Students: Please do not edit this page. If you're reading this, you're probably looking for your course page. If you have not yet enrolled in the class on Wikipedia, please search the
list of courses and locate the name of your class. Once you've found it, just click "Enroll" at the top of the page. If you have already enrolled, you can find your course page by clicking the
Courses link in the top-right corner of every page on Wikipedia (you must be logged in). If you are having technical difficulties, please contact your instructor.
Instructors: Changes you make to the assignment here will be reflected on your course page automatically, but you will need to visit the course page for class administration purposes or to make changes beyond the displayed text.
Note: as of 3/3/15, this project is discontinued for the course. Students may continue to revise articles, but it is no longer a graded or required component of the course.
The course "History and Systems of Psychology" is a study of the emergence of psychology as a science. It emphasizes both continuity and change as psychology has evolved, and provides an overview of the development of schools of thought, prominent figures, and key theories of psychology.
The Wikipedia Assignment portion of this class asks students to critique and improve an instructor-approved article
stub of their choice.
Timeline
Week 1 (2015-01-12): Wikipedia essentials, Editing basics
Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 January 2015 | Thursday, 15 January 2015
In class
Overview of the course
Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
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. (due by start of class Thurs. 1/22)
Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page. Enrollment token is Hornets. (due by start of class Tues. 1/20)
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. (due by start of class Thurs. 1/22)
Milestones
All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
Week 2 (2015-01-19): Exploring the topic area
Course meetings
Tuesday, 20 January 2015 | Thursday, 22 January 2015
In class
Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
Read through
this brochure on evaluating Wikipedia articles, especially pages 4-7. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
Find any article at all, but preferably something you're interested in and know a good amount about, and post some suggested edits to its Talk page. (due by start of class 1/27)
A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear biased to one side or an other?
Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
What's missing that could be added?
Check a few citations. Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
Week 3 (2015-01-26): Using sources and choosing articles
Course meetings
Tuesday, 27 January 2015 | Thursday, 29 January 2015
Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
Assignment (due Week 4)
Research and list 3–5 article stubs on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback. Use
the list here to find your stubs. (due by start of class 2/3)
For next week
Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by 2/5.
Week 4 (2015-02-02): Using sources and beginning to edit
Course meetings
Tuesday, 3 February 2015 | Thursday, 5 February 2015
Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page. (due by start of class 2/10)
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:ScottPKingPhD/History & Systems of Psychology | term = Spring 2015 }}
(due by start of class 2/10)
Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to your article. (due by start of class 2/12) (note: this changed in announcement sent after class 2/12. As long as you add a bibliography and outline to article talk page by 2/19, you can earn these points)
Milestones
All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.
Week 5 (2015-02-09): Moving articles to the main space, more research
Course meetings
Tuesday, 10 February 2015 | Thursday, 12 February 2015
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.
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. Include a brief outline of what you want to add to the article. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography. (due by start of class 2/19)
Your bibliography should contain at least two scholarly secondary sources (see
WP:Scholarship for an explanation of what makes a source secondary and why Wikipedia prefers them over primary sources). When you post on the talk page of your article, feel free to introduce yourself and say what you're doing before listing the sources ("I'm editing this article as part of my History & Systems of Psychology course at Shenandoah University, in conjunction with the APS Wikipedia Initiative..."). Be sure to sign your post with four tildes, which shows your username to other users.
Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 6 (2015-02-16): Building articles, Getting and giving feedback
Course meetings
Tuesday, 17 February 2015 | Thursday, 19 February 2015
In class
Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
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.
Week 7 (2015-02-23): Continuing to improve articles
Course meetings
Tuesday, 24 February 2015 | Thursday, 26 February 2015
In class
Discussion of any new issues
Assignment (due Week 8)
Continue research in preparation for expanding your article. You should add at least 250 words of new text (correctly written, cited, and formatted) to your target article.
Finish first round of revisions to your target article; move into main space if in sandbox (by start of class 3/3)
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.
Prepare for an in-class presentation on 3/17 about your Wikipedia editing experience.
Milestones
Every student has finished improving their assigned articles
Week 8 (2015-03-02): Topic presentations
Course meetings
Tuesday, 3 March 2015 | Thursday, 5 March 2015
In class
Select one classmate's articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)
Assignment (due Week 9, work on over Spring Break)
Peer review one of your classmate's articles. Leave suggestions on classmate's talk pages based on the "Elements of quality articles" and "Signs of bad quality" sections of this brochure:
Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure. If one element doesn't apply to their article (such as if they didn't work on the Lead section of the article), then you don't need to evaluate that part.
Copy-edit the reviewed articles. Make your edits directly to your classmate's article.
NO CLASS WEEK OF 2015-03-09
Week 9 (2015-03-16): Final touches
Course meetings
Tuesday, 17 March 2015 | Thursday, 19 March 2015
On 3/17, students give in-class 5-minute-max informal presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.
Presentations should include discussion of topic and the evolution of your article.
Peer reviews are due by 3/19.
due 3/24
Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback. You can find a handy reference guide
here.
Milestones
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.
Summary of Grading and Due Dates
(3 pts)
By 1/22, Creating an account, completing Wikipedia training, and leaving note on classmate's talk page
(1 pt)
By 1/27, posting suggestions to talk page of any article
(1 pt)
By 2/3 , posting 3-5 possible target stub articles for your project on your user page
(1 pt)
By 2/10, choosing your target article and marking its talk page with the appropriate banner
(2 pts)
By 2/12, adding 1-2 sentences of text, backed up with appropriate citation & reference, to your chosen psychology target article
(3 pts if met 2/12 deadline and 5 pts if not)
By 2/19, posting a bibliography and outline to the talk page of your target article
(18 pts)
By 3/3, finishing your 1st round of revisions (at least 250 words of new text) to your target article
(4 pts)
On 3/17, informally present your work on your article to the class
(4 pts)
By 3/19, peer-review and copy-edit two of your classmates' articles
(3 pts)
By 3/24, revise or respond to classmates' edits to your article
Students: Please do not edit this page. If you're reading this, you're probably looking for your course page. If you have not yet enrolled in the class on Wikipedia, please search the
list of courses and locate the name of your class. Once you've found it, just click "Enroll" at the top of the page. If you have already enrolled, you can find your course page by clicking the
Courses link in the top-right corner of every page on Wikipedia (you must be logged in). If you are having technical difficulties, please contact your instructor.
Instructors: Changes you make to the assignment here will be reflected on your course page automatically, but you will need to visit the course page for class administration purposes or to make changes beyond the displayed text.
Note: as of 3/3/15, this project is discontinued for the course. Students may continue to revise articles, but it is no longer a graded or required component of the course.
The course "History and Systems of Psychology" is a study of the emergence of psychology as a science. It emphasizes both continuity and change as psychology has evolved, and provides an overview of the development of schools of thought, prominent figures, and key theories of psychology.
The Wikipedia Assignment portion of this class asks students to critique and improve an instructor-approved article
stub of their choice.
Timeline
Week 1 (2015-01-12): Wikipedia essentials, Editing basics
Course meetings
Tuesday, 13 January 2015 | Thursday, 15 January 2015
In class
Overview of the course
Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
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. (due by start of class Thurs. 1/22)
Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page. Enrollment token is Hornets. (due by start of class Tues. 1/20)
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. (due by start of class Thurs. 1/22)
Milestones
All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
Week 2 (2015-01-19): Exploring the topic area
Course meetings
Tuesday, 20 January 2015 | Thursday, 22 January 2015
In class
Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
Read through
this brochure on evaluating Wikipedia articles, especially pages 4-7. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.
Find any article at all, but preferably something you're interested in and know a good amount about, and post some suggested edits to its Talk page. (due by start of class 1/27)
A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear biased to one side or an other?
Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
What's missing that could be added?
Check a few citations. Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
Week 3 (2015-01-26): Using sources and choosing articles
Course meetings
Tuesday, 27 January 2015 | Thursday, 29 January 2015
Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.
Assignment (due Week 4)
Research and list 3–5 article stubs on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback. Use
the list here to find your stubs. (due by start of class 2/3)
For next week
Instructor evaluates student's article selections, by 2/5.
Week 4 (2015-02-02): Using sources and beginning to edit
Course meetings
Tuesday, 3 February 2015 | Thursday, 5 February 2015
Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page. (due by start of class 2/10)
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:ScottPKingPhD/History & Systems of Psychology | term = Spring 2015 }}
(due by start of class 2/10)
Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to your article. (due by start of class 2/12) (note: this changed in announcement sent after class 2/12. As long as you add a bibliography and outline to article talk page by 2/19, you can earn these points)
Milestones
All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.
Week 5 (2015-02-09): Moving articles to the main space, more research
Course meetings
Tuesday, 10 February 2015 | Thursday, 12 February 2015
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.
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. Include a brief outline of what you want to add to the article. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography. (due by start of class 2/19)
Your bibliography should contain at least two scholarly secondary sources (see
WP:Scholarship for an explanation of what makes a source secondary and why Wikipedia prefers them over primary sources). When you post on the talk page of your article, feel free to introduce yourself and say what you're doing before listing the sources ("I'm editing this article as part of my History & Systems of Psychology course at Shenandoah University, in conjunction with the APS Wikipedia Initiative..."). Be sure to sign your post with four tildes, which shows your username to other users.
Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.
Week 6 (2015-02-16): Building articles, Getting and giving feedback
Course meetings
Tuesday, 17 February 2015 | Thursday, 19 February 2015
In class
Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
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.
Week 7 (2015-02-23): Continuing to improve articles
Course meetings
Tuesday, 24 February 2015 | Thursday, 26 February 2015
In class
Discussion of any new issues
Assignment (due Week 8)
Continue research in preparation for expanding your article. You should add at least 250 words of new text (correctly written, cited, and formatted) to your target article.
Finish first round of revisions to your target article; move into main space if in sandbox (by start of class 3/3)
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.
Prepare for an in-class presentation on 3/17 about your Wikipedia editing experience.
Milestones
Every student has finished improving their assigned articles
Week 8 (2015-03-02): Topic presentations
Course meetings
Tuesday, 3 March 2015 | Thursday, 5 March 2015
In class
Select one classmate's articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)
Assignment (due Week 9, work on over Spring Break)
Peer review one of your classmate's articles. Leave suggestions on classmate's talk pages based on the "Elements of quality articles" and "Signs of bad quality" sections of this brochure:
Evaluating Wikipedia article quality brochure. If one element doesn't apply to their article (such as if they didn't work on the Lead section of the article), then you don't need to evaluate that part.
Copy-edit the reviewed articles. Make your edits directly to your classmate's article.
NO CLASS WEEK OF 2015-03-09
Week 9 (2015-03-16): Final touches
Course meetings
Tuesday, 17 March 2015 | Thursday, 19 March 2015
On 3/17, students give in-class 5-minute-max informal presentations about their experiences editing Wikipedia.
Presentations should include discussion of topic and the evolution of your article.
Peer reviews are due by 3/19.
due 3/24
Make edits to your article based on peers' feedback. You can find a handy reference guide
here.
Milestones
Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.
Summary of Grading and Due Dates
(3 pts)
By 1/22, Creating an account, completing Wikipedia training, and leaving note on classmate's talk page
(1 pt)
By 1/27, posting suggestions to talk page of any article
(1 pt)
By 2/3 , posting 3-5 possible target stub articles for your project on your user page
(1 pt)
By 2/10, choosing your target article and marking its talk page with the appropriate banner
(2 pts)
By 2/12, adding 1-2 sentences of text, backed up with appropriate citation & reference, to your chosen psychology target article
(3 pts if met 2/12 deadline and 5 pts if not)
By 2/19, posting a bibliography and outline to the talk page of your target article
(18 pts)
By 3/3, finishing your 1st round of revisions (at least 250 words of new text) to your target article
(4 pts)
On 3/17, informally present your work on your article to the class
(4 pts)
By 3/19, peer-review and copy-edit two of your classmates' articles
(3 pts)
By 3/24, revise or respond to classmates' edits to your article