Stopping Plagiarism
at the Source
Barry Gilmore
www.barrygilmore.net
@barry_gilmore
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
The project: research, writing, presentation
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
The project: research, writing, presentation
Classroom results: 25% plagiarism
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
The project: research, writing, presentation
Classroom results: 25% plagiarism
Student/parent contract
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
The project: research, writing, presentation
Classroom results: 25% plagiarism
Student/parent contract
Administration / school board response
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
The project: research, writing, presentation
Classroom results: 25% plagiarism
Student/parent contract
Administration / school board response
Long-term consequences
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
A. Teacher/Administration: Students
receive a zero
B. Parents/Students: Students should be
given another chance (rewrite)
C. School Board: Students receive a zero,
but reduce the value of the assignment
What Are We Talking About?
Plagiarism
What Are We Talking About?
Student
Choices
Plagiarism
What Are We Talking About?
Student
Choices
Plagiarism
Turnitin.com
Failing, rewriting?
Punitive response
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Grades
Pressure:
Time
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Turnitin.com
Failing, rewriting?
Punitive response
What’s the Main Reason Your Students
Plagiarize?
A. It’s easy to do / they get lazy
B. They’re confused / it’s a mistake
C. They feel pressure about grades
D. They get behind on deadlines
E. Everyone does it, so they do it too
My School: Why Students Plagiarize
Ease/Laziness
Pressure: grades
Culture/everyone does it
Pressure: deadlines
Confusion: process
1% 1%
34%
40%
24%
My School: How Students Plagiarize
83%
42%
25%
19%
15%
5%
Term Paper Cutting and
Mills
Pasting
Peer
Copying
Rearranging Making Up
Never
Words
Sources Plagiarized
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Grades
Pressure:
Time
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Turnitin.com
Failing, rewriting?
Punitive response
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Grades
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Turnitin.com
Failing, rewriting?
Punitive response
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
Merit and Purpose of Assignment
Failure vs. Zero
Plagiarism Instruction vs. Assumptions
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Grades
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Assignments
Turnitin.com
Assumptions
Failing, rewriting?
Expectations
Punitive response
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Time
Pressure:
Grades
Intent
Ease
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Assignments
Turnitin.com
Assumptions
Failing, rewriting?
Expectations
Punitive response
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Time
Pressure:
Grades
Intent
Culture
Ease
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Assignments
Turnitin.com
Assumptions
Failing, rewriting?
Expectations
Punitive response
Case Study: Take It Or Leave It
(The Christine Pelton Leaf Project)
Merit and Purpose of Assignment
Failure vs. Zero
Plagiarism Instruction vs. Assumptions
Alignment of Policy: School and Class
Consistency from Classroom to Classroom
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Time
Pressure:
Grades
Intent
Culture
Ease
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Systems
Assignments
Turnitin.com
Honor Codes
Assumptions
Failing, rewriting?
Ethics Gap
Expectations
Punitive response
School Culture: Honor Codes
WHEN
PRIVATE
CAMPUSES
WITH HONOR
CODE
LARGE PUBLIC
UNIVERSITY
WITH
MODIFIED
HONOR CODE
CAMPUSES
WITH NO
HONOR CODE
On tests
23%
33%
45%
On written work
45%
50%
56%
School Culture: Ethics Gap
TEACHERS DID NOT
DISCUSS
PLAGIARISM
TEACHERS DISCUSSED
PLAGIARISM
Grades 3-5
(understood)
49%
61%
Grades 6-12
(felt it was
acceptable)
37%
22%
Reduces Plagiarism
Increases Learning
Reduces Plagiarism
Increases Learning
Honor Code
Honor Code as a part
of school culture
Reduces Plagiarism
Increases Learning
Honor Code
Honor Code as a part
of school culture
Turnitin.com
Turnitin.com as a
teaching tool
School Culture: What’s Going On?
Students who cheat tend to:
Worry about school
Research by Eric M. Anderman
School Culture: What’s Going On?
Students who cheat tend to:
Worry about school
Perceive school as focused on grades
Research by Eric M. Anderman
School Culture: What’s Going On?
Students who cheat tend to:
Worry about school
Perceive school as focused on grades
Believe they’ll receive rewards for grades
Research by Eric M. Anderman
School Culture: What’s Going On?
Students who cheat tend to:
Worry about school
Perceive school as focused on grades
Believe they’ll receive rewards for grades
Attribute failure to outside circumstances
Research by Eric M. Anderman
School Culture: What’s Going On?
“Long ago, I realized that I care more about
receiving good grades than actually learning. Even
though I realize this is wrong, I cannot seem to
change my attitude…the competitiveness, the
honoring of principal’s list students, the prestige—
it all just encourages students to get good grades
by any means necessary.”
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Time
Pressure:
Grades
Intent
Culture
Ease
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Systems
Assignments
Turnitin.com
Honor Codes
Assumptions
Failing, rewriting?
Ethics Gap
Expectations
Punitive response
Rethinking Assignments
In a formal essay, analyze
how Shakespeare uses
symbolism to raise issues
related fate in Romeo and
Juliet.
Rethinking Assignments
Rethinking Assignments
“A pair of star-cross’d lovers,” (prologue, line 6). Since the
opening of the play, Romeo and Juliet were destined to die.
Throughout each act and throughout each scene, from
constant foreshadowing and ill omens, even Romeo and
Juliet knew their tragic fate. As much as the two lovers
wanted to be together, all their efforts and the efforts of
others were purely futile, and as much as everyone wanted
to blame others, only fate is to blame.
(plagiarized paper)
Rethinking Assignments
Poison
Churches and tombs
Sun, moon, and stars
Disguises and masks
Blood
Names
Gestures (thumb-biting)
Natural and civil laws
Flowers and herbs
Eyes and ears (sight, etc.)
Weather: rain, storms, sunshine
Animals (especially birds)
Weapons
Light and Dark
Mythological allusions
Religious symbolism
Rethinking Assignments
Groups:
1. Choose a symbol
2. Return to the text (search online)
• Find quotations
• Include citations
3. Create a discussion statement
Rethinking Assignments
“Although Romeo claims he will defy the
stars, he never really stands a chance of
changing his own fate.”
Rethinking Assignments
Sarah: Romeo vows to Juliet “by the moon” in act
two scene two.
Jasmine: Is that the balcony scene:
Sarah: end of it
Carter: But Juliet he shouldn’t swear that way cause
the moon is inconstant
Jasmine: why is the moon inconstant
Carter: I guess cause it changes not like the sun.
Sarah: So this is about whether or not love lasts.
Rethinking Assignments
Rethinking Assignments
Romeo uses stars, sun, and moon imagery to elevate his
love for Juliet, but he may really be referring to her beauty
more than true love. Meanwhile, Shakespeare use the stars,
sun, and moon as symbols of predetermined fate, giving
love an inevitable outcome.
In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare uses celestial bodies, such as the sun,
moon, and stars, to enhance the speakers’ dialogue and contribute to
Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. In their love towards one another,
Romeo and Juliet tend to speak of symbols such as stars and the moon
to evoke their love and passion for each other, despite the difficult
situations that they are forced to endure. Because the sun, moon, and
stars are seen as symbols of prosperity, strength, and happiness, they
are continually applied to the two lovers. These symbols help explain
the role of beauty in Romeo and Juliet’s love as well as the effects of
fate predetermining the outcome of the play. However, while
comparisons of Juliet to celestial bodies elevate Romeo’s love towards
Juliet and show his romantic personality, Romeo’s ability to make Juliet’s
beauty equivalent to the stars and heaven prompts readers to consider
whether beauty and attraction are the primary basis of Romeo and
Juliet’s love. Yet even though the two lovers are forced to endure many
hardships and difficult times, their love for one another never
terminates, even at their death. The celestial bodies help explain the
role of beauty in Romeo and Juliet’s love, the effects of fate
predetermining the outcome of the play, and the necessity to overcome
their family’s wishes for true love.
Rethinking Assignments
1. Gathered ideas
Rethinking Assignments
1. Gathered ideas
2. Choice, collaboration
Rethinking Assignments
1. Gathered ideas
2. Choice, collaboration
3. Started with the evidence, not the
conclusion
Rethinking Assignments
1. Gathered ideas
2. Choice, collaboration
3. Started with the evidence, not the
conclusion
4. Explored nuance and possibility
Rethinking Assignments
1. Gathered ideas
2. Choice, collaboration
3. Started with the evidence, not the
conclusion
4. Explored nuance and possibility
5. Composed an original thesis (based on
evidence)
Rethinking Assignments
1. Gathered ideas
2. Choice, collaboration
3. Started with the evidence, not the
conclusion
4. Explored nuance and possibility
5. Composed an original thesis (based on
evidence)
6. Wrote an individual essay
What Are We Talking About?
Pressure:
Time
Pressure:
Grades
Intent
Culture
Ease
Pressure:
Time
Teacher
Choices
Student
Choices
Intent
Ease
Plagiarism
Systems
Assignments
Turnitin.com
Honor Codes
Assumptions
Failing, rewriting?
Ethics Gap
Expectations
Punitive response
Questions?
Barry Gilmore
www.barrygilmore.net
@barry_gilmore
barry.gilmore@bellsouth.net