Josiah Yarger Portfolio Page

Return to: ETAP 623 Fall 2021 (Zhang) | Preventing Plagiarism in the Classroom

About Me

My name is Josiah Yarger and I am in my last semester in the CDIT Master’s program. I lived in South Jersey until I was nine, at which point I moved up to Lexington, NY. I grew up in a large family. I have six siblings, four of which are younger than me. Often, I will help my younger siblings with concepts that they may be struggling with. A major influence on my decision to pursue a degree in education was my grandmother, who is a recently retired teacher. I believe that teachers have a significant impact on their students’ lives, and I hope to share my love of learning to my future students. I have always enjoyed learning new concepts and I love to read in my free time. Some of my other hobbies include skiing, hiking, traveling and playing guitar.

My Topic and Purpose

Strategies to Help Combat Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a major problem in classrooms, especially as students move further online. My goal in this mini course will be to instruct teachers in strategies designed to help prevent plagiarism in the class room, as well as ways to detect if plagiarism occurs.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

Participants will learn how to utilize technology that detects plagiarism.

Participants will learn various strategies that discourage plagiarism.

Participants will learn the importance of teaching students intellectual integrity.

Needs Assessment/Learner Analysis

Instructional problem: Participants need to be fully cognizant of is the potential for plagiarism in, not only an online environment, but also in traditional classrooms. Plagiarism is something that is becoming increasingly common in this digital age, especially as more students move to online learning. It is becoming increasingly vital to utilize strategies that help combat plagiarism.

One way to help deter plagiarism is to bring awareness to students of plagiarism detection software. In a survey done in an online course, students were asked how frequently they copied something from the internet, Unsurprisingly, the answer was almost always (Orlanda-Ventayen, 2018). This can be attributed to the lack of knowledge that students have regarding plagiarism detection software. The same study found that students were unaware of plagiarism detection software, though some of them knew it existed, however, they were not aware the teachers were using it (Orlanda-Ventayen, 2018). To combat this, students should be notified at the beginning of a course about plagiarism detection software. Awareness of the software can help lessen the use of plagiarism from the internet (Orlanda-Ventayen, 2018). Another recent study has found that plagiarism detection software, and student awareness of it, can enhance the trust in e-assessment and decrease pessimistic perceptions about cheating and plagiarism in e-assessment (Kocdar et al, 2018).

Plagiarism can also happen, inadvertently, by students because they do not have the necessary skills or knowledge to avoid it (Landau et al, 2002). Participants should not automatically assume that students know what plagiarism is or that it is wrong, at least in the case of younger students. Intellectual integrity is something that is taught, not known instinctively. To help combat plagiarism, teachers need to ensure that students know how to cite references and make a bibliography properly (Ma et al, 2008). This can help stop mistaken plagiarism in cases where students do not realize that they are plagiarizing or what plagiarism even is. Creating assignments and tasks that are more likely to interest students in relevant and engaging ways are also less likely to be plagiarized (Ma et al, 2008). When students are interested in their learning, they are less likely to try and cheat. So, curriculum should be designed in ways that are engaging and relevant for students.

The nature of what is to be learned: Participants will learn how to detect plagiarism in the classroom, as well as strategies to avoid plagiarism from occurring in the first place.

About the learners: This course is designed for teachers who are having difficulties with plagiarism in the classroom or are teaching online for the first time and are looking for potential strategies to ensure academic integrity during their teaching. Participants can come from any subject, as plagiarism is something that occurs in more than just an ELA classroom. Participants are expected to have a passing familiarity with technology, though they are not required to be familiar with plagiarism detection software.

Performance-Based Objectives

Participants will be able to detect plagiarism in a student’s paper utilizing an anti-plagiarism software.

Participants will be able to design lesson plans that include intellectual integrity as a core part of the lesson.

Participants will be able to compare various learning activities to determine which ones have less of a chance of plagiarism occurring.

Task Analysis

Lesson One: Why Do Students Plagiarize?

Goals:

1. Participants will learn the most common reasons that students plagiarize

2. Participants will discuss why they think students may plagiarize in their classroom.

Lesson Two: How To Use Plagiarism Detection Software

Goals:

1. Participants will be given examples of plagiarized and non-plagiarized work and will use plagiarism detection software to determine if the work is plagiarized or not.

2. Participants will discuss the effectiveness of plagiarism detection software.

Lesson Three: Strategies To Avoid Plagiarism

Goals:

1. Participants will analyze different learning activities and determine which ones have the least chance of plagiarism occurring.

2. Participants will be provided a learning objective and will create an assignment that minimizes the chance of plagiarism occurring.

Lesson Four: Integrating Intellectual Integrity In the Classroom

Goals:

1. Participants will create a lesson plan that showcases the importance of intellectual integrity.

2. Participants will discuss the different strategies to deter and limit plagiarism and which methods that they believe would be most effective in their classroom and why.

Curriculum Map

References and Resources

Kocdar, S., Karadeniz, A., Peytcheva-Forsyth, R., & Stoeva, V. (2018). Cheating and plagiarism in e-assessment: students’ perspectives . Open Praxis, 10(3), 221-235.

Landau, J. D., Druen, P. B., & Arcuri, J. A. (2002). Methods for helping students avoid plagiarism. Teaching of Psychology, 29(2), 112-115.

Ma, H. J., Wan, G., & Lu, E. Y. (2008). Digital cheating and plagiarism in schools. Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 197-203.

Orlanda-Ventayen, C. (2018). Attitude and Practices of Senior High School Students Towards Plagiarism. Southeast Asian Journal of Science and Technology, 3(1), 100-104.