Planning for Academic Integrity
Planning for Academic Integrity
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The Ottawa Catholic School Board emphasizes the integration of academic integrity across all aspects of school life. This approach starts with educators prioritizing academic integrity as essential learning, assessing students' prior understanding, and crafting tailored experiences to deepen their grasp of these principles. By explicitly presenting and embodying academic integrity within their practices, educators foster a culture where these values are not merely talked about but actively lived.
This effort aligns with the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations, promoting an educational environment where students learn to act with integrity and respect towards themselves and others.
The commitment extends to all classrooms (K-12), all subjects, and all levels, including diverse forms of assessments.
Educators play a crucial role in shaping learning environments that encourage academic integrity. During the planning process, it's important for educators to understand and reflect on the underlying factors, such as power dynamics, privilege, and systemic biases, that can influence student behavior. By acknowledging these influences, educators can create inclusive and supportive learning spaces where every student feels valued and empowered to achieve success honestly.
Understanding the broader context of academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, enables educators to develop targeted interventions. These strategies not only address the issues directly but also foster an environment where integrity is a fundamental part of the learning experience. Through thoughtful planning and a deep commitment to equity, educators can effectively guide students towards ethical academic practices.
Planning Instruction
All educators in the school have a role to play in an effective academic integrity program. Collaboration and communication between administrators, department heads, curriculum leaders, and all educators are essential.
School Leaders
Administrators, department heads, and curriculum leaders play a crucial role in determining how academic integrity instruction is integrated into the school community, including considerations for Artificial Intelligence (AI) where applicable. These suggestions can assist leaders in promoting academic integrity within their schools:
Clearly articulate a statement on academic integrity in the school code of conduct - as shown below;
Reinforce this statement in the student planner or agenda;
Display academic integrity posters in classrooms, hallways, and offices;
Develop an academic integrity brochure to be distributed to parents/guardians;
Collaborate with the school council to advocate for academic integrity;
Establish a school style guide;
Implement a mechanism to ensure that all students and families new to the school, school board, or Canada receive academic integrity information;
Foster interdepartmental and inter-panel dialogue regarding academic integrity;
Create subject-specific continuums of academic integrity skills for each department;
Provide professional development opportunities for educators on the topic of academic integrity;
Encourage collaborative planning and assessment among educators within each department;
Support collaborative planning between teacher-librarians and classroom educators;
Demonstrate academic integrity when creating presentations, school websites, brochures, etc.;
Offer professional and student resources to support educators;
Procure and endorse the use of reliable, user-friendly online databases for research.
Educators
To effectively promote academic integrity, educators can utilize the following strategies:
Use Universal Design principles and create learning tasks that emphasize the process over the product;
Clearly define learning outcomes, success criteria, and agreed-upon tools;
Personalize tasks to match students' individual needs, interests, and abilities;
Design inquiry-based tasks that encourage creativity and personal insight;
Add “Any task/assignment is subject to a verbal follow-up” to the instructions - this encourages critical thinking and provides educators with the ability to further explore student learning through conversation and observation;
Clearly communicate the rules regarding the use of online tools or AI, requiring educator approval. Consider including a statement that includes "with prior teacher approval";
Engage students in lesson design and use hands-on activities to foster observation, collaboration, and critical thinking;
Emphasize ongoing and direct involvement assessments, encouraging regular interactions and feedback throughout the learning process;
Highlight research within evaluation criteria to enhance academic rigor and tailor assessments to individual strengths;
Align summative evaluations with the practices previously used, including digital tasks;
Select engaging and relevant topics that encourage identity reflection and peer collaboration;
Utilize student-educator conferencing to demonstrate learning outcomes;
Consult the OCSB Guide to Artificial Intelligence for Final Assessments;
Ensure resources are clearly taught and accessible, with task expectations well-defined;
Integrate process work into classroom activities as outlined in the curriculum:
In Language Arts, emphasize the writing process, assessing students on their ability to brainstorm, plan, draft, revise, and edit.
In Science, highlight the scientific inquiry process, assessing students on their ability to ask questions, make predictions, and conduct experiments.
In Mathematics, emphasize problem-solving processes, assessing students not only on finding correct solutions, but also on their approach, reasoning, and problem-solving strategies.
In the Arts curriculum, acknowledge that the creative process is as important as the final product, and provide guidance for assessing students' progress and growth throughout their artistic exploration and development.
Creating Clear Procedures for Academic Integrity
Crafting an academic integrity framework requires more than careful planning; educators must also implement measures that both deter dishonest behavior and offer corrective paths for genuine learning. This dual strategy establishes transparent guidelines that champion academic integrity while clearly outlining the responses to instances of academic dishonesty.
The creation and communication of school practices around academic integrity are primarily the responsibility of the principal and the leadership team. These practices are disseminated within the school community through the school code of conduct. Furthermore, educators play a crucial role in reinforcing academic integrity guidelines within their departments and classrooms.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly significant role in education. It is imperative that these guidelines also encompass AI's potential for both enhancing learning and facilitating dishonesty. Educators should, therefore, integrate principles that promote the ethical use of AI tools in academic work, ensuring students understand not just the boundaries of honest academic conduct but also the value and importance of integrity in their educational journey.
By adapting these strategies to include considerations for digital and AI technologies, educational institutions can foster a culture of integrity that prepares students for responsible participation in a technologically advanced academic and professional world.
Can students use AI to enhance their work/product? The OCSB encourages, under the guidance of an educator, within the parameters of the task and with citation requirements, students to enhance their original work using AI tools. Student use of AI should not replace demonstration of student learning.
School Code of Conduct
The academic integrity statement in the school code of conduct should be consistent with this Academic Integrity Guideline, Growing Success, and OCSB Assessment and Evaluation Policies.
A sample statement for a school Code of Conduct:
The Ottawa Catholic School Board challenges students and staff to uphold Christian values and pursue academic excellence. Academic integrity is fundamental across all subject areas, including those that incorporate or are influenced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Only work that upholds academic integrity will be considered for assessment. Therefore, a student's success hinges on maintaining academic honesty. In addition to academic implications, academically dishonest conduct will result in behavioral consequences. The educator, in consultation with the school administrator, will determine the appropriate range of these implications and consequences.
“Policies will reflect a continuum of behavioural and academic responses and consequences, based on at least the following four factors;
(1) the grade level of the student,
(2) the maturity of the student,
(3) the number and frequency of incidents,
(4) the individual circumstances of the student” (Growing Success, p.43).
"It must be made clear to students that they are responsible for providing evidence of their learning within established timelines, and that there are consequences for cheating, plagiarizing, not completing work, and submitting work late" (Growing Success, p.38).
“Students must understand that the tests/exams they complete and the assignments they submit for evaluation must be their own work and that cheating and plagiarism will not be condoned” (Growing Success, p.42).
OCSB Guiding AI Principles
The Ottawa Catholic School Board actively supports the integration of AI in student learning. AI is expected to be used as a supporting tool rather than a replacement for original work produced by students.
Students are encouraged to utilize AI under certain conditions, primarily under the direct guidance of educators and within the parameters of the task. This ensures that AI serves as an aid in augmenting tasks and projects, enhancing the learning process while maintaining the student’s role as the primary creator. Furthermore, students must cite any AI tools used, thus preserving academic integrity and transparency.
Although AI can facilitate the creation of tasks, it is essential that it does not diminish the student's own contributions. Any and all assessments may be followed up with oral explanations to educators.
Promoting Integrity and Ethical Use of Digital Tools:
Educators should:
aim to foster an environment that nurtures critical thinking, creativity, and a deeper understanding of the curriculum while preparing students for the digital future by integrating AI into educational practices responsibly;
cultivate character development among all students, guiding them to become responsible and ethical citizens in every aspect of their school life. Implement digital literacy programs to ensure the ethical use of digital tools and applications, including AI, platforms for collaboration, and privacy considerations;
Educators should intentionally integrate critical thinking criteria related to the use of digital resources, data, and AI-generated content, empowering students to discern and evaluate the authenticity and relevance of information. Encourage the use of critical thinking to maintain the integrity of learning outcomes and knowledge acquisition;
Incorporate peer reviews and discussions to foster a culture of accountability and constructive feedback. Engage parents/guardians in the learning process through regular updates and assessments, enhancing transparency and understanding;
Refer to the Academic Dishonesty section of this site for specific guidelines. Recognize that our approach to assessment and evaluation evolves with experience, research, collaboration, and the ever-changing landscape of educational technology.
Obstacles to Learning
Various obstacles can impede learning. Students may resort to cheating or plagiarism for a multitude of reasons, such as societal pressure, feelings of inadequacy, lack of understanding, and educational practices that inadvertently encourage dishonesty. To foster academic integrity, educators must grasp these factors and intentionally address them in both classroom and school discussions.
Feelings of Inadequacy
Students facing academic challenges may feel overwhelmed and view unethical behavior as their sole recourse. Educators bear the responsibility to support these students and guide them and their parents/guardians towards making suitable course selections.
Lack of Knowledge
Educators should recognize students may need guidance to fully understand the principles of academic honesty, including the necessary information and skills. Instances of academic dishonesty often arise from gaps in literacy, research, note-taking, organizational, and time-management skills, rather than deliberate misconduct. These challenges can be further complicated by a lack of knowledge about documentation and citation practices, as well as intellectual property and public domain concepts.
It is vital for educators to proactively provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to uphold academic integrity. This responsibility extends to recognizing and addressing the needs of all students, particularly those with diagnosed learning disabilities and those facing socio-cultural and linguistic barriers.
Societal Pressure
Societal pressures, underscored by popular culture's prioritization of success and the acceptance of intense competition, foster a mindset where the outcomes justify the means, implicitly condoning cheating. This undue emphasis on competition and achievement may compel students towards unethical academic decisions. Educators play a crucial role in mitigating these pressures by providing support, encouragement, and alternative paths for students who feel overwhelmed.
Practices That Invite Dishonesty
Educators must critically assess the design and objectives of their tasks to discourage academic dishonesty. The presence of inauthentic tasks, unrealistic deadlines, flawed tasks, and unsupervised work can inadvertently encourage dishonest behaviors. Collaborative planning of significant tasks and assessments with other educators is encouraged.
Leverage guidelines from resources like "Think Literacy: Cross Curricular Approaches Grades 7-12," and "Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools."
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