Page:Wikipedia and Academic Libraries.djvu/150

Rh were involved in developing and creating the training. When peer coaches first start working in the Libraries, they go through a comprehensive training program that involves discussions of pedagogy, conducting teaching observations, teaching mock lessons, and finally being assessed when they co-teach. Because of these experiences, senior peer coaches were particularly well-positioned to create a curriculum for Wikipedia edit-a-thon training that included lesson plans, learning activities, and assessment. Two peer coaches worked with a librarian to develop an outline of the training program and then worked by themselves on each lesson plan.

An ongoing challenge of peer coach collaborations is working with their complicated schedules. The peer coaches who created the training could not teach their lesson plans because of scheduling conflicts, so the librarian had to deliver them. Managing student schedules often requires flexibility. While creative problem-solving can help to an extent, honesty, communication, and time are also important factors on how well these kinds of collaborations work.

Along with codeveloping the training program, peer coaches have asked for or been assigned other supplementary projects. These tasks are not event essentials but are instead designed to either utilize their existing strengths or to provide an opportunity for growth. These projects include developing a playlist, designing and making buttons, creating a Wikipedia trivia game, and pop-up tabling. Doing the same kind of work for two similar events each year is monotonous, so offering these other activities keeps team members engaged. It’s important to remember that these new ideas require time, energy, and project management, and they don’t always work out as planned. Established edit-a-thons could add one or two supplementary projects, but new programs should focus on the essentials.

Debrieﬁng with All Collaborators

A week or two after each edit-a-thon, the planning team meets to debrief. This is particularly important because the team’s varied schedules often mean that the only times everyone is together is at the initial