Ways to Prevent Issues of Academic Integrity

A notepad with a sharpened pencil, as though a person were about to write a documentAs the academic year moves forward it’s important to review ways to prevent issues of academic integrity in the classroom.  These issues can be varied, but commonly include plagiarism and cheating on assessments.

Here are a few ways to prevent issues of academic integrity:

Use Authentic Assessments

Authentic assessments allow for connecting student learning to realistic situations that require the use of critical thinking skills. As such, these types of assessments do not follow traditional approaches like multiple choice quizzes or essays.  Authentic assessments help spark higher order thinking skills, leading to better retention of knowledge.

For more information about authentic assessments, please see the post Authentic Assessment – A Primer.

Try Alternative Assessments

Much like authentic assessments, alternative assessments have students utilize higher order critical thinking skills. Students are given tasks in which they must analyze, synthesize, or evaluate. Student knowledge is used to help inform the completion of alternative assessments, causing students to create unique products of their own thinking.

For more information about alternative assessments, please see the post Alternative Assessment.

Make Plagiarism a Teachable Moment

Working with more traditional forms of assessment increases the likelihood of plagiarism.  Plagiarism can come in many forms, both intentional and unintentional.  It’s typically best to treat plagiarism as a teachable moment, helping students learn the concept as a way of preventing its reoccurrence.  The college, through Canvas, has a tool that can help – VeriCite.

For more information about plagiarism and VeriCite, please see the post Plagiarism – A Teachable Moment with VeriCite.

Craft Better Multiple Choice Questions

As multiple choice is often a magnet for cheating, it’s best to deploy tactics to reduce the frequency of cheating. One of the best ways to prevent cheating, and make use of critical thinking skills, is to create better multiple choice questions.

For more information about multiple choice, please see the post Better Multiple Choice Questions.

Modify Canvas Quiz Settings to Minimize Cheating

The Canvas learning management system has several features that can help in minimizing cheating. Time limits, question groups, and answer randomization can be used to reduce chances of quiz sharing.

For more information about Canvas and quizzing, please see the post Practical Tips for Canvas Quiz Integrity.

Help with Ways to Prevent Integrity Issues

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers one on one assistance with instructors that want to explore the topics of authentic assessment, alternative assessment, design, instructional technology, curriculum, soft skills, and more. Please take a moment to complete our contact us form, or call the CTL at (708) 974-5347.