Activities that Support Critical Thinking and Academic Integrity

1. Activities that Support Critical Thinking and Academic Integrity Created by Cheryl Torok Fleming, Ph.D. and Amy Lorson, MLS

2. topics for this workshop • Background Information • What do students think? • What studies have been done? • In the news • Defining academic dishonesty • Faculty strategies for prevention

3. Plagiarism? I’ve been hearing about that since I was in preschool! Of course it’s wrong-- but I can only get in trouble for it if I get caught! Right?

4. Students understand cheating, but they do it anyway. • "Students generally understand what constitutes cheating, but they do it anyway," said Kenneth Kiewra, professor of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and one of the study's authors. "They cheat on tests, homework assignments and when writing reports. In some cases, though, students simply don't grasp that some dishonest acts are cheating” (para. 3). University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (2010, May 12). Most high schoolers cheat -- but don't always see it as cheating, study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100511173829.htm

5. Results: • “Sixty-two percent said doing individual take-home tests with a partner was cheating (51 percent said they'd done so); • Just 23 percent said doing individual homework with a partner was dishonest (91 percent had done so); and • Only 39 percent said writing a report based on the movie instead of reading the book wasn't cheating (53 percent had done so)” (para. 10). University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (2010, May 12). Most high schoolers cheat -- but don't always see it as cheating, study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100511173829.htm

6. Definitions According to Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary, to plagiarize means: “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own : using a created production without crediting the source : to commit literary theft : to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.” Plagiarize.(n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved October 9, 2008, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarizing

7. Academic dishonesty occurs at ALL universities. • Examples of “copy/paste” plagiarism: • Direct copying of text from a book. • Direct copying of online articles from library databases (magazines, journals, newspapers, etc.) and internet web sites. • Importing graphics into papers or PowerPoint presentations.

8. Student thinking… • It is easy to buy a paper from online “paper mills.” Just have a credit card handy! • It is easy to borrow something from someone else, even if it is rephrased, and submit it as your own work. • Piece together a variety of sources and pass it off as your own writing. • When life gets so busy, just use a paper from a previous course.

9. in the News! • The article When the Hero Takes a Fall (Rosenblatt, 2002)highlights a well documented account of plagiarism as found in the book Citizen Soldiers (1997) by Stephen Ambrose. Mr. Ambrose plagiarized from the book Beyond the Beachhead (1989) by Joseph Balkoski. Rosenblatt, R. (2002). When the hero takes a fall. Time, 159(3), 130. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time

10. How do they do it? • “Thesaurus paraphrasing”, changing many of the words, but not the main thought, concept, etc., of the author. • Taking something on the same topic that was written by someone else and passing it off as your own. • Directly quoting without changing any of the words, but giving no credit to the writer.

11. Actions that might be seen as plagiarism • buying, stealing or borrowing a paper • using the source too closely when paraphrasing • hiring someone to write one’s paper • building on someone’s ideas without citation From: Purdue University Online Writing Lab

12. Factors that influence student integrity • grade pressure • tuition reimbursement • time pressure • task pressure From:Love, P., & Simmons, J. (1998). Factors influencing cheating and plagiarism among graduate students in a college of education. College Student Journal, 32(4), 539+. Retrieved October 1, 2003 from EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier database.

13. Understanding the levels of plagiarism • Ignorance • of student handbook information • of syllabus content • Sloppy citation • unfamiliarity with specific format (APA) • omission of quotation marks identifying direct citation • failure to recognize need for citation • From: Hope International University Fall Faculty Meeting, August 2003

14. Understanding the levels of plagiarism • Deliberate • use of ideas without citations • direct quotations without citations • fabrication of citations and references • submission of someone else’s paper as original work • submission of work completed for a previous assignment • outright purchase of an entire document submitted as original work From: Hope International University Fall Faculty Meeting, August 2003

15. Students need to Document When using or referring to somebody else’s words or ideas from: • magazines • books • newspapers • songs • television programs • letters • advertisements, or any other mediums From: Purdue University Online Writing Lab

16. Students Need to Document • When using information gained through interviewing another person • When copying the exact words or a “unique phrase” from somewhere • When reprinting any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and pictures • When using ideas that others have provided through conversations or in e-mail From: Purdue University Online Writing Lab

17. Students do not need to document. . . When writing about one’s own: • experiences • observations • experimental results • insights • thoughts • conclusions about a subject • When using “common knowledge”— folklore, common sense observations, shared information within field of study or cultural group From: Purdue University Online Writing Lab

18. APA: How in-text citations and references page work together • In-text citations He said, “Her favorite color is blue. I will purchase a sapphire ring for her birthday” (Smith, 2008, p.36). She was happy that he remembered how much she loved jewelry (Jones, 2007). • References Page Jones, E. (2007, September 12). Sapphires are a girl’s bestfriend. Newsweek, 84-92. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com Smith, R. (2008). For the love of gemstones. New York: Rand-McNally Publishing.

19. Plagiarism clues • The student states information that is not considered general knowledge • The style is significantly more sophisticated or scholarly than previous submissions • The format is different than that required by the instructor • The paper lacks logical flow or some sentences seem out of place From: Apollo Corporate University, Center for Academic Quality.

20. Faculty strategies • require research projects to focus on specific topics • clearly define your research expectations • minimum number of citations and sources • individual or collaborative assignment • assignment is unique to the course • Require an annotated bibliography • Require up-to-date references • Ask for copies of sources From: Harris, R. (2004, November 17). Anti-plagiarism strategies for research papers. VirtualSalt. Retrieved May 10, 2006, from http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm

21. Faculty Strategies • Break the assignment into pieces • may deter the student from simply downloading the assignment • Require process steps: students hand in assignments in stages… • topic • bibliography • research material • outline • rough draft • final version From: Harris, R. (2001). The plagiarism handbook. Portland, OR: Pyrczak Publishing.

22. Faculty Strategies • Ask students to submit bibliography prior to rough draft • Require students to use personal content or personal application • Create specific application assignments requiring students to address how research topic fits into their work setting • From: Hope International University Fall Faculty Meeting, August 2003

23. Prevention How else can faculty members encourage student honesty? • Require oral reports of student papers • Following student submission of completed assignment, require an in-class, one-page essay summarizing what has been learned from writing the paper. • Compare suspect assignment with other writings from same student. From: Harris, R. (2004, November 17). Anti-plagiarism strategies for research papers. VirtualSalt. Retrieved May 10, 2006, from http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm

24. Encouraging Critical thinking and Academic Integrity • Encourage as much original writing as possible. • When using other sources, be sure to cite them in-text. • Quotations • Paraphrasing • Include complete bibliographic information on the References page.

25. In Conclusion. . . • Plagiarism = “kidnapping words”. • Use the works of others (words, ideas, facts, statistics, graphics) only with proper citation. • Avoid using an entire paper or article that is not one’s own writing.

26. What does the bible say about Academic Integrity? • “…He that pours out lies will not go free.” (Proverbs 19:5, NIV) • “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.” (Proverbs 21:5-6, NLT).

27. References Plagiarize.(n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved October 9, 2008, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/plagiarizing Rosenblatt, R. (2002). When the hero takes a fall. Time, 159(3), 130. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (2010, May 12). Most high schoolers cheat -- but don't always see it as cheating, study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100511173829.htm

28. Questions? Thanks, and Good-bye!