Now it is nearly the end of the semester I have a little more time to focus on things outside the classroom. So two comments today, this one about cheating and another about office mates.
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I caught seven students cheating on one assignment this semester. There was one group of four and one group of three. Since each group handed in identical assignments it was easy to identify, and easy to defend. I am quite sure more cheating goes on that I never detect. However seven out of over 200 students and seven assignments for each student is probably about the same percentage as I have been detecting for the last several years. Whatever the actual level of cheating I don't have any evidence to suggest it has dramatically increased or decreased since I started teaching here in 2001.
Some students have always cheated, some always will. It is easier to share computer files than paper ones. It is easier on the computer to modify a file copied from someone else than it was from a paper copy. I think the technology available enables some students to cheat who would not otherwise do so.
People cheat because they think the likelihood and/or consequences of getting caught warrant the risk. Cheating is similar to gambling: an opportunity to earn something desirable without working for it. The probability of "winning" at cheating is almost certainly higher than the probability of winning at roulette or blackjack or craps or any lottery. The consequences of losing (getting caught) are lower, at least for a first offense at this college.
I would like two things to change.
1) I would like all faculty to enforce the existing policies about academic dishonesty. Some instructors ignore cheating because they are not willing to put forth the effort it takes to follow the current procedure (don't like doing paperwork, don't want to face student anger, don't want to face an appeal, don't think they will be supported by administration, etc.) I have hearsay evidence from faculty and students that gives some support to these various reasons.
2) I would like the consequences for cheating to be more onerous and more public than at present. I think the current penalty for a first offense is reasonable. (minimum zero in the assignment or test, other sanctions can apply depending on the severity of the situation). However I would like to have knowledge of the offense and the names of those involved to be more widespread. The names and crimes of all people who are found guilty in criminal court are available to the general public. Why not do something similar for academic crime? At the very least let us publish the names and methods of those who cheat to faculty. If I catch students cheating in one of my first year classes then I should be able to tell all of the faculty who teach those students. If we make this part of the procedure, we need to let students know this is part of the procedure.
2009-12-08
Office mates
As we are near the end of the semester I have time to add things here. Two comments today, this one about working with others and another about cheating.
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I had to move to a new office over the summer - a management decision. For the first time in perhaps six years I am in an open office. We can all see each other all the time. When students come in, every word is available to everyone without the pretense of cubicle dividers. It is more difficult to concentrate on my own work when I can just turn my chair half way round and participate in other people's conversations. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable sitting with my back to the "action", something that rarely happened to me when my office mates sat in different cubicles.
This time I have one office mate who regularly expresses their opinion that the students this semester are the worst ever. They talk about the usual: courtesy to each other and to faculty, lack of responsibility, poor work ethic, bad time management, low levels of academic skills, chronic complaints, etc. While I have a few students who fit into these categories (see today's other comments about cheating) most are reasonable people most of the time. This time of year the pursuit of marks generates many more screams and yells and angry messages, but that is expected. I have begun asking myself how I should react to these discourses. And I have begun asking myself if these discourses affect what I do in the classroom. I hope not.
I also wonder how I come across to my office mates. I am generally a quiet, introspective person, able to get along with most people and quite happy with my own company. I have been seen as aloof and arrogant by some people and distant by many others. I wonder about how to work in this particular room for the next five years? Life never stays still for more than a few moments. There is always a new challenge, change is never-ending. That keeps things interesting.
_________________________________________
I had to move to a new office over the summer - a management decision. For the first time in perhaps six years I am in an open office. We can all see each other all the time. When students come in, every word is available to everyone without the pretense of cubicle dividers. It is more difficult to concentrate on my own work when I can just turn my chair half way round and participate in other people's conversations. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable sitting with my back to the "action", something that rarely happened to me when my office mates sat in different cubicles.
This time I have one office mate who regularly expresses their opinion that the students this semester are the worst ever. They talk about the usual: courtesy to each other and to faculty, lack of responsibility, poor work ethic, bad time management, low levels of academic skills, chronic complaints, etc. While I have a few students who fit into these categories (see today's other comments about cheating) most are reasonable people most of the time. This time of year the pursuit of marks generates many more screams and yells and angry messages, but that is expected. I have begun asking myself how I should react to these discourses. And I have begun asking myself if these discourses affect what I do in the classroom. I hope not.
I also wonder how I come across to my office mates. I am generally a quiet, introspective person, able to get along with most people and quite happy with my own company. I have been seen as aloof and arrogant by some people and distant by many others. I wonder about how to work in this particular room for the next five years? Life never stays still for more than a few moments. There is always a new challenge, change is never-ending. That keeps things interesting.
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