Cheating In The 21st Century:
Strategies To Tackle Online Academic
Dishonesty
Patricia McGee, Associate Professor
Patricia.mcgee@utsa.edu
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POLL: What is the problem?
1. Students don’t understand cheating &
plagiarism
2. It is impossible to monitor cheating online
3. Institutions are not proactive when it comes to
online academic dishonesty
4. Online learning systems are not designed to
prevent students from cheating
RESPOND IN CHAT!
What is academic dishonesty?
… the “intentional
participation in deceptive
practices regarding one's
academic work or the
work of another”
(Webster, 2000, p. 4).
Universal Categories
• “Plagiarism—using another’s words or ideas without
appropriate attribution or without following citation
conventions;
• Fabrication—making up data, results, information, or
numbers, and recording and reporting them;
• Falsification—manipulating research, data, or results to
inaccurately portray information in reports (research,
financial, or other) or academic assignments;
• Misrepresentation—falsely representing oneself, efforts, or
abilities; and,
• Misbehavior—acting in ways that are not overtly
misconduct but are counter to prevailing behavioral
expectations.”
(Gallant, 2008, p. 10)
The Priority for Online Courses
• The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008
(HEOA) states “ [must] establish that the student
who registers in a distance education or
correspondence education course or program is
the same student who participates in and
completes the program and receives the
academic credit.” (HEOA: Issue 10 2009)
• “In order to maintain their accreditation (or be
reaffirmed), universities must demonstrate they
have processes in place that will reduce
opportunities for students to cheat." (SACS)
http://www.esubulletin.com/2010/12/02/6468
WHAT IS ONLINE ACADEMIC
DISHONESTY?
Online Academic Dishonesty Categories
• Collusion: Organized cheating, exchanging
information
• Deception: Nonconsensual use of peer’s work
or instructor’s material
• Plagiarism: Unattributed use of the work of
others
• Technology Manipulation: Breaking the tech
• Misrepresentation: Work for hire
WHY DO STUDENTS ENGAGE IN
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY?
POLL: Why do they do it?
1. Everyone else cheats
2. Laziness
3. Easier than doing the work
4. Don’t see anything wrong with it
RESPOND IN CHAT!
Why do students engage in dishonesty?
Contextual
•
•
•
•
Fear of failure
Desire for better grades
Parental pressure to do well
Unclear instructional
objectives
• Everyone else cheats
• Won’t get caught
Personal
• Lack of organizational skills
• Poor understanding of
academic dishonesty
• Students who cheat often
are self-deceptive in other
areas of their lives
CHAT: What are the implications for the instructor?
WHAT STRATEGIES DECREASE
INCIDENCES?
1. Making Expectations Clear
•
•
•
•
Reference school honor code
Define academic dishonesty
Articulate consequences
Provide a clear policy on syllabus and in other
locations in the course
• Require tutorial or pre-assessment
– Penn State: http://istudy.psu.edu/tutorials/academicintegrity/
– UT Austin:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/learningmodules/plagiar
ism/
2. Construct Valid Assessments &
Delivery with Foresight
• Make sure assessment strategy matches what
is being assessed
• Align activities, assignments, assessments for
validity
• Focus on higher levels of thinking rather than
“one right answer” assessments (Google™)
Assessment Strategies
• Administer random quizzes or tests using
social media tools
• Design test items that allow the student to use
their textbook (Google™)
• Allow multiple attempts, perhaps with highest
score recorded (practice challenge)
• Use Online Classroom Assessment Techniques
Online CAT Example: Memory Matrix
CAT
Memory Matrix:
students complete a
table about course
content in which row
and column headings
are complete but cells
are empty. (Angelo &
Cross, n.d., p. 1)
Online
Application
Collaborative
writing
Concept
Mapping
Possible Tool
Google Docs/
Spreadsheet™
Bubblus™
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qPztS2l4ixUYIf-paVQmxUEzf5VCzgh5CqzyYNYsj1c/edit
Designs that Reduce Cheating
• Design questions that build on prior course
work, requiring knowledge that has already
been covered and assessed
• Use one-correct answer items (such as
true/false, matching and multiple choice) for
ungraded or low stakes assessment
• Use "rote-memory" questions for taking the
measure of class progress
• Offer more frequent and shorter quizzes
Technology Set-up
• Present items one at a time rather than all at
once so they cannot be printed or shared with
others
• Randomize answer choices on single answer
items
• If tests require calculations, provide students
different number sets
• Set a time limit for completion
Delivery Considerations
• Make test available the day it is offered
• Use different versions of a test for different
groups of students
• Assign a password to assessments and send
just prior to test release
• Check both start and submission times so
that assessment duration can be monitored
3. Make the Most of the Technology
• Consider computer-adaptive testing and
randomized testing from vendors
• Use browser lock-down software
• Integrate identity authentication (webcam,
fingerprint scans, optic retinal, palm vein
scanning, face recognition, or keystroke
pattern analysis )
• Use plagiarism detection tools (students too)
Plagiarism Detection Tools
Service
Cost
How it Works
Dupli Checker
Free
Copy and paste text into provided textbox
GLATT Plagiarism
Services
Varies
Three services, one if free with copy and paste
into a textbox
Grammarly
Free
Copy and paste text into provided textbox, also
reviews grammar
PlagAware
Varies
Varies: Free offers copy and paste text into
provided textbox
Plagscan
Varies
Document upload
ScanMyEssay
Free
Document upload
SafeAssign
Free to Blackboard™
Clients
Document upload
Turnitin
Varies
Document upload
WCopyfind
Free
Executable file that analyzes hard drive
documents
WriteCheck
Per document
Document upload
4. Use Pedagogical Strategies
Assess student’s moral & ethical
orientation/stage of development
– Ethical Position Questionnaire
– Sensation Seeking Scale
– Beliefs and Values Questionnaire
– Myers Briggs Type Indicator
– HESI Personality Profile
Engage the Learner
Have students…
• Contribute to course policies
• Provide
examples of
academic
dishonesty
Assignments & Assessments
1. Use performance assessments rather than
objective tests
2. When possible, use progressive assessments
in which students turn in parts or drafts
3. Have students apply personal experience or
current events when answering questions
Which do or can you use? POST IN CHAT
Assessment use in Online Courses
Instructors use…
Frequency..
Percent…
Homework
665
20%
Online Tests/Quizzes
606
19%
Discussions
547
17%
Projects/papers
494
15%
Participation in chats
313
10%
Proctored Texts/Quizzes
234
7%
Team Projects
149
5%
Reflective Journal
92
3%
Student Portfolio
79
2%
Other
31
1%
3,200
100%
TOTAL
(Baille & Jortberg, 2009)
Classroom Climate
•
•
•
•
•
Create culture of openness
Address incidences directly and honestly
Teach writing style (APA, MLA, etc.)
Make work/activity public
Be present
QUESTIONS?
HOW DO INSTITUTIONS ADDRESS
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY?
POLL: What does your institution do?
1. Enforce an honor code
2. Require reporting
3. Provide plagiarism detection tools
4. Educate students
Issues for Online Academic Dishonesty
• Online students may not be oriented to
institutional policy
• Reporting and enforcement mechanisms may
not be feasible or apply to an online
environment
• Faculty may not ‘see’ misconduct as easily in
an online course
Impact of Strategies
• Visible & enforced honor codes work
• Plagiarism education reduces occurrence
• Plagiarism detection software impact is mixed
– Must be used correctly and effectively
– Can’t be used as sole strategy
– Are not perfect (free guilty, convict innocent)
– Cannot accommodate for cultural differences
Align Strategy with Course Design
Writing-Based Courses
Subjective in nature
• English, History, Psychology,
Education
• Focus on writing-based
assessment (such as written
assignments and term papers)
• Priority: plagiarism
• Strategy: Progressive
Performance Assessments
and “writing fingerprint”
Math/Fact-based Courses
Highly objective in nature
• Math, science, business, computers
• Focus on calculation and fact-based
assessment (such as mid-term and
final exams)
• Priority: cheating and identity
verification
• Strategy: Practice and Low-Stakes
Assessments
• Security: Proctored Exams, Remote
Authentication System.
(Modified from Trenholm 2006/2007)
QUESTIONS?
Resources
• Callaghan, D. (2004). The cheating culture: Why more Americans are doing
wrong to get ahead. HoughtonMifflin.http://www.cheatingculture.com/academic-dishonesty/
• Turnitin. (2011). Plagiarism and the web: Myths and Realities: White
Paper. iParadigms . Retrieved August 28, 2012 from
http://pages.turnitin.com/PlagiarismandtheWebHE.html
• Online classes see cheating go High-Tech Retrieved July 23, 2012 from
http://chronicle.com/article/Cheating-Goes-High-Tech/132093/.
• Academic Integrity vs. Dishonesty [online module for faculty] http://elearningfacultymodules.org/index.php/Academic_Integrity_vs._Di
shonesty
• WCET. (2009). Best Practice strategies to promote academic Integrity in
online education (Version 2.0). Retrieved on September 22, 2012 from
http://wcet.wiche.edu/wcet/docs/cigs/studentauthentication/BestPractic
es.pdf.
Dr. Patricia McGee
Patricia.mcgee@utsa.edu
CV http://www.visualcv.com/drpmcgee
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/