Professors at Swarthmore College and the University of Michigan have teamed up to uncover the problems behind plagiarism and find ways to stop the “cut-and-paste” generation from stealing other people’s work.
After testing 573 students, researchers Thomas Dee and Brian Jacob concluded that students don’t know what constitutes plagiarism – and that’s why they’re doing it. Click "Read More" for the full scoop.
Here’s how the researchers conducted the study:
All students were given the same assignment: write an essay.
Approximately half of the students received a Blackboard tutorial, which outlined various methods of plagiarizing and explained alternatives to help students avoid it.
The remaining students were not given any guidelines on how to avoid plagiarism.
After the essays were turned in, researchers determined students who received the Blackboard tutorial were less likely to have plagiarized on the assignment than the students who didn’t have access to the tech tutorial.
The lesson, according to the researchers: Students don’t understand what plagiarism is – but with more education, they will learn to avoid those accidental pitfalls.
Here’s what the editors of the EducationTechNews blog think:
Carol’s take: Bottom line: Students attend school to be educated – and that includes learning how to use technology responsibly. What seems obvious to administrators might not register with students. More info about plagiarism can be found here.
Instead of blaming technology for making it easier for students to cheat, savvy school officials are teaching students that cutting-and-pasting isn’t acceptable. Fact is, students use technology every day. When schools use technology to teach digital responsibility, they’re educating students on the basics of life in the 21st century.
Scott’s take: Unintended, my a—. Students have known what cheating is and tried getting away with it since Socrates was in the teaching business.
Maybe parents got so consumed with reinforcing their children’s self-esteem that they “forgot” to teach them ethics?
Suspend kids who cut-and-paste and expel the repeat offenders. Then they might start getting the message.
Want to read more? Go to
http://educationtechnews.com/accidental-cheating-can-technology-prevent-it/
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