Plagiarism
Weigel and Gardner (2009)
"In a survey of 24,000 students at 70 high schools, Donald McCabe (Rutgers University) found that 64 percent of students admitted to cheating on a test, 58 percent admitted to plagiarism and 95 percent said they participated in some form of cheating, whether it was on a test, plagiarism or copying homework." (iParadigms, 2014). Trip Gabriel (2010) writing in the New York Times on plagiarism, contends that the “lines are blurred” and that the way people consume information in the digital age has resulted in a “disconnect” with the concept of intellectual property.
Whilst plagiarism is not new, with claims related to art, literature, music, and politics littered throughout history, our digital environment makes it easy for students to cut and paste from online sources. In her article Crime or confusion: Why do students plagiarise?, Di Wilson (2006) argues that not all plagiarism is intentional, that it is the role of educators to raise awareness of what constitutes plagiarism and address it through teaching and learning strategies, such as designing assignments that foster critical thinking, and explicit instruction on note taking, summarising and referencing. Wilson suggests that varying ethical values and intercultural differences are contributing factors.
Is plagiarism an issue in your school? Does your school have a policy or guidelines about academic honesty? What strategies have you used to address plagiarism?
This video, directed at senior students, outlines ten different types of plagiarism.
Ideas for the classroom
In a blog post on plagiarism, Jenny Luca shares her approach to addressing this issue with Year 8 students.
Defining Plagiarism
These videos for a student audience promote awareness of what constitutes plagiarism. The first one is directed at upper primary/junior secondary students, the second at middle/senior students.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Raising students' awareness of plagiarism and equipping them with skills in notetaking, summarising, synthesising and referencing assists students in thinking critically about the way they interact with information. The resources below provide some strategies.
Academic honesty and plagiarism (The University of Melbourne)
Considers plagiarism and copyright and gives students examples of plagiarism and a checklist about acknowledging sources.
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University provides writing resources and instructional material. It includes writing tips and information about avoiding plagiarism, research and citation.
Successful vs. Unsuccessful Paraphrases (The University of Wisconsin, Writing Center) includes samples of what to do and what not to do when incorporating the ideas of others.
This video is useful in explaining the differences between quoting, paraphrasing and summarising.
Designed for students aged 14 and 15, this unit of work from ACMA approaches plagiarism from the perspective of the ethical use of technology.
In an article for the New York Times: The Learning Unit, Skills and strategies: Understanding plagiarism in a digital age, Anderson and Schulton (2015) present examples of high profile cases of plagiarism as well as ideas for addressing plagiarism with students.
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References
Anderson, L., & Schulten, K. (2015, October 29). Skills and strategies: Understanding plagiarism in a digital age [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/skills-and-strategies-understanding-plagiarism-in-a-digital-age/
Australian Communications and Media Authority. (2011). Ethical use of technology. Retrieved from http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/schools/teacher%20resources/~/media/Cybersmart/Schools/Documents/Lesson_plans_middle_secondary_Ethical%20Use%20of%20Technology.pdf
cfccnc (2009, August 25). A quick guide to plagiarism [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTPv9PtOoo
Gabriel, T. (2016, January 3). Lines on plagiarism blur for students in the digital age. Education. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=0
Info_Sherpas. (2013, March 23). How to paraphrase [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/62677940
iParadigms. (2014). Facts & stats. Retrieved from http://www.plagiarism.org/resources/facts-and-stats/
Luca, J. (2011, October 12). Talking plagiarism with students [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://jennyluca.com/2011/10/12/talking-plagiarism-with-students/
TED-Ed (2013, June 14). The punishable perils of plagiarism - Melissa Huseman D’Annunzio. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrjoaaIxaJI
Weigel, M., & Gardner, H. (2009). The Best of Both Literacies. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 38.
Wilson, D. (2006). Crime or confusion - why do students plagiarise? EQ Australia, Winter 2006, 19-20. Reprinted in Connections, Issue 60, 2007. Retrieved from http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_60/crime_or_confusion_-_why_do_students_plagiarise.html
WriteCheckVideos (2012, November 16). 10 types of plagiarism [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF5eFeJMplA