User:James Council/PSYC 480 History and Systems of Psychology

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Course name
PSYC 480 History and Systems of Psychology
Institution
North Dakota State University
Instructor
James R. Council
Subject
Psychology
Course dates
2015-01-16 – 2015-05-08
Approximate number of student editors
35


This Wikipedia assignment involves choosing a stub article (or possibly a new topic) relevant to the history of psychology and expanding (or creating) it. I will generate a list of psychology stubs, but also give students the option of choosing a topic from their textbook. Students create Wikipedia accounts and user pages, get trained as editors, and critique articles that my class from the previous semester worked on. Students work in groups of 2 or 3 persons, examine existing articles, outline additions/changes, find new references, and expand their articles. They should also link to and from existing articles. Virtually any psychology article on Wikipedia is relevant to the history of psychology, so they can work on a wide range of articles. I have found that the ones that tend to go best are biographies of important psychologists. Students have also expanded articles on theory and major research topics.


Timeline

Week 1 (2015-01-12): Wikipedia essentials

Course meetings
Monday, 12 January 2015   |   Wednesday, 14 January 2015   |   Friday, 16 January 2015
In class
  • Overview of the course
  • Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
  • Wikipedia is a community: a brief overview of its rules, expectations, and etiquette
  • Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)

Week 2 (2015-01-19): Editing basics

Course meetings
Monday, 19 January 2015   |   Wednesday, 21 January 2015   |   Friday, 23 January 2015
In class
  • Basics of editing
  • Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
  • Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
  • Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
  • Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
Assignment (due Week 3)
  • Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
  • Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.
  • To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the page.
Milestones
  • All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 3 (2015-01-26): Exploring the topic area

Course meetings
Monday, 26 January 2015   |   Wednesday, 28 January 2015   |   Friday, 30 January 2015
In class
  • Basics of editing
  • Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
  • Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community
  • Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
  • Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure
Assignment (due Week 4)
  • Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
    • A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
      • Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
      • Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
      • Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
      • Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that biased noted?
      • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
      • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
      • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?


  • Choose one article, identify ways in which you can improve and correct its language and grammar, and make the appropriate changes. (You do not need to alter the article's content.)

Week 4 (2015-02-02): Using sources and choosing articles

Course meetings
Monday, 2 February 2015   |   Wednesday, 4 February 2015   |   Friday, 6 February 2015
In class
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.
  • Identify an article that would benefit from illustration, create or find an appropriate photo, illustration, or audio/video, and add it to the article.
    • All media uploaded to Wikipedia must fall under a "free license," which means they can be used or shared by anyone. Examples of media you can use are photos that you take yourself, images and text in the public domain, and works created by someone else who has given permission for their work to be used by others. For more information about which types of media can be uploaded to Wikipedia, see Commons:Help desk.
    • To add a media file to an article, you must first upload it to Wikimedia Commons. For instructions on how to upload files to Commons, refer to Illustrating Wikipedia. This brochure will also provide you with detailed information about which files are acceptable to upload to Wikipedia and the value of contributing media to Wikipedia articles.
  • Your instructor has created a list of potential topics for your main project. Choose the one you will work on.
For next week
  • Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by next week.

Week 5 (2015-02-09): Finalizing topics and starting research

Course meetings
Monday, 9 February 2015   |   Wednesday, 11 February 2015   |   Friday, 13 February 2015
In class
  • Discuss the range of topics students will be working on and strategies for researching and writing about them.
Assignment (due Week 6)
  • Mark your article's talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. Add this code in the top section of the talk page:
{{course assignment | course = User:James Council/PSYC 480 History and Systems of Psychology | term = Spring 2015 }}
  • Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

Week 6 (2015-02-16): Drafting starter articles

Course meetings
Wednesday, 18 February 2015   |   Friday, 20 February 2015
In class
  • Talk about Wikipedia culture and etiquette, and (optionally) revisit the concept of sandboxes and how to use them.
  • Q&A session with instructor about interacting on Wikipedia and getting started with writing.
Assignment (due Week 7)
Milestones
  • All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 7 (2015-02-23): Moving articles to the main space

Course meetings
Monday, 23 February 2015   |   Wednesday, 25 February 2015   |   Friday, 27 February 2015
In class
Assignment (due Week 8)
  • Move sandbox articles into main space.
    • If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
    • If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow these instructions on how to move your work.


  • Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see detailed instructions) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education Foundation staff can provide support for this process.
  • Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 8 (2015-03-02): Building articles

Course meetings
Monday, 2 March 2015   |   Wednesday, 4 March 2015   |   Friday, 6 March 2015
In class
Assignment (due Week 9)
  • Select two classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

Week 9 (2015-03-09): Creating first draft

Course meetings
Monday, 9 March 2015   |   Wednesday, 11 March 2015   |   Friday, 13 March 2015
Assignment (due Week 10)
  • Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

NO CLASS WEEK OF 2015-03-16

Week 10 (2015-03-23): Getting and giving feedback

Course meetings
Monday, 23 March 2015   |   Wednesday, 25 March 2015   |   Friday, 27 March 2015
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.
Assignment (due Week 11)
  • Peer review two of your classmates’ articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages.
  • Copy-edit the two reviewed articles.
Milestones
  • Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 11 (2015-03-30): Responding to feedback

Course meetings
Monday, 30 March 2015   |   Wednesday, 1 April 2015
In class
  • Open discussion of the concepts of neutrality, media literacy, and the impact and limits of Wikipedia.
Assignment (due Week 12)
  • Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.
Milestones
  • Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 12 (2015-04-06): Continuing to improve articles

Course meetings
Wednesday, 8 April 2015   |   Friday, 10 April 2015
In class
  • Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.
Assignment (due Week 13)
  • Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
  • Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

Week 13 (2015-04-13): Continuing to improve articles

Course meetings
Monday, 13 April 2015   |   Wednesday, 15 April 2015   |   Friday, 17 April 2015
In class
  • Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.
Assignment (due Week 14)
  • Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
  • Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

Week 14 (2015-04-20): Finishing touches

Course meetings
Monday, 20 April 2015   |   Wednesday, 22 April 2015   |   Friday, 24 April 2015
Assignment (due Week 15)
  • Add final touches to your Wikipedia article. You can find a handy reference guide here.
  • Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
Milestones
  • Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 15 (2015-04-27): Due date

Course meetings
Monday, 27 April 2015   |   Wednesday, 29 April 2015   |   Friday, 1 May 2015
Milestones
  • Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.

Grading

  18%  
   Completion of Wikipedia training
  10%  
   Early Wikipedia exercises
  10%  
   Quality of bibliography and outline
  12%  
   Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates
  30%  
   Quality of your main Wikipedia contributions
  20%  
   Supplementary assignments
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:James_Council/PSYC_480_History_and_Systems_of_Psychology&oldid=719105169"