Using Wikipedia to teach scholarly peer review

Abstract

This paper outlines a creative Wikipedia-based project developed by the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries and the KU Biology Department. Inspired by the tenets of open pedagogy, the purpose of this project is to use Wikipedia as a way for students to learn about the scholarly peer review process while also producing material that can be shared and used by the world outside the classroom. The paper is divided into three sections, with the first summarizing pertinent related literature related to the paper’s topic. From here, the paper describes the proposed assignment, detailing a process wherein students write new articles for the encyclopedia which are then anonymously peer reviewed by other students in the class; when articles are deemed acceptable, they are published via Wikipedia. The parallels between this project and academic peer review are emphasized throughout. The paper closes by discussing the importance of this project, arguing that it fills a known scholarly need, actively produces knowledge, furthers the aims of the open access movement, and furthers scientific outreach initiatives.

Civic Engagement Meets Service Learning: Improving Wikipedia’s Coverage of State Government Officials

“…The benefits of Wikipedia as a target for this assignment go well beyond its ease of editing, however. Thomas, Jones, and Mattingly (2021) provide a robust review of the literature on the pedagogical value of Wikipedia editing assignments, highlighting how they boost students’ writing, information literacy, creativity, and critical-thinking skills (see also Wilfahrt and Michelitch 2022 in this symposium). Moreover, embedding Wikipedia contributions into a course aligns with open pedagogy, an approach that builds on open educational resources (OER) by moving students into active-participant and creator roles for open-access information (Fields and Harper 2020).…”

“…Finally, Wikipedia editing assignments also align with what Van Allen and Katz (2019) called “renewable assignments,” or those that contribute something meaningful and tangible to the public beyond the context of a single course or semester. These assignments are powerful because students understand that their work “matters not only to them, but to the world at large” (Thomas, Jones, and Mattingly 2021, 181)—thereby boosting student motivation. Abundant research links real-world assignments to higher student interest, performance, and long-term learning (Bain 2021; Blum 2016).…”