Using a class wiki to facilitate community and linguistic inclusivity

Abstract

I describe the implementation of a class wiki in an introductory linguistics class. There were two pedagogical goals: (1) facilitate asynchronous student engagement and collaborative learning; (2) provide opportunities for students to engage with various linguistic issues having to do with justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Assessment for the wiki was done using a version of specifications grading (Nilson 2015), so that students could choose their level of engagement with the wiki. A full description of the wiki is available at https://cbjorndahl.github.io/CMUNoLWiki/, which includes detailed descriptions, learning objectives, and prompts given to students for each wiki category. The present paper focusses primarily on the pedagogical motivations, design of the pedagogical intervention, and a reflection of its effectiveness.