Handling Student Intimidation

Threefold Issues

Before describing the trajectory of the assignment, we want to acknowledge that students often find this assignment incredibly intimidating at the outset and yet equally worthwhile in the end. It is absolutely essential to address this intimidation from the outset and communicate clearly and thoroughly with students about the tasks involved. The intimidations are threefold:

  1. The answers and tasks are inevitably ambiguous: There is never a single or right answer, even if there are clear problems and potential solutions that must be thoughtfully but also creatively undertaken as best as one can. The instructor's pedagogical focus and assessment criteria must embrace this ambiguity from start to finish.
  2. The community is always potentially there (but most often isn't): Students can be really intimidated by the community, occasionally putting off engaging or editing for fear of making mistakes and getting feedback from others (which many students will inevitably read as pushback no matter how nice it is). Instructors must reassure students that interactions are overwhelmingly positive, coach students on how to approach the community appropriately and diplomatically, and be ready to assist students in the event of interaction. The tools for effective communication on Wikipedia are built into the assignment, so such interactions are not obstacles but learning situations. In our experience, students who have the best experience are those who have interaction as opposed to those who don't receive any during the assignment. We have more advice on this in the section on interfacing with the community.
  3. The writing is public, immediate, and visible: Everything students post on Wikipedia is there, more or less permanently, immediately, and publicly. This raises the stakes but also increases the value of their contributions. While this applies to all Wikipedia assignments, the transformative nature of this assignment built around stalled articles raises the degree of intimidation for some students.

In all three cases, remember (and emphasize to students): Wikipedia wants and needs bold edits! The point here is to learn to respectfully yet helpfully enter a live writing space.