Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

Plagiarism is a common issue with academic dishonesty concern for online learning.  Improper citation and quoting referenced text can lead to unwanted consequences (Haynie, 2014).  Many plagiarism detection software options are available, such as Grammarly, TurnItIn, and EasyBib.  The detection software compares the submitted text to a database of billions of published works from the internet and academic sources.

Test anxiety contributes significantly to what may drive a learner to cheat.  Designing an assessment to align with realistic expectations of recall of new knowledge from the short-term memory ensures that learners won’t feel unnecessary anxiety and stress.  Strategies such as using open book/notes, and group collaboration reduce stress levels and increase retention of study content (Producer, 2010).

A facilitation strategy to eliminate cheating is to create a safe space to learn without judgment.  Often learners find themselves in a course feeling like they should have already known the information.  Creating a sandbox environment that encourages learners to hear it, touch it, play with it, and talk about their experience as they learn through repetition eliminates the need to cheat.  Many courses are structured as content dump and test formats with no actual learning retention intended.  Students are going through the motions to pass the class and get the grade, but they cannot perform the task once they are in a real job.

Designers and facilitators must also ensure that the course content is relevant and meaningful to how the learner will apply the skills in the real world.  Understanding the what, why, and how of the assignment and how they will use it to achieve their goals will drive the learner to do the work instead of finding ways to cheat (Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository, n.d.).

 

References

Haynie, D. (2014).  Think twice before cheating in online courses.  U.S. News & World Report.

Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository.  (n.d.)  Reduce Cheating.  University of Central Florida.  https://topr.online.ucf.edu/cheating-reduction-strategies/

Walden University, LLC.  (Producer).  (2010).  Plagiarism and cheating [Video file].