Mathematics class assignment for evaluating Wikipedia

The information literacy in class assignment was introduced to Sophomores and Juniors in STEM during a math class. Concepts such as types of information sources and critical evaluation of information sources were introduced.  The remainder of time is devoted to a group assignment on evaluating information sources both on the Web in comparison to the information resource.

Students worked in groups to complete the assignment which was handed out on paper.  The first part explained again criteria for evaluating information sources while the second part gave 3 example sources from a Wikipedia article.  Students were asked to identify the type of information source (scholarly journal, news, book, website) and the authors with their credentials.  Then the students were asked to infer the intended audience for the information source and the usefulness of the information for their coursework later in the semester.  Finally, the students were asked to located an item in the library’s discovery search interface that was of high quality in the characteristics they had explored.