Job Discussion Forums

[leslie]

I posted this on the Mexican forum, but someone suggested that I might get more ideas here too. So here goes.

Okay, so I'm having problems with cheating in my classes this semester. They are really good, at cheating that is. Accordians, switching papers, etc. I've caught quite a few, but I'm thinking that for every student I catch, there's gotta be more who aren't caught.

I want to minimize the opportunity to cheat.

My classes are approx. 25 students with indiv. desks - kind of crowded.

Some of the things I've tried to prevent cheating are:

1. a vacant seat between each student
2. two different exams that look alike, but the answers are jumbled (showed that cheating was happening)
3. write name at the beginning of exam or you get 0% (discourages switching papers)
4. write in pen only
5. No questions during exams

In the future, I'm also going to make them put their napsacks in the back of the room so when they leave they aren't passing by other students.

Any other ideas from you teachers out there?

[HLJHLJ]

What happens when you catch someone cheating?

[jdroege]

You don't mention exactly what kinds of answers/questions they are cheating on.
Multiple choice? True/false? EASY CHEAT!
Short answer? A little harder, but still possible.
Short essay? Definitely harder to cheat.
Five essays; student answers two? Might be possible, but very difficult to cheat.

This all sort of comes down to "define the problem and the answer gets easier".

Good luck! The whole issue is extremely frustrating ...

Jim
Karachi, Paksitan

[Glenski]

Get a different room for exams. A larger one.

Announce that if anyone is caught cheating, everyone fails.

[Sashadroogie]

What? So the innocent are punished alongside the guilty? How demotivating.

[contented]

What if you gave a talk on why cheating isn't good? You can explain how doing your personal best is far more rewarding. I know a lot of people may laugh at that, but it can help students to reason and may persuade some to stop cheating.

If cheating continues by some students then give them a flat 0 on their exams.

[Glenski]

[Sashadroogie]

Unfairness from the teacher is a terrible thing. How many official examiners practice such a questionable strategy? TOEFL? IELTS? Cambridge? None of them. Instead, the invigilator has to actually work to prevent cheating and show evidence of it when it happens. Only the culprits are penalised. Just failing all students en masse seems extremely lazy.

If I were a language test-taker and any teacher was to act in such a way to me, then a swift complaint about unprofessionalism and lack of training to the powers-that-be would be imminent.

[Glenski]

Sasha,
We're not talking about any standardized official test here. Geez. Calm down.

You do things your way, and I'll do things my way.

By the way, just what would you suggest to the OP?

[Sashadroogie]

I'm already calm, thank you. What I was expressing was surprise, not to mention dismay, at such a suggestion. How could any teacher possibly think that that is a good strategy?

In reply to the OP, he already has some good ideas. However, I would add re-seating the students according to who is most likely to cheat, i.e. place the potential cheats under your nose and away from the strong students. Possibly make a floor-plan of the seating arrangements so as to show evidence of who was cheating from whom, due to their proximity to each other.

In addition, I'd recommend not reading a book to pass the time. Nothing seems to encourage cheating more than this.

However, there are some other issues. How old are students? Adults? Teens? What sort of test is it? Why are the students taking it? What are the outcomes of poor results? All of these factors would temper my response to any cheating caught.

[johnslat]

I've never been a big fan of "group punishment." Perhaps that's because I was subjected to it in the military - where it's a popular technique and has been for ages:

"A unit selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group drew lots, and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat and forced to sleep outside the Roman encampment.

Because the punishment fell by lot, all soldiers in the group were eligible for execution, regardless of the individual degree of fault, or rank and distinction."

Perhaps having been punished unfairly has influenced my opinion, so I agree with this:

"In Discipline with Dignity, a respected classroom management book by Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler, the conclusion is clear: �Group punishments are almost always ineffective. They generate resentment in the innocent students who learn to think that they might as well break the rules because they will be punished anyway, and they teach the rule violators that they will not have to take responsibility for their actions. � Focus instead of teaching correct behavior through natural and logical consequences.�

School psychologist Beth Bruno writes, �Disciplining a whole group for the misbehavior of one person in the group could be viewed as lazy� It gives the impression � that the teacher isn�t interested in taking the time to determine who is acting out and how to deal with one or a few students directly. Such an approach is likely to feed a feeling of adult unfairness.�

A Mills College study found that the threat of group punishments did not reduce social loafing � the inclination of people to expend less effort when working in groups than when working individually on tasks.

The British Columbia Association of Family Resource Programs specifically bars as unethical the use of �group punishment for individual behaviour.�

In short, experts say that group punishment is ineffective, counter-productive, lazy and unethical."

http://mypointexactly.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/group-punishment-ineffective-unethical/

and with this:

"I�m so glad you vlogged about this. Peers tend to punish each other more severely than adults would. That, imho, can lead to increased bullying, and before you know it, it�s turned into a vicious cycle.

Group punishment never made sense to me. For instance, if a student did outstanding on a paper or project, we praise that individual. We do not praise the entire class for that. We need to recognize when collectivism and individualism is appropriate.

Thank you for raising awareness about this."

http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=324

But I would be interested in learning whether anyone who favors group punishment has ever been subject to it him/herself.

Regards,
John

[HLJHLJ]

When I was at school group punishments were very popular, they were quite open that it was done with the intent of encouraging students to police one another. Like this:

[choudoufu]

[MotherF]

[johnslat]

Dear MotherF,

I agree that it's an improvement - but it could still easily lead to retaliation upon failing students by their peers who would have otherwise passed. In fact, it might be even more likely to lead to that since the students who would have otherwise passed invested some time and energy into trying to help.

That was the intention in the military. In boot camp we were "encouraged" to let the offender know how we felt about having to suffer for his mistake (not that many/most needed any such "encouragement.")

Regards,
John