Abstract
Wikipedia has become one of the most used reference works, by students, educators, academics, and the general public, and there is a growing body of research exploring when and how students use the online encyclopedia. A smaller body of work examines the role of Wikipedia as a pedagogical tool for teaching information literacy and subject-matter expertise. Yet, despite the ubiquitous nature of the resource on campus, there remains a well-documented gender gap in contributions to the site. We build on previous scholarship to explore how the use of Wikipedia as a pedagogical tool can improve female self-efficacy and bridge the gender gap prevalent in contributions to open access resources. A survey of two undergraduate political science courses suggests an assignment in which students create original content for Wikipedia increases confidence in using the platform and information-seeking behavior among both female and male students, although the advantages continue to be greater for men. Furthermore, while female students are more confident in creating content after the Wikipedia assignment, once accounting for confidence there appears to be no significant difference between male and female contributions to Wikipedia. Because the assignment does lead to slight increases in confidence for women, however, it could be considered a promising first step in increasing female contributions to the site and the confidence of female students in evaluating information, more generally. We also include assignment details and recommendations for implementation.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.