assignments into the classroom and the iterative nature of collaboration between a librarian and professor working on Wikipedia assignments across three years and two different classes. We also talk about how we worked to connect course content to the assignment and brought broader discussions of representation on Wikipedia into the classroom and assignment. Finally, we talk about some of the lessons we have learned through this collaboration. In sum, scaffolded projects allowed students to practice their contributions to Wikipedia in a supportive space and made them engage critically with course content. In their reflections, students stated that contributing felt more meaningful and elicited feelings of pride that traditional, disposable assessments did not. They saw scholarship creation as part of an ongoing conversation rather than an “end product.” By engaging in peer-review assignments, participating in edit-a-thons, and discussing the assignment with librarians who were not their professors, students also saw their work as part of a broader academic conversation. Through Wikipedia assignments, students can appreciate their own privilege in terms of access to costly resources and become proactive in sharing that knowledge and their own growing expertise with a broader public.
Tapping into Existing Infrastructures
Incorporating Wikipedia assignments in the classroom is made substantially easier when there are existing support structures for this work (Bridges & Dowell, 2020; Cassell, 2018; Davis, 2018). For instance, although we had previously worked together to incorporate scaffolded information literacy learning opportunities into courses, the Library’s Art+Feminism edit-a-thon served as the jumping off point for our Wikipedia collaboration. This was then further supported by Wiki Education’s training modules and course dashboard system.
Wikipedia edit-a-thons are planned, public programming events organized by galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs) where attendees contribute edits to articles around a special theme, collection, or exhibition (Snyder, 2018). GLAMs view these communal events as “being a great outreach and engagement initiative” as they
