The “helper theory” in social psychology is based on the idea that when you help someone, you benefit, too. The theory suggests that helpers draw various benefits from their support, including the meaningful development of abilities through teaching others. The theory seems like it could explain some of the benefits we see when students help … Continued
In an earlier post, we shared some quotes from our spring instructor survey. We also heard some great stories from the classroom that illustrate the challenges and rewards of the Wikipedia assignment. We thought we’d share a few. One instructor shared the story of a student writing about a species of wild cat. As she … Continued
At the end of each term, the Wiki Education Foundation asks Classroom Program instructors to reflect on their experience. That data helps us improve the tools and support we offer to instructors. It also gives us a chance to see the real impact of the Wikipedia writing assignment on instructors and students. The result was … Continued
Students from Dr. Sherry Seston’s Virology course at Alverno College are learning about the history of their science through Wikipedia assignments. And by creating biography articles for women virologists, they’re expanding the scope of science information on Wikipedia while helping to close a content gap in women’s biographies. Articles students created include: Saswati Chatterjee, a … Continued
Highlights Educational Partnerships Manager Jami Mathewson and Executive Director Frank Schulenburg traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with seven academic associations. As a result of these meetings, all associations declared a strong interest in partnering with Wiki Education Foundation in the future. The American Sociological Association signed a partnership agreement during Jami’s and Frank’s visit. … Continued
Forty million Americans rely on the internet as their primary source for science information. Half of all Americans have used the internet to fact check the science in a news report, and more than half say they’d turn to the internet first to learn about a scientific controversy. And 70% have gone online to learn … Continued
Wiki Ed’s Classroom Program is focused on improving Wikipedia by having university students in the United States and Canada write high-quality articles that fill content gaps as part of their coursework. In Spring 2015, we saw 2,326 student editors contribute roughly 2.5 million words to 3,429 articles, which were read by 101 million readers … Continued
The Wiki Education Foundation board has elected two new board members, Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer and Sue Gardner. Sue Gardner was the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) from 2007 to 2014 – a period of tremendous growth for Wikipedia’s readership and articles. The WMF was the fastest-growing non-profit in the United States by revenue growth … Continued
Students from Dr. Daniel Lewis’ Research Methodologies for Environmental History course at Claremont Graduate University have expanded or created articles about environmental history. The German Green Belt article details the history of an 870-mile nature preserve that rose up in the space where former guard towers and fences once separated East from West Germany. This … Continued
