Wikipedia:WikiProject AP Biology 2010



Past Projects: WikiProject AP Biology 2009 and WikiProject AP Biology 2008

Join us at WikiProject AP Biology 2011 .

A high school class in North Carolina - Croatan High School in Newport, North Carolina - will contribute to Wikipedia until May 20, 2011. The collective goal is to write biology related articles and bring them up to featured article status (or, good article status). This is done as part of an Advanced Placement Biology course. The lead editor is Jimmy Butler. This project is a followup performance of our 2008 and 2009 efforts. The 2008 Wikipedia AP Biology Project was marked with much success. Our efforts in 2009 Wikipedia AP Biology Project, were less broad in scope; yet, none-the-less generated two FA articles; strangely, both on turtles! The 2010 season should pose an even greater challenge, with only 8 potential contributors; they all must step up and be counted. As always, we are prepared to adapt:
 * The entire class will adopt one or perhaps two articles as opposed to each student flying solo.
 * The time frame will continue to be one semester; however, I plan to insert more deadlines that are linked to grades to reduce procrastination.
 * The final grade will be based on their portfolio, containing the student's contributions - content research, interaction with the Wikipedia community, content contribution via direct edits, formatting, images, as well as the dreaded citation formatting. This portfolio will be reviewed in a conference setting, giving the student the opportunity to justify the grade they desire.
 * There will be no connection between the student's grade and FA or GA status. I will be evaluating contributions, not outcome. This marks a dramatic change and hopefully reflects a more equitable form of evaluation. FA status will hopefully be an outcome of our efforts; however, it will not define student success.

Feel free to discuss this project. Please notify me of any concerns, especially if they involve the behavior of my students on Wikipedia. With a little patience, this should be an inspirational experience for all.

Goals / Motivation

 * To improve Wikipedia's coverage of selected articles in Biology.
 * To submit these articles to Wikipedia review processes, such as peer review, good article nominations and featured article candidates.
 * To increase the number of featured articles in this area.
 * To introduce students to the concepts of "reliable sources" and how to properly cite them.
 * To develop the social skills necessary to navigate through the world of academia while attempting to build consensus.
 * To improve upon writing skills - emphasizing the need for efficiency, clarity and accuracy.
 * To develop some basic computer skills and confidence with technology (despite popular opinion - many students are computer illiterate).
 * To master the "comma", and "semicolon"; as well as those, other annoying; little grammatical - tools (that) I too: struggle with.
 * And as an added bonus, to become an expert on a biological topic. Yes, I am now one of the world's leading authorities on the "Bog Turtle"!!!!

The dreaded “Research Paper” is a standard hurdle for most AP programs. Rightfully so, since many college courses require such publications to validate your existence. As a consequence, I have graded literally hundreds of papers with the same enthusiasm as my students proclaimed during their creation. In the end, they were rewarded for their effort or destroyed for their incompetency; some even caught by the highly feared Turnitin.com anti-plagiarism software. The papers themselves merely contributed to our bloated landfills. Hence, my excitement over this new approach to constructing a scientific document. Rather than researching for a paper that is destined to the circular bin, let us contribute to the world-wide data base for others to benefit.

Phase II: Evolution Theme
This is a second semester follow-up to the 2010-2011 Project. As always, I am seeking ways to improve the experience by implementing new strategies. In this case, the student's goal is to improve evolution related articles by making a series of minor contributions. In the process they will become more acquainted with the subject of evolution as they review the literature and web resources.

The emphasis on less dramatic edits on numerous articles as opposed to focusing on a single article is a shift from past strategies. If this is successful, there may be merit in switching the order on the 2011-2012 Project. We could begin with accumulated small edits on a shared theme during semester I and then push for success on a single article within that theme in semester II - just thinking ahead.

The bulleted list below outlines the methods of accumulating points. It too is a marked change in protocol. The new strategy should reduce procrastination and minimize the impact of a single grade on the student's overall average. There is flexibility on point assessment. Ultimately, points awarded is based on my judgment. If I deem the content insignificant, the prose changes inappropriate, the references not to standard or the images unworthy of the article then points may be denied. Monday morning, at the start of class, will mark the beginning of a new grading cycle - the expectations are a maximum of 10 pts. per week. Points do not carry over. I am open for expanding the table to include additional avenues of contribution.


 * Improving Prose 3 pts. / section


 * Grammar and Spelling Corrections 2 pts. / sentence or word corrections


 * Adding Images 5 pts. from Wikicommons / 10 pt.  if original upload


 * Formatting Up to 5 pts. dependent upon degree of reorganization


 * Referencing 3 pts. / references (most  conform to format)


 * Content Improvement Negotiable


 * Create an Audio File Negotiable

Selected Topics

 * Mauritian Tomb Bat
 * Little Tunny

Featured Articles



 * Featured Article Candidates

Good articles

 * Good article nominations:

Templates
Please place this template in the discussion page of any article that is being worked on as part of this project. It will help the community identify the work carried out by AP Biology 2010. Simply copy and paste into the article's talk page somewhere near the top:

Place this template on the talk page of articles that are granted the FA star:

Planning and resources
Some information on planning and resources for the AP Biology 2010 Project.

Stages

 * Start. Get familiar with Wikipedia. Make some trial edits, however minor.  Demystify the process.  Leave behind any sense of intimidation.  As Wikipedia puts it, learn to be bold.  Learn basic editing skllls.


 * Plan. But minor edits alone won't get us much closer towards Featured Article status.  We need to have a sense of what more needs to be done, and an overall plan for the article.  Look at models and guidelines (e.g. guidelines for articles about novels) on how to write good and feature articles.  What sections are required?  What will be the article structure?  What information is needed?


 * Share. We will need to divide up the tasks that we've identified in the planning stage.  Who is going to do what and when?


 * Research. This is vital.  A Wikipedia article is worth nothing unless it comprises verified research, appropriately referenced.  This will entail going to the library, as well as surfing the internet!


 * Assemble and copy-edit. As the referenced research is added to an article, we need to ensure that it does not become baggy and disorganized, though there will be moments when it is obviously in a transitional stage.


 * Informal Review. First, informal reviews among ourselves and consultation with members of the FA-Team.


 * Good article nomination. There is always a backlog of articles to be reviewed, so nominate early.


 * Further Informal Review.


 * Peer Review.


 * Feature article nomination.

There's no precise order for everything. (Wikipedia doesn't care if you skip everything and go straight for a FA nomination: as long as the article satisfies the criteria.) There's always the need for small, incremental change. But over the course of the project we're looking for radical change, in some cases seeking to create a featured article from scratch. So we need also to be methodical.

And it may turn out that not all articles will be submitted to Featured Article Review. But this should still be our goal!


 * see also article development.

Whenever you edit, make sure that you are signed in. Also, add four tildes ~ to the end of all comments you make on talk pages. This will let people know who is talking. Please state your contributions in brief, in the edit summary!
 * Talk pages

Style guides
To get past the stumbling blocks of GA and FA, articles will have to conform to the Wikipedia style guides. The three largest barriers are:
 * Layout – this guide describes heading and sub-headings.
 * Lead section – the all important abstract at the head of an article.
 * Manual of Style – the collection of rules.

Secondary style guide are specific to different projects. Articles must conform to these also. Conflict between any of these is inevitable and troublesome; editors simply have to work out conflicts through consensus.
 * Manual of Style (medical articles) - collection of rules for medical articles.

You can always ask for help at:
 * The Help Desk

Resources

 * Getting started
 * The perfect article
 * Assessment
 * Article development
 * Peer Review
 * Good article criteria
 * Guide for nominating good articles
 * Good article review cheatsheet
 * Good article nominations
 * Featured article criteria
 * The differences between good and featured articles
 * How to satisfy Criterion 1a
 * Biology stubs (a list of articles that might be worth working on)
 * Biology featured articles



Mentors

 * Allow me to express my deepest appreciation to those willing to offer the students assistance on this AP Biology project. It is my intent for the students to be responsible for the lion's share of the content as well as the necessary citations. Formatting, writing style, general organization, and grammar are areas where guidance would be greatly appreciated. It's a fine line between assistance and enablement! I personally like the idea of creating a list of concerns and allowing the students to address the problems. I'm confident a balance can be achieved that assures this is a learning process for the students and they will feel a sense of accomplishment when the project ends.
 * I trust that the students will conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. They understand their actions reflect on the class and school and they are being held accountable. Should any concerns arise, please contact me through the email option. I am very excited about the prospect of my students working with the brilliant and dedicated members of the Wikipedia community. This is an incredible learning opportunity for which I am most grateful. Please note, some of them are rather nervous and have considerable self-doubt. In time, they will overcome ... just a little patience!


 * There will be no formal "pairing" of students with mentors; it seemed to have a natural flow during the 2008 Project, dependent on the topic and personalities of the authors. Feel free to introduce yourself and offer assistance on their user pages or the article talk pages as the topic list develops and they begin to edit.

Articles from prior AP Biology Projects
These articles were adopted by the AP biology class 2008-2010 as either stubs or poorly written start class articles and were elevated to the status listed below.

Featured Articles

 * Banker Horse
 * Bog turtle -Main page "Today's featured article/August 30, 2010"
 * Loggerhead sea turtle
 * Macaroni Penguin
 * Osteochondritis dissecans- Main page "Today's featured article/August 18, 2010"
 * Phagocyte- Main page "Today's featured article/August 6, 2009"

Good articles

 * Atlantic blue marlin
 * Endomembrane system
 * North American River Otter
 * Osteitis fibrosa cystica
 * Pudú
 * Solar urticaria