EDU 653
Higher Order Web-Mediated Learning - Week 4
Embedded Files
Week 4 - Write a Journal Article, Backed by Research.
Week 4 - Write a Journal Article, Backed by Research.
Topic - Copyright, Plagiarism, & Cheating
Topic - Copyright, Plagiarism, & Cheating
Pre-Reflection - Why do People Cheat?
This is an interesting topic. I can't recall if I've ever cheated on anything back when I was in school. I know when I was a kid I didn't do well in school but cheating wasn't really a thought for me. It's possible I did, simply because when you're young you don't really understand consequences or take things that seriously, so I won't discount the possibility, but I do feel like I remember being specifically raised to not be dishonest, in school and in life, in general.
The next thing that pops into my head is the types of parents you have and the careers they are in. My dad, at the time, was an immigrant working in construction, and my mom was a social worker. Both pretty simple people. But I wonder how having parents who were bankers or stock-traders or other white collar jobs which may benefit of the loss of others, I wonder if there is a chance that influences from parents in different job fields can play a role? And likewise for kids who come from families that are rich, vs. families that are poor? Are the families that are rich more engaged with the student and more supportive and less likely to cheat? Or will they feel more pressure to succeed, or possibly more privileged because they are rich and feel that they can get away with anything they want?
There's a student at my school who's been caught plagiarising again and again, and her explanation is because a) she thinks she wouldn't do well enough, and b) she's about to graduate and she wants to get into university. She has a pretty bad home life, (mom passed away, dad not around) and I can see how these external factors make her feel like she needs to resort to cheating. But not all students in these situations resort to cheating. So what's the difference? I guess that's the point of this week's research.
Initial Driving Questions & Thoughts
Why do people cheat?
They want good grades?
They don't think they can do it (low self esteem)?
Not feeling like they'll do well enough if they do it properly?
It's easier?
What are strategies to support cheaters?
What's the difference between the cheaters and the non-cheaters?
Raised differently?
Different amount of support at home?
What can be done to help?
?
Researched Sources Used
Video: "Steven Crawford - Why Students Cheat"
Notes from video:
20% all students cheat when they have a chance, 20% won't cheat, no matter what (bowman 2020)
Online vs. F2F
Statistically more likely during F2F
Time
students looking for short cuts
students not having time to complete it
Ethics & Societal Norms
If they believe that it's accepted social practice, they feel they won't be punished, they become confused about the goals of education, they are more likely to cheat
Survival
Pressure to maintain high GPA to keep financial aid, support from parents, or qualify to graduate school of their choice
Knowledge
Lacking research skills
Not understanding what is plagiarism
Personal
Anxiety to succeed
Ease
just to make their lives easier
it's easier to cheat
Interesting article that claims educators need to work harder to be better teachers and create more engagement with students, which will in turn, reduce the likelihood a student will cheat.
Video: The Shocking Reason Why People Cheat
Argument: Hormones are the reason for cheating
interesting article about educators under pressure to have their students do well on tests resort to cheating,
Reasons for cheating
to "protect and preserve the very things at stake"
job stability
students
school accreditation
school closures
bonuses
Interesting article with data to show that students who cheat, also feel they hold honesty and integrity in high regard. And feel that they are trustworthy and that it is important to be trusted.
Offers insights of how students justify cheating, even if they feel cheating is wrong, by deflecting attention from their own deviant behaviour to the shortcomings of others. Eg:
rationalising that it's ok to cheat because they can blame their teacher for being a bad teacher
students are statistically more likely to justify cheating when they feel their teacher is less knowledgable
Post-Research Reflection
Through my research I found a wide range of topics relating to cheating. Although it seems there could be a multitude of reasons why a student may cheat, it seems there are some big themes, pressure to succeed being one of the biggest. From my reading it also seems that another big theme is that cheaters often find a way to justify what they are doing, "I don't want to lose my scholarship"; "I don't want to get low grades and have my parents upset at me"; "It's too hard and I wouldn't be able to do it if I didn't". Although from the research it seems that people WANT to be honest and want to be viewed as an honest person with integrity, it seems they will find a way to cheat and justify this breach of integrity, even though they will still consider themselves to be still honourable people.
Web Searching History
To view my week 4 browsing history, click here for image 1, click here for image 2, click here for image 3, click here for image 4, click here for image 5.
Additional "Fact Checking" Research
Final Journal/Magazine Article
Interesting article that discusses a lot of researched reasons that correlate to students cheating.
Interesting discussion about online vs. in person cheating and mixed results of which scenario had more cheating, citing many other researchers
There own research found less cheating online and more in person
minimally discusses different rates of cheating in online vs in person
heavily discusses ways students can cheat
discusses possible solutions
mentions Watson & Sottile, 2010 - neglects to discuss their primary conclusion of more cheating during in person classes
reinforces my feelings about holistically solving cheating at the root of the cause, instead of bandaid solutions
For this activity I wrote an article for a fictitious journal/magazine title "21st Century Education." As I continued my research, I found recurring themes and reasons why students cheat that didn't seem like they could be corrected by simply throwing some new tech at it. To me, this felt like a band-aid solution, and this problem felt too big and more like it needed a holistic solution instead to address the root of these issues.
For a direct link to the PDF for this article, click here.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse