WHY MY STUDENTS DON’T PLAGIARISE: A CASE STUDY George MacDonald Ross Director, PRS Subject Centre University of Leeds,

9 January 2009University of Leeds2 Programme Evidence that my students don’t plagiarise Designing plagiarism out Discussion

9 January 2009University of Leeds3 Evidence Evidence that my students don’t plagiarise (apart from 2 out of 350): –Turnitin –Anonymous questionnaire –Long experience of assessment, and professional interest in plagiarism –Talking with students

9 January 2009University of Leeds4 Designing it out (1) Don’t give students the idea that HE is about memorising and reproducing facts: –Don’t lecture (instead: seminars, group work, projects) –Don’t set unseen exams –Focus on intellectual skills (problem solving, criticism, argumentation) –Make students show their working (as in maths)

9 January 2009University of Leeds5 Designing it out (2) Assessment: –Set tasks that can’t be solved by copying from the internet... –... or from course handouts –Set clear assessment criteria, including demonstration of skills –Discuss work with students (even negotiate marks) –Celebrate diversity rather than singing from same hymn-sheet –Don’t provide model answers

9 January 2009University of Leeds6 Designing it out (3) Tell students that all sources must be acknowledged and evaluated: –Course handouts are secondary sources –Anything said in class is a secondary source –Get students to publish minutes of seminars

9 January 2009University of Leeds7 Designing it out (4) Personalise teaching and assessment (people are much less likely to cheat those they know): –Give students brief individual tutorials –Learn and use students’ names –Avoid titles (you are mainly helping them learn rather than judging them) –Don’t mark coursework anonymously

9 January 2009University of Leeds8 Designing it out (5) Foster a culture of learning for its own sake: –De-emphasise grading –De-emphasise detection and punishment –(But do use Turnitin unostentatiously) –Don’t give the message that plagiarism is a naughty good to be desired

9 January 2009University of Leeds9 Designing it out (6) Some tips: –Require literary forms not on the internet (e.g. dialogue) –Provide materials unique to your module –Set tasks that are achievable

9 January 2009University of Leeds10 Conclusion No magic bullet Plagiarism-free teaching is just good teaching Detection and punishment are not a solution But for some teachers, a major culture shift is needed

9 January 2009University of Leeds11 Further resources My plagiarism webpages are at: Published version: Plagiary (5):

9 January 2009University of Leeds12 Thank you for participating George MacDonald Ross Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK