Hi Douglas,
You are on point! Do not accuse, have concrete evidence, and follow the school's policy regarding violation of the honor code.
Patricia
Hi Karena,
Yes, take care of it as soon as it starts. Do not let it linger.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
With cheaters, if there is a will there is a way to cheat. They become real creative in order to cheat.
Patricia
In my classes to avoid any potential cheating by the students, I create multiple versions of the exams. I do not tell the students of the different versions but sometimes the figure it out.
I just try to be moving in the room, looking at their test page, seeing what is on the desk with them. I try to keep my eyes on them while they are taking the test as much as I can. When that doesn't work I also like to have a time limit. I also like when there is test A, B and C each with a few differnt questions and also the questions are not in the same order. This helps reduce cheating amoung the students in the room.
Cheaters do find a way yet it is important that these students learn that this is not the way to continue in their life and it may also damage their careers if this carrys over into the workpace
Cheating is a serious allegation that shouldn't be taken lightly. I would ask for evidence to the alleged offense and take into consideration what is being said, "i.e.", consider the source. Is there any history between the students that as an instructor I am aware of.
Next, I would consult the college's policy regarding cheating to understand it better. I would seek the counsel of a more experience faculty member to get their perspective also. Based on what the policy states, I would follow it and take whatever steps are necessary.
This isn't something I have encounter before and I must admit that I am really unsure how to most effectively handle the situation.
I have found that students will often inform on their cheating peers in the classroom. From our perspectives as educators how should we deal with this situation??
That is a great technique for reducing the potential for cheating. Nips it in the bud
Thanks for that tip. I had done that in the past and I think I will implement it again.
Great for residential classes.
In an online environment it can be hard. We have tools for those papers that are suspect (SafeAssign), but there has been at least one instance where I have reported a person to an adminisrative person. It was not worth the time, I ended up being the 'bad guy'. I presented my evidence and they said 'so', this couple work hard, etc. etc.
It is difficult. I feel like I have been classified as a complainer.
Hello Pamela,
Good point, if they know the subject matter then there should be no reason at all to cheat. Great Comment, Chris Graves.
Hi Karen,
Now aren't you the sneaky one! I like the idea of changing the color of the paper, this is a good way to alter the students perception of "which" version of the test they are taking. Good Comments, Chris Graves.
Hi Brenda, a thought I just had was that we could use two (2) different versions of the test. This way the only person that would know which test is which would be the Instructor. I think if the students knew two (2) different versions of the test are being handed out at the same time this would discourage cheating. Thanks, Chris Graves.
Hi Patricia,
There are a few ways an Instructor can reduce the opportunity for cheating in the classroom. First, I feel it is imperative to get to know your students. The more you know about your students the better chance you will have in elimatating cheating, mainly because you are building trust and respect with your students. Secondly, set up the classroom in a manner that is not conducive to cheating. In other words, make the classroom accessable for the Instructor to walk around and give the students plenty of distance between one another. Third, if there are a lot of students, I might move the testing to a small auditorium. There is a lot of room in an auditorium in which to separate the students and you can usually hear a pin drop due to the accoustical setup. Thanks, Chris Graves.
I think there are a lot of good ideas. I also think that we as instructors are never as up on the best methods to try to cheat but I think we need to share more with other instructors in faculty meetings and such. I think too often we don't talk about student cheating because we are concerned about privacy and legal issues and that makes us reluctant to even share the method and example without using the students name. I think if we as instructors did share the top ten cheating methods we had seen or heard it would help even the experienced instructors be able to recognize and reduce opportunities for cheating.
I make my quizes/exams all open book, open notes, homework, so it minimizes the desire to cheat. I let my students know not to rely on that because if you don't know the material, having it in front of you to learn it during the quiz/exam isn't going to help. To date, I haven't encountered any issues thankfully.
Just being aware of your students.
In big classes where it may be harder to monitor students for cheating I have two (2) or three (3) test versions which only differ in the ordering of the test questions and I tell the students in advance so that whether the student who is sitting closest to them during the exam has the same version of the exam is unknown to the potential cheater thereby reducing the opportunity to cheat ...
