Using Wikipedia to Jumpstart Students' Information Literacy Engagement in a 12-Week Course

Situated as the culminating project within a University Seminar course titled, “A Diversity of Voices: Seeking Truth in Research,” our class of undergraduate students contributed to incomplete and under-represented Wikipedia articles as a means to explore their roles in the scholarly conversation. Utilizing the resources and expertise of the Wikipedia Education Program’s scaffolded approach to instruction and course integration, we identified under-developed topics relevant to the course’s themes of social justice and inclusivity of marginalized voices.

Throughout the term, the Wikipedia research and editing component served as a hands-on application of the concepts of inquiry, source evaluation, bias examination, and scholarly composition upon which the course was framed. With an eye towards evaluating their selected Wikipedia article for accuracy, content gaps, currency of information, and authority of sources, students were charged with the task of adding to the existing body of information on topics such as the gender pay gap and LBGTQ representation at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The use of Wikipedia editing in place of a traditional research paper yielded a number of positive changes including students’ reflection of contributing their efforts to an organic body of knowledge that will continue to grow after the conclusion of the course. In addition to online citizenship inherent to the editing process, students engaged in discussions regarding privilege and discovered ways in which Wikipedia attempts to break down barriers to information access. Thoughtful discussions and debates also took place regarding the paywalled privileges of academia and the myriad ways in which individuals of diverse backgrounds access information. Given Wikipedia’s neutrality policy for information and the subsequent, ongoing contributions and discussions of contributing editors, students experienced a glimpse of a community of practice-based approach to scholarship that aligns with the ACRL Frames of ‘Information Creation as a Process’ and ‘Scholarship as Conversation.’

In this presentation, we will relate our experience with reimagining a traditional research paper and challenge participants to reinvent their own research assignments. We’ll discuss student perceptions of scholarship and the ways in which the concept of authority has been, oftentimes, incorrectly framed. We’ll also explore the ways in which we leveraged expertise within our own Library in the form of guest speakers on topics ranging from community-engaged research to copyright in order to create a robust and interactive experience. In addition, as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted a portion of the term and necessitated a rapid shift to online instruction, we intend to relate critical lessons learned and share how, even in challenging and distanced times, connecting students and showcasing their work both synchronous and asynchronous methods is possible.

While our Wikipedia editing component was integrated into a full semester course, we will provide ideas for one-shot instruction sessions as well as guide participants to case studies and resources for instructional inspiration. We’ll share students’ reflective comments on the process and highlight key instructional takeaways that we gleaned from the experience.