1 Public Intellectual Contribution: How Student-Professionals Add Content to Wikipedia Wayne Smith, Ph.D. Department of Management CSU Northridge CSUN Teaching and Learning Bytes Monday, March 14 th,

2 Motivation Context –MGT 360—”Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior” Required, upper-division survey course Large lecture-hall Persistent Challenge –Continuous Improvement in English composition, prose, and rhetorical skills (“writing across the curriculum”) Emergent Challenge –Leverage student passion for a “culture of participation” –Start with a “social network;” construct an “intellectual network” Parsimonious Approach –What is the most meaningful student learning outcome for the least amount of investment in resources, infrastructure, and learning curve? Further Reading –Martha Groom’s “Using Wikipedia to Re-envision the Term Paper” (2008)

3 From the Perspective of a Student, What is a Public Intellectual Contribution? More public Scope/ Visibility More private Rigor/Validity More relevant More rigorous Text messaging Twitter Personal Home page System-wide Undergraduate Research Competition Print-based Academic Journal Electronic-based Academic Journal Classroom Assignments Wikipedia Citizendium Brittanica Facebook Research Assistant Club Activity Flyer Published Book of Poems Resumé Workplace Assignments

4 Pedagogical Details Requirements –Optional (helps with intrinsic motivation) –Near the end of the semester –After other writing assignments with instructor feedback –Content originates from a vetted library book or e-book (range aligned with course content) and a concomitant book report –The new content on the Wikipedia page must include a citation to the book following the existing citation standards on the page –No less than 5 words, no more than 50 words –English for first year; now any language –Submit a printout of the WikiPedia page for credit Artifacts (CSUN) – – – ancillary.pdfhttp://ocw.smithw.org/2009spring/mgt /assign-pic- ancillary.pdf Some Student Projects (other-than-CSUN) –