Helping Students (and Ourselves) Defy Cheating in a Digital Age

by Mona Quinn

As teachers navigate the rapidly changing digital landscape, they are faced with the daunting task of addressing plagiarism practices and copyright laws in their classrooms. While the internet presents a myriad of rich resources for inquiring minds, it also serves as a tempting repository from which to harvest someone else’s ideas. How are busy professional educators to keep a leg up on an ever-evolving technology, and how can they stay ahead of their more tech-savvy student plagiarizers?

First of all, it is important to agree that this problem cannot be ignored, and educators, K-12 across all disciplines, must focus some of their energy on posing the questions and seeking solutions. Raising the consciousness of administrators, seeking professional development opportunities, and tapping into media specialists’ resources are just some of the options available for addressing issues regarding plagiarism and copyright infringement. While solutions to every problem may not be realistic or even possible, spelling out the challenges and appreciating different perspectives can, at the very least, help teachers keep pace with what is happening in the local and global community. Making sure that the topic is regularly addressed in staff meetings, through special committees, and in newsletters can support the effort to discuss issues and keep abreast of current practices.

At the same time the ways in which plagiarism and copyright laws are affecting students are being examined, teachers should have a working knowledge of copyright laws and follow them in their own practice before they impose expectations on their students’ behavior. This is a tricky issue since time and money are often in short supply requiring teachers to “make-do” in order to get their lessons together and support their students. To this end, some teachers may copy textbook or workbook pages and import music and graphics into their presentations without taking into account copyright laws. Fair practice allows for some wiggle room here, but teachers need to understand the circumstances that permit this. Media specialists can provide information and referrals for this type of information, and there is a plethora of resources on the web that are relatively easy to access and digest (see list of references at the end of this article). It is reasonable to suggest that teachers examine their own behaviors to recognize how their attitudes and conduct may or may not be exacerbating the problem.

Best practices have always supported the efficacy of modeling, and conscientious teachers embed this strategy in many of their lessons. Primary teachers read aloud big books, introducing authors and illustrators to their emergent readers. They point out copyright pages citing dates of publication. Also, when recounting stories, they nudge their students into attributing information by asking, “Who said that in the story?” “Which character had that idea?” Through these fundamental methods, they introduce and demonstrate the notion of giving credit to their sources of information. Further, by admonishing students to do their own work and avoid copying someone else’s ideas or work when drawing pictures, telling stories, or completing worksheets, teachers help their young learners understand that individuals have a right to their own creations, and, ultimately, what cheating means and that it will not be tolerated. Establishing these standards lays the groundwork for the future.

In elementary grades, the importance of referencing work is supported through lessons on conducting web-based research and producing bibliographies. Again, talking about plagiarism and explaining why it isn’t ok is imperative to the student’s development. Research supports the practice of underscoring this conversation on through middle school and high school:

Anne Ruggles Gere, director of NCTE’s [National Council of Teachers of English] Squire Office for Policy Research, reports, "Among students in grades 3–5, when the teacher did discuss online cheating, 61% of students felt copying information from the Internet was cheating. That number dropped to 49.1% when teachers did not discuss cheating. Similarly, 22.6% of students in grades 6–12 felt copying from the Internet was okay when teachers discussed the issue, but that number jumped to 36.9% among students whose teachers did not discuss the issue. At both levels the differences were statistically significant" (“Teaching about Plagiarism,” 2005, para.4).

Continual, deliberate discussion of intellectual property issues, plagiarism and copyright laws can help clear up misunderstandings. Michael Day, chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication Committee in Composition and Communication posits that most of the plagiarism problems, especially in the realm of music and videos, come from a lack of knowledge (“Teaching about Plagiarism,” 2005, para. 7). While students may understand that cheating on a test is wrong, they have difficulty comprehending what internet information they may or may not use. Jeffrey R. Galin, associate professor and director of the University center of Excellence in Writing at Florida Atlantic University, points out that many students are used to downloading videos and music from the internet and they rationalize it by saying, “I can get it for free,” and “This person has so much money, he or she won’t miss a little more.” (“Teaching about Plagiarism,” 2005, para.11). Students need to be shown how this attitude begs the question.

It seems that the sagest advice is inviting students, no matter what age, into the conversation and into the process of establishing and understanding guidelines. Debbie Sabin, Senior Program Manager for The Writers’ Express, believes that students “value the integrity of their own ideas” (“Plagiarism – We Shouldn’t Miss Out,” 2007, para. 4) when they are given the opportunity to express themselves in their own voices, and thus, learn the importance of ownership. She encourages teachers to generate new assignments that require fresh ideas and original perspectives so that these voices may be developed and heard. Through this process, students will become personally sensitive to cheating and its ethical consequences. Consequently, their contributions to classroom procedures will come from a spirit of self protection and respect for the property of others. David Noskin, director of Communication Arts at Adlai e. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, supports a proactive approach to plagiarism. In an article in the English Leadership Quarterly (August 2005), cited in The Council Chronicle (November 2005), he suggests regularly conferencing with students about the sources in their papers. He also advocates requiring students to sign a plagiarism policy (“Teaching about Plagiarism,” 2005, para 15), so that they are aware of expectations and the implications of not following the dictates of the policy.

It is also prudent to bring the parents into the process: allow their input into generating guidelines; keep them posted on assignments and projects; and educate them on plagiarism and copyright laws. The leadership a teacher provides can improve communication and stave off misunderstandings. Parents need to appreciate the severity of the problem and the consequences of breaking rules. While plagiarism is an ethical issue, copyright infringement involves legal consequences. The Copyright Society of U.S.A. has a useful web site dealing with copyright law: www.csusa.org. An easy to follow handbook on copyright is Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, 4th Edition (Linworth Publishing, Inc, 2005.) and its companion, Copyright Catechism (Linworth Publishing, 2005), both authored by Carol Simpson. These resources can inform and support your conversations with parents, colleagues and students and serve as desk top references.

This problem will not go away. Instead, it becomes more complicated and far-reaching every day. However, the discussion must continue. As the internet becomes more ubiquitous and prolific, it behooves educators to become vociferous in acknowledging the challenges this vast resource presents and pioneers in seeking ways to address methods of coping with its effects, both positive and negative, on our students and their learning.

Reference

Copyright Society of the USA.

www.csusa.org

Plagiarism and copyright – What are the differences (Nov. 2005).

The Council Chronicle. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://www.ncte.org/portal/30view.asp?id=1228712

Resources on plagiarism and other ethical issues. (Nov. 2005).

The Council Chronicle. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://www.ncte.org/portal/30view.asp?id=1228713

Sabin, Debbie.

Plagiarism – We shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to find out what young writers are thinking. (March, 2007). The Council Chronicle. Retrieved Nov. 8, 2007, from http//www.ncte.org/pubs/chron/formembers/12862.htm

Simpson, Carol. (2005).

Copyright for schools: A practical guide. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

Simpson, Carol. (2005).

Copyright catechism: Practical answers to everyday school dilemmas. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

Teaching about Plagiarism in a Digital Age. (Nov. 2005).

The Council Chronicle. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://www.ncte.org/portal/30view.asp?id=122871

Mona Quinn

Mona Quinn is a former secondary English teacher who is also a certified Faculty Mentor Trainer, as well as a calibrated Indiana Mentoring and Assessment Program (IMAP) portfolio scorer through the Indiana Department of Education Division of Professional Standards.

This featured article appeared in Volume 3, Number 2 issue of the Write Connections quarterly newsletter. View other archived newsletters , a topical organization of all newsletters, or sign-up to receive notification when the next newsletters are ready to download.