Post your response to the following discussion question. Reply to at least two peers’ responses to share ideas and suggest improvements.
Discussion Question: Have you encountered plagiarism in your classroom? How did you recognise it, and what was one step you took to respond or prevent it from happening again?
Bula Everyone,
Yes, I have encountered plagiarism in my classroom. One time, a student submitted a written assignment that sounded very advanced and different from their usual work. I searched a few sentences on Google and found the exact same content on a website. That’s how I confirmed it was copied.
To respond, I spoke with the student privately and explained what plagiarism means and why it’s a problem. The student said they didn’t realise it was wrong because the information was available online. I took this as a chance to teach the whole class about plagiarism and how to use their own words, summarise, and give credit when using ideas from websites or books.
Since then, I’ve added a short plagiarism awareness session at the start of every project, and I also ask students to submit a simple declaration saying the work is their own. This helps build honesty and responsibility in their learning.
Bula
I have encountered plagiarism in my classroom. I recognized it when a student submitted work that was unusually advanced compared to their usual writing style. A quick online search revealed that large sections were copied directly from a website. To respond, I had a private conversation with the student to explain what plagiarism is and why it’s important to use their own words. To prevent it from happening again, I introduced lessons on academic honesty, including how to paraphrase and properly credit sources, so students understand how to use information ethically.
Bula everybody,
Plagiarism in a remote school like mine with limited access to resources like the Internet and devices because of financial backgrounds, is usually limited to materials from the library. When one student plagiarizes the whole class is also involved.
It is better to teach the class how to properly cite their sources through a reference or specify terms through an appendix to avoid plagiarism before the task is given.
it is easy to catch plagiarism in our setting due to the limited library books we have, or teachers can use digital tools like Google. When a case is encountered it is better to counsel the whole class on ethics, academic integrity etc. so students do not commit the offence in the future.
Bula nirajsingh22,
Just replying as required. Counselling the whole class when a case is found is very effective. Using appropriate language is crucial to prevent the student from being hurt and resentful. Some of them worked very hard to write a lot of material word for word from their sources.
Bula shivalisingh03,
Yes, properly informing students on academic honesty goes a long way for them into the future (from secondary into tertiary).
In my opinion this should be done before a task like a project is launched.
Vinaka.
It has been five years since I encountered plagiarism in my classroom, and I strongly support your solution to the problem. Indeed, it was effective. Additionally, I shared the story of a student at university level who suffered the consequences due to this malpractice as a way to remind my students.
Thanks for all your thoughtful posts so far. It’s clear we’ve all faced challenges with plagiarism in different ways. I really appreciate the practical ideas you’ve shared about spotting it and helping students understand why it matters. Let’s keep the discussion going!
Dealing with plagiarism
I have encountered plagiarism in my academic career since in agriculture students are assessed using a criteria that checks for responsibility, initiative, technique, perseverance and quality. I recognized that students may respond positively when doing the practical, but the problem arises when they are suppose to report what was done practically in writing. They often stray and do copy and paste, digressing from what they have done in practice. I recognized it by using the project based learning approach. After finding that the discrepancy between what was done in the practical and the report, i realized it was copied work.
To respond and prevent this malpractice, I conducted interactive orals with the student to establish what the student did in the practical to develop the student’s professional skills and ensuring a high standard of academic integrity. To channel the student back to context of investigatory problem, I used reflective prompts to guide the student to break down the problem into stages so the student is able to make constructive decisions and reflect on his or her actions.
To prevent this malpractice from happening again, I would develop scaffolding activities and resources to support students achievement of the assessment task. I would also use positive reinforcement to foster a culture of integrity by rewarding honesty and originality. Negative reinforcement will also be used by explaining the consequences of plagiarism and giving students strict instructions.
Yes citind sources and giving credit to the original creator fosters a spirit of digital citizenship
Indeed, providing students with scaffolding activities and resources cultivates a culture of academic honesty and integrity which prepares students for workplace procedures, helping them think critically and apply what they have learned thus reducing the temptation to rely on copied work
Plagiarism becomes a common problem practiced by students when asked to submit a written research report assignment. At High school level, the type of plagiarism I encountered in some of my student’s work are - 1. Copying and pasting text from a source without citing it, 2. Quoting a source without using quotation marks. 3. Copying and submitting others work as their own.
The actions brought about when dealing with plagiarism, Firstly, on the spot I disqualified the marks to zero, return the paper and asked for a resubmission of work for mark not more than 60%, otherwise get zero with no resubmission of work. Since plagiarism awareness is part of the Project discussion, they have to face the consequences of plagiarism. I give chance to student caught with plagiarised work knowing that course work mark contributes towards their final mark. But I do warn them that Plagiarism is a serious offence, No chance but receive zero in the end.
Bula shivalisingh03
Perhaps to include lessons as well on citing text, referencing and correctly giving a Bibliography would also help…