"Strategies to Make Academic Integrity Work as an Educational Process" Webinar Report

This webinar was hosted on August 15, 2015 and was geared towards instructors at Penn State University. The presenters discuss difference resources and strategies that instructors can use in order to prevent plagiarism and other issues of academic integrity and ethical behavior. They also made sure that participants understood the university’s academic integrity policy and what steps to take when students do not adhere to it. 

My research for this semester has focused on academic integrity and ethical behavior in a 21st century high school learning environment. While this webinar was specifically designed for a university staff, there were many valuable points and ideas that I can apply to a high school setting. 

The webinar began by defining violations of academic integrity. Some of the most common violations are:

·       Unauthorized use of study aids

·       Submitting work done in previous classes

·       Improper use of technology

·       Unauthorized collaboration

·       Submitting another’s work as your own / not citing sources

·       Ghosting

According to Karen Feldbaum, sometimes students participate in unauthorized collaboration accidentally (Amsberry et al. 2015). It is important that instructors provide clear expectations for group work when a project is assigned to prevent this from happening. I think that this could also be the case for high school students. The students on my campus are encouraged to participate in “Peer to Peer” teaching and tutoring. However, there are some classes and assignments where this method is not acceptable. Teachers must be very clear with students about when it is appropriate for them to help one another and when they are expected to work on their own. 

Ghosting was a new term for me, but once it was defined, I immediately thought of examples of when it can occur. Ghosting takes place when a student has someone else do their work for them (Amsberry et al. 2015). For example, in an online course, students may complete discussion questions for one another. I have witnessed ghosting on our campus when it comes to foreign language. Our students have the option to complete a Rosetta Stone course for a foreign language credit. While Rosetta Stone is an excellent program, students who struggle with the speaking portion have figured out that they can allow another student to do that portion of the class for them. Since Rosetta Stone is web-based, students can work on their course anywhere, which makes it even easier for ghosting to occur.

Feldbaum explains to instructors that issues of academic integrity and unethical behavior should be viewed as part of the educational process and should not be handled punitively (Amsberry et al. 2015). When an incident happens for the first time, instructors should meet with the student(s) involved to determine if the behavior was intentional or not. If it was intentional, instructors should spend time discussing ethics and helping the student(s) determine what needs to be done in the future. If the act was simply accidental, instructors need to focus on proper citation skills, project expectations, etc. Even in the high school setting, I think that it is very important to remember to not jump to conclusions. Students deserve the opportunity to discuss the issue with their teacher so they can learn for the next time.

Dawn Amsberry, a Librarian at Penn State, encourages instructors to utilize the research tools provided by the university library to help prevent issues of academic integrity (2015). The library provides access to many databases that contain academic sources and have built-in citation tools. The library also provides research guides for specific courses and is more than willing to create more for additional classes. On the library website, students have access to online tutorials that help with general research skills and preventing plagiarism. Amsberry suggests that instructors should host a discussion about library tutorials and academic integrity when school begins (2015). All of these tools and ideas would be very valuable in the high school library setting as well. Our students have access to databases, tutorials, and research guides, but I do not think that they know how and when to utilize all of these resources. Spending time at the beginning of the school year to help familiarize them with all of the tools they have available is a great idea. I also think it is important to revisit the resources from time to time so students remember that they are there!

When it comes to creating assignments, Amsberry suggests several things instructors can do to help students maintain academic integrity and behave ethically (2015).

·       Assign writing topics that are specific/unique to individual students

·       Explain parameters and expectations for collaborative work

·       Require a topic proposal, multiple drafts, and an annotated bibliography

·       Require students to submit a “meta-learning” essay to describe their project

These suggestions can easily be implemented at the high school level as well, and some of them already are. I really like the idea of requiring a “meta-learning” essay so students have to reflect on their experience and explain the process they went through while completing their project. 

Overall, I found this webinar to be extremely beneficial to my research topic for the semester. Even though it was specifically created for college instructors, many of the ideas can be applied at the high school level. I am looking forward to presenting some of the ideas shared with the teachers at my high school.

Reference:

Amsberry, Dawn, Joann Dornich, Karen Feldbaum, and Andrew Tatusko. "Strategies to Make Academic Integrity Work as an Educational Process." Webinar, Penn State World Campus, August 15, 2015. https://meeting.psu.edu/p71g3as0c1h/.