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What is contract cheating?
“Contract cheating occurs when a student procures a third party (who knows about and benefits from the transaction) to produce academic work (that is usually, but not always assessable work) that the student then submits to an educational institution as if it were their own” (Ellis, Zucker & Randall (2018) p. 1). Contract cheating is an increasing concern. Research indicates contract cheating incidence is on the rise and is an international issue (Newton, 2018) . This form of cheating has been getting more attention in the last decade, and more recently, during remote teaching and learning under COVID 19 restrictions. Fairness of assessment systems and evidence of student learning are…
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Ready to Talk to Students About Suspected Academic Misconduct?
When you suspect academic misconduct in your course, it’s common to feel frustrated. Some educators feel insulted or angry. Some blame themselves. Some people have a mix of all of this. Regardless, if you suspect a student has engaged in academic misconduct it is important to talk to them about it. The points below are offered to help you think through your approach, so that you can feel confident and clear about how you will facilitate that conversation. Key things to think about First, get grounded. Return to your own commitment to what ethical teaching and learning looks like in your course, in your subject/disciplinary area. Ask yourself: What am…
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13 tips for talking to students about academic integrity
Do you wonder how best to speak with students about academic integrity?Here is a great resource from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, developed by Dr. Kristie Durkewich (thanks again for creating this, Kristie, and for the CC-BY license). Watch this eight minute video for 13 tips of “pure academic integrity gold”, as one of our USask Educational Development Specialists put it. Kristie makes a particular point about the ways we “signal” to students our commitment to fostering and developing students’ academic integrity. This is an overview of Kristie’s 13 tips, with some USask resources added. Have a dialogue about the importance of academic integrity and review the policy. (here is the USask…
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7 Tips for Using Group Work
Group work can be highly effective in the remote and in-person teaching context. It is important to use strategies that require interaction among students. In groups, they can check their understanding with peers and develop a sense of belonging that helps engage and motivate. Tip 1: Be clear on purpose and process. Make it crystal clear to everyone what the learning goals or outcomes are for group work. Provide students with clear descriptions and criteria that will be used to determine grades. Tip 2: Set up the groups for students. You may need to survey students or ask them to submit information by email or discussion boards to allow for…
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Academic Integrity ‘Talking Points’ for Instructors
In addition to pointing students to the USask academic misconduct policy (a minimum requirement as part of your syllabus), it’s important to talk about academic integrity and academic misconduct with students. Students need to know that: You know about academic misconduct and the temptations students face; You respond to the suspected academic misconduct; You prevent academic misconduct in multiple ways; and You care about students’ learning and a fair environment for assessment. Core ideas What you can say to your students I know sites that facilitate or deliver academic misconduct exist unpermitted collaboration occurs I am aware of sites that make it possible for students to cheat on…
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Deterring Exam Collusion Using the LMS Tools
Some exam cheating occurs as a “crime of opportunity.” That is, the situation has made it so easy to cheat, that some (not all) students think everyone must be doing it and then some (not all) are tempted. This is not what you want. You have multiple tools to address this. When students know that you have set up the quiz, test, or exam in Canvas in such a way that it makes cheating more difficult most will appreciate that you care enough to add this preventative measure. Videos have been created to show you how to use some of the tools in Canvas. Here you will find instructions on:…
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What Can You Do About Academic Misconduct?
The causes of academic misconduct have been well-studied and the following points explain most of this concerning behavior. Research shows that very few students plan on doing things like buying papers or crowd-sourcing exam questions when they enroll in courses. Students widely report that their decision to “cheat” was almost always instead taken at the last minute, under pressure, based on one or more of these 3 concerns: Students placed a low value on what was to be learned Students had low expectations of success for themselves, whatever success meant to them Students believed cheating was widespread: “Everybody’s doing it—I’d be dumb not to” Low value on learning required…
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Identifying Placements that work for Remote Learning
Your “placement” may be a practicum course or may be work-place or community-based learning experiences built into a course. In either the longer or shorter duration, these opportunities are valued by students as a means to improve skills and refine understanding by practicing and receiving feedback in a professional setting. Also, students appreciate the chance to build their networks and resumes for their future careers. Availability of placement partners? In the remote context, we know that our usual partners may find themselves less able to take students on. Even if they want a student, they may also need to reduce the number of people in their physical settings. You may…
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Preparing and Supporting Students in Remote-context Placements
You already know how much your students value the learning opportunities that happen sometimes and are called the “real-world.” Our approaches to this need to be different in the remote context, but there are opportunities for expanded student learning too. After all, skills for remote working and use of online tools for collaboration and communication are transferrable as 21st century skills regardless. How may individual student situations vary? Reach out to your students involved in your practicum or community-based learning course. Individual situations may vary and affect options in ways you don’t expect. Many students may not move to Saskatoon this fall and it will be useful to know what…
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Three Ways of Delivering Remote Learning
Making some preliminary decisions about the direction of your remote course can help you focus in face of a sometimes overwhelming number of technological options and educational jargon. Here are three ways of delivering remote learning to contemplate before you go too far down any one path. Prior to locking yourself into a method, you should keep in mind that your students may face some constraints or limitations for synchronous learning (e.g., bandwidth, webcams, a suitable space to participate in the call). Check in with your students about any such restrictions. Will you meet virtually with your students at a scheduled time for teaching and learning? “Synchronous” means you and…