By Dr. Jacqueline Goldman, OSU School of Psychological Science
Editor’s note: Dr. Goldman presented on this topic in a Center for Teaching and Learning Quality Teaching (QT) talk on October 17, 2023.
If you do a quick Google search of the terms “students cheating” you’ll see a plethora of articles, both op-ed and peer reviewed, that discuss the epidemic of academic dishonesty that has increased exponentially since the advent of *insert new technology here*. I am not here to tell you that students aren’t cheating; they are, and I don’t blame them. With the ease of access to tools that can create a decent research paper in less than a second, the temptation has never been higher. Further, we know that since the pandemic rates of academic dishonesty have increased dramatically (see NPR article from 2021). In response to this news, many universities and instructors alike have tightened up their security measures, using tools such as Turnitin and exam proctoring software to catch students who might be engaging in these nefarious shortcuts. Although well-intentioned, these tools do not address the larger picture, they only potentially stop and catch students who have already made the choice to cheat, when what we should be doing is preventing it altogether. In order to do that, we first must understand why students cheat.
Factors Influencing Student Academic Misconduct
Students engage in cheating behavior for a plethora of reasons but they usually boil down to one of two influences: personal reasons and environmental reasons. Notice I didn’t say malicious intent, students are rarely engaging in cheating behavior “just cause.” Personal reasons, or individual factors, include issues related to “time management (McCabe et al., 1999), stress and pressure (Schmelkin et al., 2008), skill gaps (Amigud & Lancaster, 2019), and extrinsic motivation (Murdock & Anderman, 2006; Rettinger & Kramer, 2009)” (Goldman et al., 2022, p. 133). Students in the current climate are taking more credit hours, working more, and taking on more responsibilities than previous generations and are significantly more stressed (Inside Higher Ed article on student mental health). These students are having more expectations put upon them and have less time to do it, so taking a short-cut to make ends meet within their courses is a means to an end, not a malicious act. We cannot influence the amount of credit hours, work hours, extra curriculars, dependents, etc. that students have, but we can structure our curriculum to stagger major course projects for them. Instead of having students complete a full research paper during final’s week, have students turn in section drafts of that paper throughout the term. This not only forces students to space out their work on the paper (creating an overall better product), but it also gives us ample opportunity to provide feedback, catch any cheating behavior and possibly prevent future cheating, it also breaks up the grading!
Environmental factors are things that we can influence in our pedagogy that communicates the expectations in our courses and what constitutes academic dishonesty. Many occurrences of cheating behavior happen with students who truly did not know they were cheating. At least 85% of students reported to have not read the university standards against plagiarism and academic misconduct (Guibert & Michauet, 2011) and with a 7-10 page syllabus, that’s not surprising. We cannot assume that each student will know what counts as cheating behavior for each assignment in each of their various classes, which is why it is imperative for us as faculty to show clear demonstrations and examples of what cheating is and is not within our respective contexts (MacGregor & Stuebs, 2012). Another environmental factor that influences the desire to cheat is that students may take issue with the course and/or instructor (Anderman & Murdock, 2007). Specifically, students are more likely to cheat in a course where they feel the instructor doesn’t care about them or the course doesn’t matter to them. Obviously with growing class sizes and the requirements of courses that may be outside of the major, not every student will connect with all curriculum, but we can create assignments that let our students know that they are more than just a seat in our auditorium. Simple changes such as allowing students to discuss how they see content in their everyday life, giving authentic feedback on assignments, and giving students autonomy in assignment choices can help students find more relevance and relatedness in their courses (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Facilitating connections within the classroom setting allows relatedness needs to be fulfilled and for students to feel valued by their instructor, leading to internalization of course values and practices, including academic integrity (MacGregor & Stuebs, 2012; Niemic & Ryan, 2009).
The Takeaway
There are a plethora of pedagogical tools that we can implement in our courses to try and help students see the merit of the course, find community, and be less likely to engage in academic misconduct (for a review, see Goldman et al., 2022). The main takeaway I want to leave you with is that if you are concerned about students cheating in your course, think about the “why” instead of the “how”. Focus your efforts on engaging students and less on “catching them in the act.” It’s not us against them, we are on the same team with a common goal of education.
References:
Amigud, A., & Lancaster, T. (2019). 246 reasons to cheat: An analysis of students’ reasons for seeking to outsource academic work. Computers & Education, 134, 98–107. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.01.017
Anderman, E. M., & Murdock, T. B. (2007). Psychology of Academic Cheating. Ebook.
Goldman, J. A., Carson, M., & Simonds, J. (2022) It’s in the Pedagogy: Evidence-Based Practices to Promote Academic Integrity. In Rettinger, D. & Bertram-Gallant, T., (Eds.) Cheating Academic Integrity. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.
Guibert, P. & Michaut, C. (2011) Le plagiat étudiant. Education et Sociétés, 2(28), 149-163. https://doi.org/10.3917/es.028.0149
MacGregor, J. and M. Stuebs. (2012). To cheat or not to cheat: rationalizing academic impropriety. Accounting Education 21(3): 265-287. https://doi:10.1080/09639284.2011.617174
McCabe, D. L., & Pavela, G. (2004). Ten (updated) principles of academic integrity: How faculty can foster student honesty. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 36(3), 10-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380409605574
Murdock, T. B., Miller, A. D., & Goetzinger, A. (2007). Effects of classroom context on university students’ judgments about cheating: Mediating and moderating processes. Social Psychology of Education, 10(2), 141-169.
Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and research in Education, 7(2), 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318
Rettinger, D. A., & Kramer, Y. (2009). Situational and personal causes of student cheating. Research in Higher Education, 50(3), 293–313. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1007/s11162-008-9116-5
Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2017) Self-Determination Theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford.
Schmelkin, L. P., Gilbert, K., Spencer, K. J., Pincus, H. S., & Silva, R. (2008). A multidimensional scaling of college students’ perceptions of academic dishonesty. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 587-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2008.11772118
Dr. Jacqueline Goldman is on the faculty of the School of Psychological Science at Oregon State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma in 2018 with an emphasis on the cognitive and motivational aspects of learning. Her current research focuses on increasing first-generation college student retention in higher education through task value and engagement interventions. When she isn’t on campus, she spends her time as a part-time fire fighter in her community, applying her research in retention and burnout to first responders.
See Dr. Goldman’s Academic Integrity and Equity slide deck from her October 17, 2023, Quality Teaching (QT) talk.
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