Creating More “Cheat-Proof” Courses Sheila Sharbaugh Assistant Vice President Academic Affairs Faculty Development Day October 14, 2017

Learning Objectives Discover the extent to which academic integrity problems exist. Consider factors that may contribute to academic dishonesty. Discuss practices and strategies to avoid or minimize the impact of academic misconduct. Review the WU academic integrity policy and reporting process.

Do Students Cheat?

Some Stats About Academic Dishonesty 75 - 80% of college students admit to academic dishonesty. 17% of those polled have no regrets. Cheaters have higher GPAs. 85% of College students think cheating is a valuable strategy (even those who don’t cheat). 95% of cheaters don’t get caught. Paper mill websites average 8,000 hits a day (Lang, 2013).

Is Plagiarism Really a Problem?

WilmU Academic Integrity Plagiarism Cheating Falsification of Internships & Clinical Experiences

Policy & Process Faculty member documents student’s violation and reports it to the Chair. Penalty may range from failing grade for assignment to a failing grade for the course. Chair informs Dean. (completes Wufoo form) Dean informs AVP. AVP informs the student of his or her provisional status. https://wilmufd.wufoo.com/forms/academic-integrity-form

Number of Reported Instances

Does Course Design Matter? The way a course is designed can influence students’: Confidence to do well in the course. Ability to cheat easily. Sense of integrity. Ability to synthesize the work of others in their own work. Comfort in asking questions about academic integrity.

Course Design Strategies Syllabus: Clear expectations and consequences. Provide rubrics and/or grading criteria. Use a variety of assessment methods. Assignments that relate to students’ own experiences. Modify graded assessments each year (even slightly). Require checkpoints for larger written projects. (Drafts) *Assigning a source summary or Annotated Bibliography before the assignment is due * Integrating an oral presentation before assignment is due (or at same time) * Finishing with a post reflection or “meta-learning essay,” in which students reflect on their research and writing (what problems did you face, and how did you address them? What research strategy did you follow? Where did you locate your sources? If you had more time, what aspect of the assignment would you continue to develop?)

Hints for Syllabus Statement of consequences for violating the Academic Integrity Policy. What type of group work is allowed and what is not. Whether you will use Safe Assign or any other originality checkers. What written work will include citations (homework, drafts, discussion boards, etc).

Course Strategies Begin with an Introduction discussion Have students answer questions about themselves. Backgrounds. Experiences that may relate to the course. Builds community and gives you a writing sample.

Video Any faculty member can add this video to any course or organization via the Faculty Shared Repository in Blackboard! https://wilmu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Academic+Integrity+at+Wil mU/1_7ps3wagi

Designing Better Assignments More than written test! Ensure assignments are relevant to your students. Assessments designed to promote authentic demonstration of knowledge and skills. Ask students to restate the academic integrity policy (perhaps as a writing assignment). Use case studies to give meaning to integrity as a process. Allow students to provide their values as part of case studies. Develop a class honor code at the start of the term. Use (and rotate) authentic questions in your assignments; for example, connect assignments to current events. Relate assignments to students’ own experiences (case studies, interviews, peer editing & review) Write about their own place of employment (current or past) Gather information from a variety of websites (citing the sites) and incorporate it into a document – drawing their own conclusions from the information.

Some Unique Ideas Create courses in which students have no incentive to cheat. Teach students how to properly engage with the work of others. Teach students how to plagiarize. Google your assignment descriptions periodically. (Gooblar, 2014)  Lang recommends working to connect your course material to issues your students are already interested in; centering courses around challenging and intriguing questions, rather than around mere material to be covered; and providing a variety of forms of assessment to give students a number of opportunities to demonstrate their mastery to you. Research shows that students are less likely to cheat when they are invested in the material.  plagiarism is not the product of unethical student behavior; rather, students plagiarize most often because they have an inadequate understanding of how to use secondary sources in their writing.  gives his students a paragraph from a relevant secondary source, and then asks them to plagiarize it. improperly work the source into their writing in a variety of different ways, from copying the passage word-for-word, to paraphrasing it too closely, to taking the source’s ideas without giving proper credit.

Resources for Creating Assignments http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/OTAI/index.asp

Authentic Assessment Options Article (Journal) Critiques Audio Recordings Blogging Brainstorming Case-Based Instruction Concept Mapping Debate Document Analysis Fieldwork/Apprenticeship Gaming Group Problem Solving Group Reports Hypothetical Situations Interviews Journaling Literature Review Multimedia Presentations Peer Editing / Review Portfolios Presentations Quizzing (APPLICATION) Reflections Role Playing Simulations Socratic Dialogue Student generated Q & A Webquest Wikis / Collaborative Authoring

Contract Cheating Populare “Cheating” Websites https://www.coursehero.com/ “Find course-specific study resources like notes, test prep, materials, and flashcards.” http://www.schoolsucks.com/ Where the men are men and the teachers are nervous.” https://www.chegg.com/ “When homework gets tough, get tougher Over 90% of Chegg Study users get better grades.”

And More… http://www.papercamp.com/ https://quizlet.com/ “Find your way to thousands of essays and term papers.” https://quizlet.com/ “Simple tools for learning anything.” http://www.studymode.com/ “Discover great essay examples and research papers for your assignments.”

References Gooblar, David (2014). Why students cheat—and 3 ways to stop them. https://chroniclevitae.com/news/341-why-students-cheat-and-3-ways-to-stop-them Johnson, L. M. (2012). Proactive strategies for promoting academic integrity. http://www.slideshare.net/lisamariejohnson/proactive-strategies-for-promoting-academic-integirty Lang, J. (2013). How college classes encourage cheating. Boston Globe, 08/03/2013/.