User:Mike Cline/USCAN Working Group Drafts/Phase I Task Forces/U.S. Canada Education Program Proposed Structure/Proposal
The following is a summary of the proposed structure of the new US & Canada Education Program as drafted by the Education Working Group Structure Task Force.
Caucus model
This organization will have grassroots operational units made up solely of volunteers working under a central office of paid staff. These units, or caucuses, will be organically formed by interested people along both geographical and topical, or subject-based, lines. Interested individuals must demonstrate an alignment with their caucus and the guiding principles of the education project.
- Topical caucuses will provide subject-specific guidance for student editors and professors working with Wikipedia, as well as Ambassadors well-versed in the topic area.
- Geographic caucuses will provide face-to-face coordination among volunteers in a specific campus, city, or state/province, and provide local expertise to classrooms.
How individuals form a caucus & stay a caucus
A group of five or more people may form a caucus through a simple application process (requiring them to demonstrate alignment with the Education Program's mission/mandate). To maintain good standing, caucuses will be need to submit periodic reports.
Summary of requirements:
- 5+ supporters
- Application process (which includes demonstrating alignment with org mission/mandate)
- Regular reporting
What caucuses do & how they support members
The caucuses are the "chapters" of the new US & Canada Education Program. As mentioned above, they could be based on geography (e.g. "Southern California caucus" or "Louisiana State University caucus") or based on a topic/discipline (e.g. "Sociology caucus" or "18th century European economics caucus").
Topic-based caucuses provide the following to their members:
- Support provided to professors: assignment-design resources and materials, networking opportunities (matchmaking) with other relevant program participants, possible financial support for attending relevant conferences, contact with relevant WikiProjects/Wikipedians
- Support provided to students: subject-specific Wikipedia guidelines and templates, help from Wikipedians interested in the relevant subject area
- Support provided to Wikipedians: matchmaking with professors, students, and others who can help improve articles in a particular subject area
- Support provided to at-large members: clear description of different ways to get involved, examples of program results, networking opportunities with program participants
Geography-based caucuses provide the following to their members:
- Opportunities for face-to-face interactions (e.g. local networking events)
- Local Campus Ambassadors
What central staff do & how they support caucuses
The central staff will likely provide financial support to the caucuses through an application process, and can provide "swag" as well as legitimacy in the form of a webpage presence, email addresses, or business cards.
The central staff organize an annual summit for the members to gather, network, and share experiences. This event might also include awards or recognition for caucuses that are doing particularly notable work.
Only the central organization needs to be organized as a non-profit and everyone is a member of the central organization. Members may choose to affiliate themselves with as many or as few caucuses as interest them. The central staff will allow the number of caucuses to grow organically as there is interest, without dictating geographic boundaries or themes. The central staff also take primary responsibility for members that choose not to affiliate with a caucus and will attempt to direct them toward activities that might interest them, for example, by trying to match-make such members with a class that needs an online ambassador.
How to become a member of the US & Canada Education Program
Anyone can become a member of the program. There will be a simple online process for signing up, with minimal requirements, such as agreeing with the guiding principles. Members will need to renew annually to remain in good standing and to be listed in the directory. All members automatically become members of the bi-national organization, and may join any (and multiple) topical and geographic caucuses. Members may also elect to take on various responsibiltiies from a checklist of options, such as taking on an Ambassador roles and providing finanical support
Division of responsibilities among central staff and caucuses
The central staff is responsible for the overall strategy of the program, and developing the organization into one that can achieve the desired future picture. They will develop measures of success and attempt to assess impact through data-tracking and analysis. The central staff will also develop materials such as handouts, syllabi, grading rubrics, and training videos and can curate materials developed at the local level, pointing members to best practices. Central staff organize an annual conference and market the program, recruiting instructors and local trainers and officers, with the aim of developing local caucuses ("training the trainers") to the point where some of the instructor recruitment and training can be done locally by the caucuses. For this and related purposes it would be good for the central staff to include an instructional designer with experience in pedagogical methods utilizing new media. The central staff will also recruit, train, and coordinate online ambassadors. The central staff will play an important role in community building among the caucuses and will likely want to produce a regular newsletter to distribute to them all. The central staff will also seek to build relationships with universities and their various components, such as departments, related student organizations, or centers. The central staff will also be a point of contact for professional academic associations. Finally, the central staff support academic research on the use of Wikipedia in education, hoping to promote the development of Wikipedia Studies.
Initially the central staff may need to absorb more responsibility, but over time it is expected that many of the activities of the organization will occur at the local caucus level. The local caucuses may eventually be the primary recruiters of instructors and campus ambassadors, and should be able to train at least the campus ambassadors and hopefully the instructors as well. They will also play an important role in relation-building with universities as they will know about what exists and what is possible at their local level. A local caucus is also best at facilitating networking and fun at in-person events. Thematic caucuses may also be a good source of instructional design best suited to their discipline or area of interest and should be able to take primary responsibility for interacting with related academic associations.