Job Discussion Forums

[SimonM]

I have a course that I teach to the third-year university students called An Introduction to European Culture. In this I assigned (at the request of the dean) an essay as a major part of their grade (20% of the total). I did a whole class on citing, bibliographies and plagirism and yet every single student who has given me a rough draft to correct has plagirized heavily!

I have come to the point of believing that these students just simply don't understand what constitutes a quote and what doesn't or that they are so used to teachers who don't even bother reading their work that they figure they will get away with it.

I'm now talking to the dean of the department about starting a course in english language study skills for the freshmen but short of this rather radical course of action how do I get it through to my students what plagirism is?!?

[Super Mario]

Use the Western model. Plagiarised work means a fail, at the bare minimum! Even high school students know this.
Unfortunately, in China plagiarism is seen as a desirable academic skill. It got most of the teachers, deans, associate professors et al where they are today!
Anyway, the Chinese economy is based on using the intellectual property of others without acknowledgement.

[friedrich nietzsche]

One method that I find quite useful is to fail all those who plagarize.

[7969]

[Louras]

Let them write it in your own words....

[Super Mario]

Guys, please agree on the spelling of plagiarism. At least before you white-board it and your students can't find a translation. The loss of face here would be considerable.

[vikdk]

I think our inventive spelling - mine most certainly included - just emphasises the western flair for inovation

[Super Mario]

Well, a Western flair for something, anyway.

[friedrich nietzsche]

I standing korreckted.

[nolefan]

I started by giving my students big fat zeros anytime they were guilty of plagiarism. That drove the rate down a bit but didn't kill it alltogether.

Now, instead of fighting it, I teach them how to be better at it. I force them to rewrite sentences in their own words and sometimes, they have to do it for an entire paragraph. I also teach them how to quote properly.

[vikdk]

Yeah that�s more like the spelling we expect from a psychotic German philosopher (I just put that post through the speller on word - now I just have to find a way of sorting out my punctuation)

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Edited to remove offensive content.

Middy

[Roger]

Your problem is as old as teaching of English is in China! There will never be a final solution to it! We have discussed it a number of times.

My advice: don't give them assignements for homework; ask them to bring their notes and reference books to classz, and give each student a separate topic, or a variation on the same one, and have them write in class.

Copying from their neighbours during exams is so prevalent as to constitute no crime any more. I blame it on the stupid teachers who have too much trust in their own students - Chinese invigilators seldom care what's going on behind their baqcks, even in fron of their very eyes! A job is a job is a job is their maxim!

[erinyes]

Maybe you can give them a marking schema and have this sort of break-down:

Spelling / Grammar 10%
Sentence structure 10%
Argument / Structure 30%
Original Ideas 50%

Then they will know that you really want original ideas, and if you mark them down for having not having original ideas� well you warned them in black and white. Even if they hand in a perfect essay with NO original ideas they will only get 50%. A pass in China is 60% right?

From what I learned in university about teaching, you need to say EXACTLY what you want from them. Even down to describing what will get them an A what will get them a B etc. Then all you do when you are marking is highlight whichever sentence is appropriate to their performance and give them a short comment. The students get a lot of feedback, it�s not a lot of work for you when your marking.

Eg.. from something I found on the net, this is from a native English speaking school, but you could adapt it of course.

A:
Exploited the sequencing and organisation of subject matter in logical stages
Made discerning use of cohesive ties to emphasise ideas and connect parts of texts
Exploited an extensive range of apt vocabulary
Controlled conventional spelling
Sustained control of paragraphing and a wide range of punctuation
Combined a wide range of clause and sentence structures while sustaining grammatical accuracy

B
Sequenced and organised subject matter logically in stages
Controlled the use of cohesive ties to connect ideas and parts of texts
Employed a range of apt vocabulary
Controlled conventional spelling, with minor lapses
Sustained control of paragraphing and a range of punctuation
Combined a range of clause and sentence structures while sustaining grammatical accuracy

C
Sequenced and organised subject matter in stages
Usually linked ideas with cohesive ties
Used suitable vocabulary
Demonstrated a reasonable control of conventional spelling
?Demonstrated a reasonable control of paragraphing and punctuation
Used a range of clause and sentence structures, but with occasional lapses in grammatical accuracy

D
Demonstrated occasional sequencing and organisation of subject matter
Demonstrated lapses in linking ideas cohesively
Used basic vocabulary
Used conventional spelling, with frequent lapses
Used paragraphing and punctuation accurately in places, but with frequent lapses
Used some clause and sentence structures, but with frequent lapses


E
Demonstrated illogical organisation of subject matter
Used a narrow range of very basic vocabulary
Demonstrated an inadequate control of conventional spelling
Demonstrated an inadequate control of punctuation
Used a narrow and unintelligible range of clause and sentence structures, with frequent lapses in grammatical accuracy

[jeffinflorida]

I became so frustrated with the plagiarism that I turned all the term papers into a pass-fail. After reading papers from 180 students - 120 senior level and 60 junior level - I released that almost all the papers were similar.

Discussions with the TAFE director didn't help. I had told the students what I expected - that they do their own work, and explained that they must not copy another�s paper or reports from the Internet.

About 95% were copied or some others work.

I gave up!

It turned into if you turned in a paper you got full credit for the work. The school really didn't care if they did their own work or not.

Cheating is they way they do it and you can not change it.