Mitigating Cheating
A Cliff’s Notes version
What is cheating?
• The expectations change
• Faculty vs. Students vs. administration
• “Stealing a glance at a test, a little bit of
plagiarism – it’s just not on people’s radar
screens anymore.”
- Donald L. McCabe
Duke University
Center of Academic Integrity
Conventional vs. Digital
Type
Conventional
Digital
Copied homework
84.5%
40.2%
Unpermitted collaboration
81.4%
49.5%
Plagiarized a few sentences
46.6%
60.4%
Plagiarized a complete paper 20.2%
13.6%
Used unpermitted notes
during an exam
44.5%
27.2%
Coped from someone else
during an exam
60.5%
23.5%
UVU TurnItIn statistics
• 2011-2012
– 8% of submission scored above 50%
– 16% scored above 25%
• 2010-2011
– 10% scored above 50%
– 23% scored above 25%
• 2009-2010
– 7% scored above 50%
– 21% scored above 25%
Why cheating?
• A number of reasons
Performance
Napster effect
Class a hoop
Get away with it
Culture
Who is to blame?
Students
Teachers
• “ – unreasonable assignments, the poor
quality of teaching, and unclear instructions
on major assignments were mentioned
frequently by students.”
• “I have witnessed cheating on several
occasions and even reported it to the
professors. On one occasion I was told no
action was going to be taken against them
since they were doing a poor job of cheating”
• “Faculty need to be more active in monitoring
academic dishonesty as well as punishing
those students that participate in it. Facutly
often turn their heads or “Punish” on their
own terms rather than follow university
policy.”
The institution
Course design strategies
Avoid war on cheating
• “…students at schools with high levels of selfreported cheating often discuss the issue of
academic dishonesty in terms of a ‘we’ versus
‘they’ mentality. Cheat by us (students) is
acceptable because they (faculty and/or
administrators) ‘deserve’ it for any number of
reasons” (McCabe and Trevino, 1993)
Process documents
• Reflections
• Drafts (Annotated bibliography, thesis
statement, etc.)
• Multiple assessments
• Oral reports (process questions)
Courtesy of TurnItIn.com
High-Stakes Assessments
Make connections
• Why are
students
doing this
assessment?
• “Students are also taught that collaboration is
a critical business skill that is valued in
corporations. Yet, students are often required
to complete assignments by themselves with
no outside assistance.” (McCabe, Butterfield,
and Trevino, 2006)
Statement
• Usually placed in syllabus. Good idea to have
it in Canvas if you are using it.
• Consult with department if unsure about
language.
• Custom TurnItIn statement
F2F Strategies
•
•
•
•
Proper seat spacing. Seat randomization.
A/B quizzes
Cell phone policy
Random walkthroughs
Other ideas?
Strategies for Canvas
• Files
• Quizzes