Wikipedia as editorial microcosm

It is important to remember that the Wikipedia community is not the same as the classroom, and that instructor authority does not apply in the same way there. Instructors don't get to decide what is best, and invoking instructor authority, either as the instructor or by students, is both inappropriate and misses the point of the assignment.

Make it clear to students that the primary goal of the assignment is to learn and engage with the whole writing situation and that grading criteria is built around this goal. Students should not use their status as a student to push their edits. For instance, in at least one instance, we have had a student invoke the deadline in an attempt to circumvent discussion and push their edits through. This is worse than not getting to implement the edits; it shows a lack of understanding or respect for the pace of Wikipedia editing and the volunteer efforts of its contributors. In this case, we had to intervene in support of the community.

At times, other editors will approach the instructor or the students specifically in response to the fact that they are conducting an assignment on Wikipedia. There is no need to hide that an assignment is being conducted; rather, be honest about the assignment while emphasizing the holistic nature of the assignment and respecting the limits to time and energy of other contributors. We also think that this webtext will provide a useful off-Wikipedia clarification of the assignment that Wikipedians can be pointed to if they have questions about our approach.

We have had a number of great conversations with editors on our user talk pages and elsewhere, and will often reach out to thank editors who had supportive interaction with my students. If the instructor runs this assignment multiple times, they will likely see the same editors again and might even build relationships with them. Our hope is that such projects geared intensely towards the community and aiming to work with the established editing flow will help further existing efforts to integrate class assignments into Wikipedia culture.

For examples of good communication, refer to the Good Communication teaching document.