Originally published in the Learning and Teaching weekly newsletter (internal publication) at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Many students enter post-secondary education as avid users of copy/paste or click/share without much thought to authorship and attribution. Students may have learned the basic skills of research, writing, and referencing in high school but are typically unprepared for academic writing. Dependent on the program, a student may be asked to write a 5000-word essay in their first semester. This paper will invariably ask the student to use 5-10 scholarly peer-reviewed articles and follow APA 7 guidelines. Oh, and on this first paper, APA will be worth 40% of the grade. No pressure!
The use of
evidence to support arguments serves many purposes. First, and perhaps most
importantly, it teaches students about the ethical use of information by
acknowledging their sources. For a student to incorporate evidence successfully,
they require the skills of seeking relevant information sources; evaluating the
authority, validity, and accuracy of the source; synthesizing the information
into their argument; and then finally sharing and disseminating the information.
Secondly, acknowledging
sources is the foundation of academic integrity. But what does that really mean?
Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s (n.d.) student code of conduct defines academic
misconduct as activities that “undermine academic integrity by using
illegitimate or dishonest means in order to achieve academic success” (p.2)
that may give the student an unfair advantage over others. We can surmise that
working with integrity must then include being honest, trustworthy, and ethical.
As seen within an academic setting, students submit their own unique work and
adequately represent any external sources that were used. This definition also
can be expanded to cheating on exams and data misrepresentation but is not the
focus of this article.
Academic
integrity must be modeled by all individuals within the institution in a manner
that is appropriate for each class and in each situation. If you expect your
students to provide a link to external resources, but not a formal reference,
then you need to as well. If you require formal references on your assignments,
then you need to reference all your materials as well. That includes images on
your PowerPoint presentations, outside sources in your text-based materials
(don’t forget about the textbook), and an acknowledgment of any content that is
not your own. Doing so models best practices but also gives students a variety
of examples of what their work should look like. For example, when using an
image in your PowerPoint presentation, here is what an in-text citation for
that type of resource would look like. Need to reference a YouTube video, here
is what that would look like.
Students
will benefit from the example that is set by the instructor because learning to
paraphrase is an advanced skill. As students move from beginner to novice
writers, they will become more comfortable with incorporating external
materials, while maintaining their voice in their writing. Our focus as
instructors can include what students need to know in order to be successful
writers during their program and also once they are in the workplace.
References
Assiniboine Community College.
(n.d.). Academic integrity for faculty. https://assiniboine.libguides.com/ai-faculty/pedagogical-statements
Bretag, T., Curtis, G., McNeill, M.,
& Slade, C. (n.d.). Academic integrity in Australian higher education: A
national priority. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).
https://www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/academic-integrity-infographic.pdf?v=1574919157
Dawson College. (2017). Strategies
to prevent academic misconduct. https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/academic-integrity/best-practices-for-faculty/
Howard, R. (2001). Forget about
policing plagiarism: Just teach. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 48(12),
B.24. https://ezproxy.saskpolytech.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=507723772&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Saskatchewan Polytechnic. (n.d.). Student
code of conduct (academic). https://saskpolytech.ca/about/about-us/documents/procedures/studentcodeofconductacademicprocedures1211a.pdf
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