This is one of the moral difficult readings for me. I really have anxiety about cheating and plagiarism in my classrooms. I have had instances when the student turns in papers or answers that are plagiarized. I usually begin every instance of an infraction or a possible infraction by talking to my supervisor or a faculty member I trust. I don’t necessarily give the mentor details about who the student is, but I look for their experience in similar situations. They’ve given me a lot of ways to handle the issue including reporting it at times.
One of the ways that I have handled cheating is to try to create assessments that are difficult to cheat on. Rather than students picking A, B, C, or D in a multiple choice exam, I will try to assess them using essays or short answers. In political science and international relations, we have the luxury of testing a student’s critical thinking. I don’t want to make an assessment typically where the student can pass by just parroting back the facts that I gave to him or her.
I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this topic. It’s something that unfortunately is not going away.
Hi,
I’m sure it can be really stressful having to monitor the integrity of an entire classroom of students, especially with technology. I think the idea of using short answer is a good one because it forces students to demonstrate their knowledge on the subject rather than guessing on multiple choice if they are unsure of the correct answer.