Using Wikipedia for project-based learning in information literacy instruction

Wikipedia holds an ambiguous position in information literacy instruction. Long the go-to example of an untrustworthy online source to avoid, librarians are increasingly using it to illustrate the application of a variety of information literacy concepts. Beginning in Fall 2017, students enrolled in a credit-bearing information literacy course at Cal Poly Pomona were given as a final project, a Wikipedia stub (a basic, incomplete article) and assigned to apply the concepts they had been taught throughout the semester to add information, sources and images, in order to “improve” it. This paper discusses the incorporation of Wikipedia into a credit-bearing course as a form of project-based learning, the development of the course final over several quarters/semesters of class, the benefits and drawbacks of the use of online tutorials and observation of the results of student engagement with the assignment.