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| Preventing
Academic Dishonesty and Designing Assignments |
Reflection on the meaning of academic integrity
A good place to start in your work to prevent academic dishonesty
is to reflect on the meaning and importance of integrity in general.
Think, too, of the importance of academic integrity in
particular for the student, the faculty, the institution, and society.
You can view this reflection as an opportunity to recognize and
appreciate your own commitment to the important work of education
and character development. It will also help prepare you to answer
any objections students may raise about its meaning and importance.
Preparing your syllabus with academic integrity in mind
Now that you’ve prepared yourself mentally for another round
of teaching, you can do much to prevent academic dishonesty with
your syllabus, your design of assignments, and your making students
aware that the institution fosters academic integrity and does not
tolerate academic dishonesty. Research shows that there is a correlation
between students’ perceptions of faculty attitudes toward
academic dishonesty and the incidences of academic dishonesty within
their courses (McCabe, 1997).
A well-worded statement in your syllabus about your commitment to
academic integrity can go a long way. Students respond to a clear
syllabus outlining expectations and consequences (Leeds,
1992). Assignments can be designed to be plagiarism-resistant,
if not plagiarism proof, and can teach important ethical concepts
such as integrity and respect for the works of others at the same
time (McMurtry, 2001; see
also Haas, 1995).
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