Collaboration Verse Cheating

Name ______

Often students ask if they may work together on a project, homework assignment, classwork etc. and the teacher says something like “Sure, but don’t copy” or sometimes simply “No”. So, what is the difference between working together (collaborating) and copying/cheating someone else’s work? It is essential that students understand the difference between the two as “copying/cheating” is against the school’s academic integrity policy, but collaborating is SOMETIMES acceptable (when the teacher specifies it is permitted).

Directions: Use the scenarios below to try and figure out the difference. For each scenario circle whether each is “Collaboration” or “Copying”. Please review these with your parents and sign at the end.

1.  Johnny and Mark are sitting in the hallway during unit lunch and Mark asks Johnny for his homework. Mark has not completed the assignment and class is third block. Johnny takes out his completed assignment and gives it to Mark. Mark proceeds to write down Johnny’s answers…..

in his own words…. Collaboration or Copying

word for word the same…. Collaboration or Copying

2.  Lucy and Sally got together in the IMC after school to work on their homework for class. Neither has completed the assignment and together they work to figure out the answers. Once they think they know the answer they write down, in their own words, their answers.

Collaboration or Copying

3.  Joe and Josh meet the IMC during unit lunch. Josh was having trouble with the previous night’s homework and Joe is going to help him. Joe completed the assignment entirely on his own. The two boys meet and Joe explains the assignment….

but, never shows Josh his assignment, explains the assignment verbally in a general sense not his answers verbatim and Joe writes it in his own words.

Collaboration or Copying

Practical Example:

Question:

What are the main causes of World War I? Please list at least 4 and explain each.

Answer: Original Answer

The four main causes of World War I are….

  1. Imperialism-Many Europeans nations had been building empires around the world. As a result they were in fierce competition with each other to continue to expand.
  2. Nationalism-many nations had extreme pride in their nation and as a result wanted to spread that sentiment elsewhere.
  3. Militarism-many nations began a build up of their weapons as a way to deter other nations. This also allowed for nations to be ready to fight at a moments notice.
  4. Alliances-Europe went through a period, dating back to the 1800s, of constant warfare. As a safety measure many nations were in alliance systems with other nations. Therefore, if one nation in your alliance went to war, you all did.
  5. Powder Keg-the most immediate cause, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo-part of the “powder keg”, an unstable region

Answer #2: Copying or Collaboration???

The four causes of World War I. The first case is imperialism. European nations were building empires and were in competition with each other to expand. The second cause is nationalism. This meant that nations had pride in their country and wanted to spread it elsewhere. The third cause is militarism or the build up of their weapons so they can deter other nations. The fourth cause is the alliance system, dating back to the 1800s, was established as a safety measure. However, if one nation went to war in your alliance, they all did.

Answer #3: Copying or Collaboration???

There are many causes to the onset of World War I. Some are long term and some are immediate. There are four major long term causes: imperialism, nationalism, militarism and alliance. The first two, imperialism and nationalism, are related in that they both deal with wanting to spread the idea of the native nation. Many European nations had established colonies around the world and wanted to expand these to incorporate more resources. In addition, they had extreme pride in their nation’s heritage and culture and therefore wanted to spread their nationalism to other areas. The third cause, militarism, was the build up of arms throughout Europe. Similar to the fourth cause, alliances, there was a need to build up arms because Europe had been ravaged by war for the past century dating back to the mid 1800s. The build up of militaries would allow for countries to be ready to fight without little wait. The alliance system, although advantageous to have friends in a battle, could also draw other nations into a war that they were not apart of just to support their alliance. This happened in World War I. The final cause, is the immediate cause, or the spark of World War I; the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He was killed while visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.