Preventing plagiarism through assignment design Laura Barrett, Undergraduate Services Librarian John...
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Preventing plagiarism through assignment design
Laura Barrett, Undergraduate Services Librarian
John Holmes, Reference/Instruction Librarian
Tish Lopez, Director, Odegaard Writing & Research Center
Sara Seely, Masters candidate, UW Information School
Becky Rosenberg, Director, UW Bothell Teaching and Learning Center
Workshop Objectives
Participants will … expand their understanding of plagiarism in
academic contexts. practice shifting their focus to learning and away
from cheating when making pedagogical decisions about their research and writing assignments.
identify strategies for designing research and writing assignments that minimize potential for plagiarism and maximize potential for deep learning.
identify campus learning services that may provide intellectual support for their students’ research and writing activities.
Talking Plagiarism
Informaldiscourse
Unintentional plagiarism
Cheating
Crib notes
Texting
Cell phone
Purchased
term
paper
Many
course
lectures
Unacknowledged
sources
Inaccurate assumption
ofcommon
knowledge“Our speech
is filled to overflowing
with the words of others.”
M.M. Bakhtin
Patchwriting
Based on the work of Dr. Russell Hunt, St. Thomas University
The new learning environment
Internet/technologies First generation students Academic culture Intellectual property/copyright laws International students Collaborative learning
Types of plagiarism Accidental Plagiarism: Most plagiarism is
accidental; the plagiarizer does not deliberately represent someone else's work as their own.
Direct Plagiarism: This type of plagiarism happens when a person uses sections of a source word for word without citing the original source.
Intentional Plagiarism: Intentional Plagiarism occurs when a person deliberately takes another's work and represents it as their own.
Mosaic Plagiarism: Mosaic Plagiarism occurs when a person uses words or groups of words and sentence structure to paraphrase the original source.
Self Plagiarism: This occurs when a person submits their own work on more than one occasion.
Academic Writing Expectations
Show you have done
your research Write something new
and original but
Appeal to experts
and authorities Improve upon or disagree with experts
and authorities
Emulate what you hear and read to improve your English and writing skills
Use your own words,
your own voice
but
but
Purdue University Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
1. How to find and develop research questions and claims
2. How to find sources3. Why to find sources4. How to work sources into a paper5. How to manage sources6. How to cite sources7. How to establish rhetorical context: a
role, an audience, and a purpose8. How to follow the disciplinary report
format
What skills go into a research paper?
ASSIGNMENT DESIGNSpecial Topic: Discouraging Plagiarism
SCAFFOLD ASSIGNMENTS
Break down assignment, with elements due and reviewed (either by faculty or in peer groups)
EXAMPLE: Research Paper Class Discussion: How to find and develop research
questions Annotated bibliography assignment Thesis + outline in-class workshop *or* required writing
center visit Provide a mini-lesson or handouts on effective source
integration and/or citation guidelines appropriate to the discipline
1st draft peer review Final draft due
VARY AND/OR SPECIFY ASSIGNMENTS Specify/vary voice, audience, and purpose Make assignments problem-based (not just topic-
based) Make assignments specific with an unusual twist (or
have students choose one from a list of several specific problems)
Require an argument (not just a report) Limit sources to those published within the last (---)
months if appropriate to the problem Have students incorporate some information or data
set that you have provided Openly post all resources students collect on a
course website
EMBED ASSIGNMENTS
Embed assignments in course theme and materials
Prescribe use of one or more particular sources (especially one you used in class).
Consider establishing a course theme, and then allow students to define specific questions about that theme so that they become engaged in learning new ideas and begin to own their research
DOCUMENTING PROCESS
Require copies of source material Process note on group activities Require an annotated bibliography
ahead of time, complete with call numbers for books and journals and complete URLs for web resources
Require a “low stakes” response paper/research update
MODELING
Model movement from source to patchwriting, summary, paraphrase, integration into text with appropriate referencing and provide opportunities to practice (e.g. using peer groups/peer tutors)
Support each step of the research and writing process with samples
PROVIDE CHECKLISTS
Provide checklists that outline the required elements you are seeking
Example: Support Evidence Paragraph Checklist: Are my supporting evidence topic sentences strong? Do they
make clear the point I am trying to prove, explain or support as well as connect back to my thesis?
Do I effectively explain my topic sentence? Do I effectively introduce my quote or paraphrase – either by
referring to the author of the quote or providing a lead in/context to the quote?
Do I adequately cite the quote or paraphrase (“aaa aaaaaa” (Doe 544).)
Do I unpack the quote/paraphrase? In others words, do I explain what the author is arguing in my own words?
Do I explain how the quote or paraphrased used works to prove, support, or explain the point I am trying to make in the topic sentence of this paragraph?
Do I have an effective concluding sentence that sums up the point I am trying to make in this paragraph and reasserts how this paragraphs works to prove, support, or explain my thesis?
ADDITIONAL IDEAS
Marty Patton, Campus Writing Program, University of Missouri:
“Require a meta-learning essay on the due-date, asking students to describe what they learned, what problems they encountered, what research strategies they used, and where they located most of their sources”
ADDITIONAL IDEAS
Council of Writing Program Administrators: Develop schedules for students that both
allow them time to explore and support them as they work toward defined topics
Support each step of the research process Ask students to draw on and document a
variety of sources Show students how to evaluate their sources Focus on reading
ADDITIONAL IDEAS
Teach students what plagiarism is Create an assignment that examines
university policy Acknowledge and address ambiguity Model appropriate practice in area of study Help students distinguish between
cheating, non-attribution and patchwriting
ACTIVITY
Restructuring Your Assignment!
INSTRUCTIONS
Get into groups of 3-4 Introduce yourself (name, department,
courses you teach) Select an assignment that your group would
like to work on Describe the assignment—what does it ask
students to do? Brainstorm methods for promoting learning
while minimizing plagiarism (see checklist) Be prepared to report your group’s finding
ACTIVITY: QUESTION #1
What are the learning goals for the assignment?
Consider the eight abilities associated with a research paper:1. How to find and develop research questions and
claims2. How to find sources3. Why to find sources4. How to work sources into a paper5. How to manage sources6. How to cite sources7. How to establish a rhetorical context, a role, an
audience, and a purpose8. How to follow the disciplinary report format
ACTIVITY: QUESTION #2
What are the elements that are particularly challenging to students? What are the elements that might lead
them to plagiarize—intentionally or inadvertently?
ACTIVITY: QUESTION #3
What can you integrate into the assignment to support students through the challenges, enhancing their learning and discouraging plagiarism?