Educational institutions are where we come to gain knowledge and take away life’s most valuable lessons, so I never understood the point of cheating. Why cheat when you can fill your head with useful information? And arguably, it takes as much time to come up with ways to outsmart your teacher as it does to look through the material and prepare for the test.
Nevertheless, academic dishonesty is a common issue that pedagogues face, and to combat it, they have to come up with some creative solutions. For example, this teacher made 24 versions of the same quiz, which definitely taught the cheating students a valuable lesson.
Academic dishonesty is a common issue that teachers face
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Fed up with it, this teacher came up with a creative solution to combat it
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Between 50% and 70% of students admit to academic dishonesty
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Teachers in the modern classroom, where students are equipped with all sorts of technology, face a big challenge of preserving academic integrity. According to TEQSA, academic integrity by definition is “the expectation that teachers, students, researchers and all members of the academic community act with: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.”
Unfortunately, research shows that between 50% and 70% of students admit to academic dishonesty, whether that’s cheating on a test or plagiarizing. The main reasons why they chose to breach academic integrity are poor time management, fear of failure, and mental health challenges.
The sad thing is that cheaters often go unnoticed and get better grades than their honest counterparts. This may continue to push more students to commit unethical academic practices, since cheating students rarely get caught.
Nevertheless, ensuring that students maintain academic integrity is important because cheating deprives them of genuine learning opportunities. This can have dire consequences, as learning is paramount to success in life and career. In fact, research has found that academic dishonesty in school leads to dishonesty in the workplace, which is likely to interfere with promising job opportunities.
“In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first one, the other two will k**l you,” warned Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors of all time.
Well-prepared students are less likely to be dishonest
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So, what could be done to combat academic dishonesty, you may be wondering? Well, there are many ways to do this. All it takes is a bit of creativity.
The first suggestion iCEV proposes is talking about honesty and integrity in the classroom. Even though it might come off as a surprise, some students might not be aware of the ethical implications and consequences that cheating involves. Therefore, discussing honesty and integrity in a classroom is a great starting point and a good reminder, which can make students think twice before cheating.
Another option, like the teacher in the story did, is to make different versions of assessments. This prevents students from looking at what their peers have written as answers. The test could also have some other form that doesn’t just require putting answers on a paper sheet. For example, using Kahoot as an assessment type can really test the knowledge of students, since they have no time to look up the answers from anywhere else.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, teachers should try to prepare their students, as best as they can, for the assessment, as this helps to alleviate students' anxieties about the test, which often pushes them to be dishonest. This may involve being clear about requirements, timelines, and expectations and spending more time revising the material, solving problems, and answering questions. Remember, well-prepared students are less likely to be dishonest!
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