Data_Sheet_1_Using Wikipedia Assignments to Teach Critical Thinking and Scientific Writing in STEM Courses.PDF

While many instructors have reservations against Wikipedia use in academic settings, editing Wikipedia teaches students valuable writing, editing, and critical thinking skills. Wikipedia assignments align with the community of inquiry framework, which focuses on the elements needed for a successful online learning experience. We report on a faculty mentoring network, created by WikiProject Limnology and Oceanography, which helped 14 instructors with little to no prior experience implement a Wikipedia assignment in their classes. We found that Wikipedia assignments increase students’ motivation to produce high quality work and enhance their awareness of reliable scientific sources. Wikipedia assignments can be comparable to other writing assignments in length and complexity, but have a far wider audience than a traditional research paper. Participants in our mentoring network reported challenges with implementing this new type of assignment, and here, we share resources and solutions to those reported barriers.

众多教师对在学术环境中使用维基百科持保留态度，然而，维基百科的编辑活动能够教授学生宝贵的写作、编辑及批判性思维技巧。维基百科作业与探究社区框架相契合，该框架专注于构建成功在线学习体验所需的要素。本文报道了由WikiProject 淡水生态学及海洋学创建的师资辅导网络，该网络协助14位经验不足或无经验的教师将维基百科作业融入其课堂教学中。研究发现，维基百科作业能够提升学生产出高质量作品的积极性，并增强他们对可靠科学来源的认识。在篇幅和复杂性方面，维基百科作业可以与传统研究论文相媲美，但其受众范围却远超后者。参与我们辅导网络的教师们报告了在实施此类新型作业时遇到的挑战，在此，我们分享了针对所报告障碍的资源与解决方案。