orientation highlights other places you can go for help.

In class
  • Handout: "Advice for choosing articles" [human-readable url], "How to get help" [human-readable url]
Assignments (due week 4)
  • Critically evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
  • Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Ask your instructor for comment.

Week 4: Using sources[edit]

We encourage weaving a discussion of Wikipedia into your course throughout the semester. For example, if you are teaching a course on presidential elections, delve into the controversies on Wikipedia that have the beset the Barack Obama article and subarticles. Help students connect their assignment to the themes of the course as a whole.

As they start using sources to improve Wikipedia articles or write new ones, it is especially important for students to understand Wikipedia's policies on plagiarism and copyright violation. Student generally know that copying whole paragraphs or sentences from sources constitutes plagiarism. But many don't know about—or think they can get away with—subtler forms of plagiarism, such as using shorter phrases without attribution or beginning from a copied text and simply rewording it while leaving the structure and meaning intact (i.e., close paraphrasing). Any form of plagiarism or copyright violation is likely to result in students' work being removed from Wikipedia.

Sidebar
You're the expert

Applying your own expertise to Wikipedia's coverage of your field will be key to a successful assignment. You understand the broader intellectual context where individual topics fit in, you can recognize where Wikipedia falls short, you know—or know how to find—the relevant literature, and you know what topics your students should be able to handle. So your guidance on article choice and sourcing is critical for both your students' success and the improvement of Wikipedia.

In class
  • Handouts and videos: "Referencing" [human-readable url], "Referencing: Wikicode" [human-readable url], "Plagiarism" [human-readable url], "Citing sources" videos: Part 1 & Part 2 [human-readable url]
Assignment (due week 5)
  • Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.
For next week
  • Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by week 5.

Week 5: Choosing articles[edit]

By this week, ideally, you have evaluated the students' article choices and given them feedback, helping them to choose articles that are appropriate for the assignment. Because students often wait until the last minute to do their research or choose sources unsuited for Wikipedia, we strongly suggest that the students put together a bibliography of materials they want to use in editing the article which can then be assessed by you and other Wikipedians.

In class
  • Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.
Assignments (due week 6)
  • Select an article to work on, removing the rest from the course page.
  • Compile a bibliography of relevant research and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources.

Week 6: Drafting starter articles[edit]

Once students have gotten somewhat of a grip on their topics and the sources they will use to write about them, it's time to start writing on Wikipedia. You can assign them to jump right in and edit live, or start in their own sandboxes. There are pros and cons to each approach.

Pros and cons to sandboxes: Sandboxes make students feel safe because they can edit without the pressure of the whole world reading their drafts or other Wikipedians altering their writing. They can learn Wikipedia's rules in a safe environment. However, sandbox editing limits many of the unique aspects of using Wikipedia as a teaching tool, such as collaborative writing and incremental drafting. Sandboxes are usually appropriate when students are starting new articles, but students should move out of sandboxes quickly. Spending more than a week or two in sandboxes is strongly discouraged.

Pros and cons to editing live: Editing live is exciting for the students because they can see their changes to the articles immediately and experience the collaborative editing process throughout the assignment. However, because many new editors often unintentionally break Wikipedia rules, sometimes students learn by having their additions questioned or removed. Editing live is usually appropriate when students are improving existing articles.

In class
  • Talk about Wikipedia culture & etiquette, and [optionally] revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
  • Q&A session with instructor and/or Wikipedia Ambassadors about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing
Assignments (due week 7)
  • If you are starting a new article, write a 3–4 paragraph summary version of your article—with citations—in your Wikipedia sandbox. If you are improving an existing article, write a summary version reflecting the content the article will have after it's been improved, and post this along with a brief description of your plans on the article's talk page.
  • Begin working with classmates and other editors to polish your short starter article and fix any major transgressions of Wikipedia norms.
  • Continue research in preparation for expanding your article.
Milestone
  • All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 7: Did you know[edit]

Whether students are starting new articles or expanding existing articles, it's critical to get them working live on Wikipedia as soon as possible. Short summary versions for new articles (and short existing articles that have been expanded five-fold) are great starting points for working live in main space, because they should be eligible to appear on Wikipedia's Main Page as hooks in the "Did you know..." (DYK) section. This gives students an early chance to show their articles to a substantial audience and get feedback from Wikipedians, and it can be a great momentum builder for the rest of the class project. The rules for DYK are quite particular, though, so it helps to prepare ahead of time and nominate articles quickly after moving them out of sandboxes.

A good 3-4 paragraph summary can serve as the lead section for a full length article, following the summary style of Wikipedia articles, and will get students thinking from the beginning about the overall structure of their articles.

Sidebar
Wikipedia processes

Submitting articles to DYK will probably be your class's first major contact with Wikipedia's behind-the-scenes article processes. We strongly recommend either trying this yourself beforehand, or working closely with one or more experienced Wikipedians to help your students navigate the process smoothly. If your students are working on related set of articles, it may be good to combine multiple article nominations into a single hook; this helps keep your students' work from swamping the process or antagonizing the editors who maintain it.

In class
  • Handout: "Moving into main space" [human-readable url], "Submitting articles to Did you know" [human-readable url]
Assignments (due week 8)
  • Move sandbox articles into main space.
  • Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence "hook," nominate it for "Did you know," and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors.
  • Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 8: Building articles[edit]

At this point, many students will have 'gotten it', and have a clear understanding of how to move forward. From there, the most important thing is giving feedback, both on the work they're doing—what is missing, what sources could be used to improve it, whether the balance is appropriate—and on how to keep within Wikipedia's guidelines, particularly Neutral Point of View and No Original Research.

Other students may have stumbled with some element of getting their initial work live on Wikipedia. This is the key point to identify where students are having trouble—whether from negative reactions from other editors, technical hang-ups, problems finding good sources and using them appropriately, plagiarism, or something else. This is a good time to do a quick scan (at least) of what each student has contributed so far.

Sidebar
Wikipedia's article ratings (shortcut: [[WP:ASSESS]])
FA The article meets the featured article criteria (shortcut: [[WP:FA?]]) and has gone through the FA candidates process (shortcut: [[WP:FAC]]). Achieving FA status is rare, although not unprecedented, for Wikipedia class projects.
GA The article meets the good article criteria (shortcut: [[WP:GA?]]) and has gone through a successful good article nomination (shortcut: [[WP:GAN]]). Good articles are challenging, but possible, for classes that engage with Wikipedia throughout the term. Leave more time for review and revision if GAs are your goal, since it typically takes several weeks before a nominated article receives a review.
B The article is mostly complete and without major issues, but requires some further work to reach good article standards. This level of quality is realistic for good students who work hard on their Wikipedia assignments and work on articles that are not too broad.
C The article is substantial, but is still missing important content or contains a lot of irrelevant material. Your students can do better than this, but it will take effort.
Start An article that is developing, but which is quite incomplete and may require further reliable sources. Without feedback and guidance from the instructor, this is the typical level of quality achieved by students. It's also, approximately, the typical level of quality of a random Wikipedia article longer than a few paragraphs.
Stub A very basic description of the topic, from a single sentence up to a few paragraphs. (Articles marked as stubs may actually have improved beyond stub status.)


Workshop in class or outside of class
  • Discuss article ratings on Wikipedia & how to get there
  • Demo uploading images, and adding images to articles
  • Share experiences and discuss problems
  • Handouts: "Uploading images" [human-readable url], "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally in week 2)
Assignments (due week 9)
  • Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
  • Select two classmates' articles that you will peer review and copy-edit. (You don't need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 9: Getting and giving feedback[edit]

Collaboration is a critical element of contributing to Wikipedia. For some students, this will happen spontaneously; their choice of topics will attract interested Wikipedians who will pitch in with ideas, copy-edits, or even substantial contributions to the students' articles. Online Ambassadors who take a strong interest in the topics students are working on can make great collaborators. In many cases, however, there will be little spontaneous editing of students' articles before the end of the term. Fortunately, a class full of fellow learners is a great pool of peer reviewers. You can make the most of this by assigning students to review each others' articles soon after full-length drafts are posted, to give students plenty of time to act on the advice of their peers.

In class
  • As a group, have the students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.
Assignments (due week 10)
  • Peer review two of your classmates' articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
  • Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
Milestone
  • All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.

Week 10: Responding to feedback[edit]

At this point, students should have produced more or less complete articles. Now is the chance to encourage them to wade a little deeper into Wikipedia and its norms and criteria for great content. You'll probably have discussed many of the core principles of Wikipedia—and related issues you want to focus on—but now that they've experienced how Wikipedia works first hand, this is a good time to return to topics like neutrality, media fluency, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia. Consider bringing in a guest speaker, having a panel discussion, or simply having an open discussion amongst the class about what the students have done so far and why (or whether) it matters.

In class
  • Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia
Assignments (due week 11)
  • Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback.
  • Nominate your article for Good Article status.
  • Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Week 11: Class presentations[edit]

Having students explicitly reflect on their experiences with Wikipedia, through presentations and/or reflective essays, can help draw out and solidify what they've learned about Wikipedia in particular and media literacy and research more generally. Such assignments, when they include explicit summaries or documentation of what students did or tried to do on Wikipedia, can also serve as the lens for evaluating and grading students' Wikipedia work.

In class
  • Students give in-class presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.
Assignments (due week 12)
  • Add final touches to your Wikipedia article.
  • Write a reflective essay (2-5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Week 12: Due date[edit]

You made it!

Milestone
  • Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading, and have submitted reflective essays.

Grading[edit]

This is a basic grading scheme appropriate for a syllabus similar to this one. For more ideas on how to grade Wikipedia assignments, see the grading rubrics section of the Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool brochure.

  • 5% each (x3): Participation grade for early Wikipedia exercises (weeks 2, 3, and 4)
  • 10%: Participation in Wikipedia discussions in class
  • 10%: Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
  • 15%: Presentation and reflective essay
  • 50%: Quality of main Wikipedia contributions, evaluated in light of reflective essay

Syllabus collection from past terms[edit]

If you have a syllabus you would like to share that includes a Wikipedia assignment you conducted, please email it to us: education﹫wikimedia.org