Time Management and Plagiarism
I am having trouble overcoming the problem of time control based on the level of plagiarism I encounter with online students. There is a fundamental disconnect between today's student and true information literacy. I spend far too much time teaching my students how to avoid plagiarism, how to use APA formatting (required by the institutions where I teach), and regrading papers (I allow first-time offenders a second attempt). Does anyone else have this problem? How have you dealt with it?
Plagiarism has been a big challenge for me too Jenny. Fortunately the power of Google works both ways. When I suspect a student of plagiarism, it's so easy to validate. I simply type in a few essay lines into Google and the plagiarized copy pops right up.
The major problem, is not spelling and grammar -- it's the theft of intellectual property. Many students, for whatever reason, think nothing of skipping the reading assignments and simply Googling/copying/pasting answers to graded assignments. Believe me -- I've debased my composition quality standards as much as I can while still being able to surmise the students' meaning; what I can't overlook is academic integrity in terms of presenting original work. I'm learning to accept that proprietary education (the schools for which I work) is, primarily, a source of a credential for employment. But it's hard to get past the need for some honest learning to take place. And that's what's taking up most of my time.
This is a great assessment Jenny. As instructors, we are faced with choosing how much we correct in our grading. Sometimes we've just got to focus on the content. Other times, it's important to go further and give students instruction on spelling and grammar too.
Scott,
I think it's both. Students are coming to higher education having spent a significant amount of time obtaining information from and communicating through the internet. The unprofessional communication I receive from my students (no capital letters, punctuation, abbreviated languaged, etc.) and tendency to copy/paste their work from web sites instead of completing their reading assignments and referring to what they've learned are evidence of that fact. As you've mentioned, some institutions take the time to prepare students for the demands of information literacy, while many do not. This leaves the content expert -- the instructor -- with the time consuming and distracting task of policing the students' work instead of evaluating their understanding of course material.
JMW
In online class before students even start - I think there should be a required course that deals with the issue of APA style and plagiarism. At a F to F I teach at there is a course that starting students take on APA style and plagiarism by the time students get to my class they have no problems with APA style and plagiarism. At another College that I teach students have no clue and I am constantly faced with plagiarism. Is this the lack of the student disconnecting from true information literacy or is it the lack of training on the part of the institution?
Funny how in this day and age, information has become so much more accessible, yet it has been so much easier to check for plagiarism.(google, wikipedia)
Usually I have been checking papers that either are written at a level higher than expected, or if the format seemed to linear and concise, like it was cut and pasted from a site.
I know there are a few that slip by, should i check Every paper, and how much time should one spend on this task and achieve a realistic goal?
I also feel that a great deal of time is devoted to explaining how to correctly add research and format papers. I have collected some helpful tools which I send to students before the start of class. I also devote a full lesson on APA and ask students to submit their questions in advance. I do deduct points for not following the APA guidelines and this encourages students to get on board with the guidelines.
I have noticed that many of my students do not even realize they are plagiarizing. I am in a vocational school setting and there are not a lot of papers for my class but often my students blatantly copy their homework from the internet or book. I pull them aside the first time it happens to explain why it is unacceptable and they are often surprised. I show them how to site their work in the future and it rarely happens again.
Unfortunately, plagiarism is the reality and definitely affects the instructor's time management. I also use the second attempt offer once only. I try to appeal to the student's sense of honesty and fairness directly in a private and candid discussion. Sometimes this works.
