Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Missouri SandT/History of Science A (Spring 2020)

Throughout this semester, we will focus on the search for knowledge about the natural world, from antiquity to today. In order to successfully participate in this course, you must first forget everything you think you know about science, how it has developed, and what it means to you today. We will be moving beyond our preconceptions about “science” by looking at questions raised by those who sought to explain the structure of the heavens, the earth, and the body, as well as those who developed technologies to work within and try to control those structures.

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the history of science, from the ancient world to today. Because it covers such a long period of time—approximately 5000 years—it is necessarily a survey of the important ideas, people, institutions and developments throughout time. We will also analyze the close relationship between science and culture, discussing issues such as ethnicity, socio-economic status, and gender which pervade human society, and therefore science. This course is set up chronologically as well as thematically so that we can more fully understand the intricacies within these complex relationships.

By the end of the semester, you will have a broad knowledge of the timeline of what we call “Science”, and an in-depth knowledge of the agents that brought about changes within their contexts. You will be able to read and analyze primary and secondary sources so to improve your interpretation of the historical data. Finally, you will hone your writing skills to be able to gather and analyze historical data in order to clearly prove your hypothesis through critical thinking and evaluation.

Week 4
Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 6
Art History

Biographies

Books

Chemistry

Cultural Anthropology

Ecology

Environmental Sciences

Genes and Proteins

History

LGBT+ Studies

Medicine

Political Science

Psychology

Science Communication

Sociology

Species

Women's Studies

Week 8
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 9
Guiding framework

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Week 10
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 11
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 12
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 13
Peer review the same article you had reviewed earlier in the semester. Leave your comments on the article's talk page this time.

Week 14
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 15
It's the final week to develop your article.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
 * Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.