Teaching and Learning Academy
Highlights from the week of November 3-5, 2004
Focus on case “Plagiarism or Innovation?”
37 people participated across the four study groups.
§ COMMON PLACES/RECOMMENDATIONS
ü LINGERING QUESTIONS
Wednesday @ 3:00
§ Idea ownership is not universal across cultures; professors must be explicit in their expectations and definitions of what constitutes cheating/plagiarism
§ Need to teach documentation as a strong way to establish authority as a writer.
§ Possible idea for TLA: publish a set of recommendations for WWU on plagiarism/cheating—a set for faculty and a set for students and then use faculty manual as basis for workshop(s).
§ Responsibility for academic integrity needs to be shared by the institution, faculty, and students.
ü How common is plagiarism at WWU? (See 1994-95 Academic Integrity Study conducted by the Office of Assessment.)
ü What are some strategies faculty are currently using to prevent plagiarism?
ü What are some *strategies* students are currently using to plagiarize?
Thursday @ 2:00
§ The University has a responsibility to the community to preserve the quality of the education students receive and the integrity of the degrees that are offered—through preserving their reputation and maintaining high standards.
§ There are different degrees of plagiarism (copying vs. incorrect citation), so there should also be different kinds of consequences for plagiarism.
§ The University should play a role in ethical reasoning in terms of ensuring that students are educated on plagiarism whether it is through Summer-start, individual professors, introductory writing courses, requiring a writer’s handbook, etc.
ü Should one person have complete authority when deciding the consequences of plagiarism?
ü Is an introduction to proper citation and plagiarism enough? How might instructors assume more responsibility to make sure students are thoroughly educated on the subject?
ü To what extent can teachers determine a student’s intent when plagiarism happens? Is it even their responsibility to try?
Thursday @ 3:00
§ It would be a good idea to attach a plagiarism brochure to every syllabus.
§ Teachers should model good citation practices when even speaking in class
§ The threshold for noticing academic dishonesty varies across departments; largely this is due to the varying type of contact teachers have with students (in terms of writtem products.)
ü Is it enough just to fulfill an ethical minimum by notifying students of the policy regarding plagiarism, or should teachers focus more on a clear understanding—a best practices approach?
ü How do you achieve a balance between trying to prevent academic dishonesty with professional vigilance and maintaining an environment of trust in the classroom?
ü To what extent does high-stakes and competitive environment result in more cheating?
Friday @ 12:00
§ The University has few agreed-upon standards for citation; faculty should be clear about their expectations and should put aside time to show exactly what they want, especially since citation style and documentation expectations vary between departments and disciplines.
§ Students need to be taught that citing sources makes their arguments more legitimate.
§ Citing is currently treated as more of a policing tactic than something writers do to establish authority.
§ Students often paraphrase pieces of others’ ideas/language without citing and it’s hard to track.
§ Discipline based citing seminars as well as a more general citation seminar for the university would be useful
ü Why is citing so different across disciplines?
ü To what extent do student writers understand the dangers/benefits of using information from websites?
ü To what extent do students understand how citation guidelines have changed with internet access?
ü How can professors create assignments that encourage students to approach them ethically?
ü We need to have a discussion about motivation – what factors prompt students to plagiarize/cheat?
Civil Discourse-in-Action Project Updates
Critical Moments Group: the first meeting with the Anthropology class went well; there
was lots of conversation without any lull period. The story used was one about a girl from Laos who had a Professor that kept referring to her as “Chinese.”
Communication Group: trying to get AS review to a Critical moments meeting; they have
been successful at getting more information out about the Outdoor Learning Space.
Outdoor Learning Space: Saturday 11/6/04 at 12pm they will begin clearing the rock
query.
Student Panel: the criteria for evaluations are mostly set; they are currently working on a
evaluation style and who they will evaluate
Campus Community Coalition: Whole group (75 members total from campus and community) has met, but report not available at this time.