Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater
So I had a wonderful event happen today and I figured I'd go ahead and share it here...Be prepared for venting! My AP World History classes (of which I have 4!) usually receive a reading quiz occasionally to ensure students are completing their reading assignments. Students were not performing well so I started assigning outline notes in place of quizzes to ensure students were reading. This is only the third time I've collected notes, but students have been turning them in more frequently. Today during class I noticed a student who rarely turns in homework (yeah, in AP!) had these wonderful outline notes. I realized this was a bit fishy, so I typed his notes into google, and what do you know, he copied the notes directly from a website! Now, I thought it was a random incident, but then I noticed 2 more in the same class. The worst part is the fact that the administration was like "well, just discuss with them why that is a bad thing." I guess my problem with this response is it does not address the fact that at 16, in a collegiate-level course, academic integrity should be a little more important than having a discussion about how they shouldn't cheat. I don't really know how to respond to this situation (apparently there are LARGE number of students who cheated on their notes) or how I should feel about this. I have a responsibility to help them pass this test and earn collegiate credit, but if they are willing to cheat, should I be willing to help? These are the days that try teachers' souls.
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In middle school we have these fancy things called star cards, and they start the year with 100 points. Teachers take points off two at a time for infractions like tardies, being unprepared and so on. Cheating however is 6 whole points, enough to make most students cry. I figured middle school is the time when we "dicuss" cheating because in high school the classes count. That is quite the scary response especially since in college I thought you could get kicked out for doing the equivalent.
ReplyDeleteMike, It is always a hard thing for me to "enforce" reading and studying at home. In AP level classes that you teach and in certification classes (CISCO and A+) it is a must. There is NO way that a student can get everything they need in class. I know this, you know this, I think they even know this, but they don't care. So we either change their attitude (which is insanely hard) or we carry the big stick and hang a grade over their head with it, which I hate to do, but it has to be done. So you have done that with the reading notes, but they have found and easy out, copy and paste. Bummer..... So my thought process jumps to this. Instead of using notes, what other medium can your students use to display their reading progress. Verbal, mind maps, inspiration, etc. Again, how can they prove what the have done outside of the "cut and paste world?"
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sounding naive (since I don't really know how much high school kids understsand the implications of this) maybe this is a teachable moment. I say scare them a bit. Let them know you are on to them, how easy it was to bust them and that if this had this been college they could have been kicked out! I also agree with Josh and wonder if there is a way to get to the essential understandings without traditional note taking.....like our happy hour summaries
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult when teachers treat this situation differently. IF there was a clear cut consequence maybe students would know and follow the rules. Instead some teachers don't care if they copy notes and others know it is plagerizm. HIgh school students struggle with this, it is partly just laziness! And you are right, what are they going to do when they get to college when the results are much more severe
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michele. My intial reaction was...scare them! Without consequences they will continue to do it. Unfort. by the time they get to college, it will be too late. College professors are not as nice and they will learn the hard way.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with Josh, maybe new ways to show their understanding would help. I have retained a lot more information from our happy hour summaries, raps, top ten lists, etc. These activities require me to apply what I have learned in a new way. I think that high school students still enjoy taking ownership in their work and having them try new techniques just may increase that responsiblity.