Grants:PEG/Hesse1984/Women's Studies Initiative: Gender-gap training for faculty and students at St. Catherine University

statusWithdrawn
Women's Studies Initiative: Gender-gap training for faculty and students at St. Catherine University
This project, based at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, aims to address the gender gap by training affiliated faculty in Women's Studies to edit Wikipedia. The objective is to empower faculty to bring that knowledge into their courses and classrooms to encourage their students to edit.
targetEnglish Wikipedia
strategic priorityIncrease participation
start dateOctober 28
start year2016
end dateMarch 11
end year2017
budget (USD)3200
grant typeIndividual
non-profit statusNo
creatorHesse1984
contact(s)• akhamlin@stkate.edu
created on01:34, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Goal edit

This Women's Studies Initiative will provide gender-gap training for a self-selected cohort of faculty affiliated with the Women's Studies Program at St. Catherine University, which boasts the largest college for women in the United States. The Initiative's goal is to increase participation by educating new editors, with expertise in Women's Studies-related fields, and to empower them to recruit and educate new editors in their students.

Plan edit

Activities edit

The project will unfold in four stages.

1. “Editing Wikipedia” Workshop - Friday, October 28, 2016 10am-2pm (lunch included) Each Women’s Studies faculty member (currently there are nineteen core WOST faculty, myself included) will receive a personal invitation in late August to apply to participate in the October Workshop. The application will consist of a brief statement of interest, a Wikipedia article they would like to edit, and a willingness to commit to attending the October workshop, one of the November editing sessions, and the Spring edit-a-thon. Participating faculty will also receive a $100 stipend to participate. I will aim for a cohort of twelve faculty members, who will take part in the initial workshop co-led by a local Wikipedia Ambassador and myself. This workshop will include an introduction to editing Wikipedia and a brief history of Wikipedia and its gender gap. Participants will be asked in advance to identify a Wikipedia article they would like to edit with respect to their scholarly expertise in Women’s Studies. They will also be asked to bring to the workshop three-five scholarly sources on that article. For example, a Biology professor might choose to edit the article on the Female reproductive system by integrating new scholarship into the History section of the article, which is currently quite thinly drawn. The workshop will take place in the St. Paul campus Library computer lab (Room 110).

2. 2-hour Editing Sessions - November 2016 (dates tbd) These editing sessions are designed to give participating faculty an opportunity to check in with a Wikipedia Ambassador and me on how their editing is progressing. Three 2-hour sessions will be offered, with the expectation that each participant attend at least one. Sessions will take place in the St. Paul campus Library computer lab (Room 110).

3. 2-hour Mini-Training sessions for students - February 2017 (dates tbd) These mini-training sessions are designed to provide the students of participating faculty an introduction to editing Wikipedia, its history, and the gender gap. Three 2-hour sessions will be offered at different times in the month. Sessions will take place in the St. Paul campus Library computer lab (Room 110).

4. 1st Annual Women’s Studies Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at St. Catherine University - March 2017, 11am-3pm (date tbd) This project will culminate in the 1st Annual Women’s Studies Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at St. Kate’s. All members of the St. Kate’s community will be invited to participate. Faculty participants in the project will be required to attend and encouraged to invite their students to take part. Three-four Wikipedia Ambassadors will be on hand to facilitate two consecutive training sessions for participants new to editing Wikipedia. The objective of this event is twofold. First, it will cement the faculty community of Wikipedia editors at St. Kate’s while providing visibility for the initiative and an incentive for more members of the St. Kate’s community to become regular Wikipedia editors. The edit-a-thon will take place in the Coeur de Catherine (Rauenhorst Ballroom). N.b. I have extensive experience organizing small- and large-scale Wikipedia edit-a-thons. Most recently, I was the co-chair of the multi-institution committee that organized the 3rd Annual Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in the Twin Cities at the Minneapolis Central Library on March 5, 2016.

Impact edit

Target readership edit

With this project, I hope to draw attention to the Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon initiative, which I have been involved with since its inception in 2014. I presume that the English Language Wikipedia will primarily be impacted by this project, though some faculty may select to edit in non-English versions.

Fit with strategy edit

This project is strongest in the Strategic Priority to increase participation. Faculty have the capacity to set off a chain reaction in Wikipedia editing; if students are introduced to editing through an assignment, whether formal or informal, the likelihood that they will become editors increases along with the possibility that they will, in turn, encourage their friends and family members to edit. In this way, the project also addresses the Strategic Priority to increase reach.

Measures of success edit

Surveys will be administered in each of the four stages of this project. They will be designed to solicit quantitative and qualitative data to measure and evaluate the project's success.

1. Draft Survey for the "Editing Wikipedia" Workshop - October 2016

  • Prior to this workshop, how often did you edit Wikipedia?
  • Prior to this workshop, how much did you know about the gender gap?
  • After today's workshop, how keen are you to continue editing?
  • After today's workshop, what articles are you now eager to evaluate, edit, and/or create?
  • Briefly describe the edits you made to a Wikipedia article today.

2. Draft Survey for the 2-hour Editing Sessions - November 2016

  • Approximately how many edits have you made to Wikipedia since last month's workshop?
  • Of these edits, how many were to articles related to Women's Studies?
  • How likely are you to integrate Wikipedia into one (or more) of your spring-semester courses?
  • How likely are you to encourage your students to edit Wikipedia?
  • Briefly describe how your attitudes about Wikipedia have changed since last month's workshop.

3. 2-hour Mini-training Sessions - February 2017

  • Prior to this session, how often did you edit Wikipedia?
  • Prior to this session, how much did you know about the gender gap?
  • After today's session, how keen are you to continue editing?
  • After today's session, what articles are you now eager to evaluate, edit, and/or create?
  • Briefly describe the edits you made to a Wikipedia article today.

4. 1st-Annual Women's Studies Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at St. Catherine University - March 2017

  • Prior to this edit-a-thon, how often did you edit Wikipedia?
  • Prior to this edit-a-thon, how much did you know about the gender gap?
  • After today's edit-a-thon, how keen are you to continue editing?
  • After today's edit-a-thon, what articles are you now eager to evaluate, edit, and/or create?
  • Briefly describe the edits you made to a Wikipedia article today.

Resources and risks edit

Resources edit

I have cultivated resources for this project through collaboration with Wikipedia Ambassador Gobonobo (talk · contribs) and in the realization of similar, albeit smaller scale, projects in the past. I have successfully integrated the edit-a-thon model into my seminar on Women in Art (ARTH/WOST3630) by developing a research-based assignment (in lieu of the traditional research paper) that culminates in an edit-a-thon in the final weeks of the semester. Students conduct research well in advance on a notable woman artist, who may or may not already have a Wikipedia article. They are required to compile an extensive annotated bibliography from which they will craft their edits to the Wikipedia article on their chosen artist. In the weeks before the edit-a-thon, I invite a local Wikipedia Ambassador to provide a training session for students; the Ambassador is also on hand at the edit-a-thon itself to answer questions and provide support as needed. Students have been both responsive to and empowered by this assignment. The satisfaction of seeing their scholarly contributions in such a public forum helps build their confidence through enhanced media literacy, research and writing skills. I have published this assignment, and my reflections on it, in a blog post titled "Art History, Feminism, and Wikipedia" for Art History Teaching Resources Weekly.

Risks edit

The largest potential risk to this project is faculty participation. This is not to be confused with interest. Faculty confront significant demands on their time. While I have no doubt that my colleagues would be interested in this project, they may not have the time to devote to a daylong workshop in October. I intend to offset this potential risk by offering a modest $100 stipend, in exchange for their participation in the October workshop and commitment to attend one of the November sessions.

Budget edit

Please provide a detailed breakdown of project expenses according to the instructions here. See Budget Guidelines. Grantees are subject to line-item scrutiny of expenses. Changes to the approved budget beyond 10% in any category must be approved in advance.

Project budget table edit

Item Cost Justification
Faculty Stipend ($100 ea) $1,200 Stipends for faculty development both incentivize participation while also affirming the value of the project. Time is precious, especially for faculty, and so a stipend also honors the worth of that individual’s contribution to and participation in the project.
Consultant $850 The consultant for this project will be a local Wikipedia Ambassador (tbd). I know and have worked with several here in the Twin Cities, so I am confident that I will be able to recruit one to this project. In the past, I have offered Wikipedia Ambassadors $100 stipends (through my Department) to facilitate 1-2 hour editing sessions for my students. I propose offering a $250 stipend for the October Workshop given the length and substance of that event. In summary:

$250 for the October Workshop $300 for three November Editing Sessions ($100 per session) $300 for three February Mini-training sessions ($100 per session)

Supplies $350 This item includes funding for three items:

1. $50 - Office supplies (file folders and nametags) for the October Workshop and the Spring Edit-a-thon. 2. $150 – Reusable banner to identify the Women’s Studies Wikipedia Edit-a-thon 3. $150 – 1” buttons that feature a logo (tbd) to “brand” the edit-a-thon

Hospitality $800 Hospitality is needed to encourage bonhomie and collegiality at the October Workshop as well as participation and energy at the Spring Edit-a-thon.

This item therefore includes funding for two events: 1. $500 – Lunch plus coffee and dessert tray for the October Workshop 2. $300 – Refreshments (including bottled water, coffee, soda/juice, fruit, and sweets) for the Spring Edit-a-thon

Total cost of project edit

$3,200

Total amount requested edit

$3,200

Additional sources of revenue edit

Additional sources of revenue, other than the Project and Event Grants Program, that may fund part of this project, and amounts funded.

Non-financial requirements edit

See a description of non financial assistance available. Please inform the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) of any requirements for non-financial assistance now.

Discussion edit

Community notification edit

You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a village pump, talkpage, mailing list. Please paste a link below to where the relevant communities have been notified of this proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. Need notification tips?

Endorsements edit

Do you think this project should be selected for a Project and Event Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project in the list below. Other feedback, questions or concerns from community members are also highly valued, but please post them on the talk page of this proposal.