Unit 3: Strategies to Avoid Plagiarism
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Preventing Plagiarism in the Classroom
Unit 2: How to Use Plagiarism Detection Software
Unit 4: Integrating Strategies in the Classroom
What Do I Know Now?
What strategies do you currently use in your classroom to prevent plagiarism? Share your experience in the Padlet below.
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Strategies to Avoid Plagiarism
There are many different strategies that teacher implement to reduce plagiarism in the classroom. Below, we will take a look at some of the most common and most effective methods.
Plagiarism Detection Software
We already talked about plagiarism detection software in the last unit, however, something we have not discussed yet is its effectiveness in preventing plagiarism from occurring in the first place, not simply catching students who are committing it.
Research has shown that the rate of plagiarism is reduced with when students are aware that plagiarism detection software is being used. However, it is not the only factor that helps deter plagiarism, rather it is a tool to help promote honesty. However, many students are not aware that a plagiarism detection software is being used in their classroom, which is something that students need to be aware of for this method to be effective. Students should be notified at the beginning of a course, or class, about the usage of plagiarism detection software for it to be effective in reducing the rate of plagiarism. With that said, it is important to not only rely on this method.
Time Management
This method is fairly straightforward. You may recall that in Unit One we discussed some of the causes of plagiarism, one of the main reasons being that students feel as though they do not have time to complete their assignments. To help prevent this, teachers can create a schedule for the paper-writing process and stick to it. Students often procrastinate, and when they are under a time crunch, plagiarism is an easy way to complete the work without ruining their free time. To prevent this, teachers should set up deadlines for specific parts of the paper. For instance, an outline should be due the first week, and a week or two later, the students should have a first draft of the paper due. Maybe spend a day doing peer edits, and then have the final draft of the paper due a week after that. This ensures that students take the time to do their own work.
Original/Alternative Assignments
The more unusual an assignment (e.g., taking a different perspective on a problem, question, or reading), the less likely students will be able to find something (from the internet or their peers) to submit as their own work. In addition, an assignment that has multiple parts may reduce the likelihood of plagiarism.
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Teaching Intellectual Integrity
Teaching students about intellectual integrity is vital in preventing plagiarism from occurring. Students need knowledge on how to avoid plagiarism in order to deter it. Education in how to properly cite is also needed to avoid plagiarism. Teachers need to ensure that students know how to cite references and make a bibliography properly. We will cover this topic more in depth in the next unit.
Activity
Pretend that you are a 5th grade ELA teacher and your students have just finished reading The Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan. Normally, you would have your students write a book report based on the book, however, you have noticed that student have copying their information from the internet lately. To prevent that, you need to come about with an alternative assignment to determine if the students have actually read the book. I would recommend taking a look at the resource that was provided in the original/alternative assignment section of the unit for some ideas.
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Reflection
If students are given the choice between writing a traditional book report, making a vlog book report, or creating a poster and presenting their book report, which methods do you think have less of a chance of plagiarism occurring? Why?
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