EDST Student Hub - Academic Integrity

According to Ontario Tech's Academic Integrity Policy, "academic integrity refers to honest and ethical behaviours in the pursuit of research, education, and scholarly activities. It is based in the fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage." In practice, academic integrity looks like:

Completing one's own work
Understanding and following the appropriate citation method in regard to the use of quotation marks and paraphrasing
Collaborating only when allowed by the instructor
Acknowledging the contribution of others through proper citing / referencing (i.e., giving credit)
Ensuring that one's own work is not used by others unless approved by the instructor (e.g., group work)

- Ontario Tech University, Academic Integrity Policy (Section 14.1)

Why Academic Integrity Matters

It helps build your skills and confidence
It protects the value of your degree
It's part of being a respectful and trustworthy learner and classmate
Committing academic misconduct (i.e., acting in ways that violate the principles of academic integrity) carries academic consequences - from failing an assignment to expulsion from the university

You're here to learn and develop as an educator! Making mistakes is okay, but honesty and integrity is essential.

Citations and Referencing

Referencing (i.e., giving credit to) the sources you use or consult in your academic work is an important part of academic integrity. It shows where your ideas came from, gives credit to others for their work, and allows readers to explore your sources and come to their own conclusions.

Unless your instructor states otherwise, you are expected to cite your sources in all coursework and assignments. This applies to all coursework formats - from essays to presentations to discussion board posts. In the Educational Studies program, APA 7th Edition (aka, the Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition) is the standard publishing and citation style for all assignments.

⭐ Four-Year Program: Different disciplines may use different citation styles. Refer to the syllabus in all non-Education elective courses for their preferred citation style (e.g., MLA, Chicago, etc.).

📑 APA 7 Support and Resources:

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools - such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, and others - can seem like helpful shortcuts when you are stuck on an assignment or want to improve your writing, but unless your instructor provides clear and explicit permission, using these tools in your assignments and coursework is considered a violation of academic integrity.

This is because academic work is meant to demonstrate your competencies, skills, and understandings; if a GenAI tool creates your assignment content or does the thinking for you, you aren't submitting your own work - even if you developed the prompt or edited the content that was produced.

Depending on the subject, assignment focus, and instructor, every course will have different expectations and perspectives on the use of GenAI tools. Always consult the course outline and assignment instructions, and speak directly with your instructor if you're unsure whether a specific tool is appropriate for a specific purpose.

📑 Additional Resources

FEd - Academic Integrity Modules

Familiarize yourself with academic integrity standards and practices through these nine modules, provided by the
Teaching & Learning Centre.

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