Hello school librarians, and our favorite Latin friend, Et Al.,
This subject has been battered around on librarian listservs probably since
before the phone was invented. . . <that's a joke - don't bother sending me
explanations about the improbability of it all> . . . 8-)
Just a short note to all about solving the plagiarism problem - especially
those who have some input to class assignments and teachers who request
assistance...
If the problem is plagiarism in the students' product for a grade, the
teachers are asking for the wrong product! Yes, it is that
simple. Students use plagiarism for filling in the pages and getting the
last ten pages of a 40-page project completed. . .
So, the solution isn't policing the students like "quotation cops" - it's
changing the nature of the assignment - asking for a product that cannot be
plagiarized.
1 - Get the teachers to ask their students for entire articles <eliminate
the cut-and-paste problem by having the student turn in the entire research
results>; or complete pages of significant support from books <and the
verso for bibliographic info>; don't let the teachers make the "finding" of
the supporting papers and documents become the objective! Make the
learning, thinking, forming, and expressing their thoughts the focus. . .
how? Read #2.
2 - Get the students to compare research articles against each other <when
the studies were done; where the studies were done; who were the subjects;
and which does the student use/recommend for the strongest argument for
his/her evidence/support>; in this fashion, the student has to read all the
articles and compare them - then summarize the article that provides the
most support for his/her position. Make sure the students does, in fact,
express her/his opinion - not what they think the teacher wants to hear!
3 - Finally, get the student to summarize the entire project - did the
evidence support the notion that the student had from the outset; was the
students viewpoint/opinion about the subject of the project changed or
simply reinforced - explain how and why. . . that sort of thing.
Students often feel that no one listens to them - well, here we can handle
two problems at the same time - make them study, learn, write, and express
their opinions - AND give them grades for the methods in which they express
their opinions.
And of course, if they turn in their deepest darkest feelings about things
they encounter and how they think about those things - give them positive
feedback by marking up their papers with comments and further questions for
them to ponder for more study. . . encourage them to do more studying on
their own even after the project is complete. . . and if possible <what an
exhilarating experience this could be for both teacher and student> tie two
or more projects together in a sequential manner. . .
<i.e. gasoline prices; supply and demand; feast and famine; food and water;
geographical locations - import and export lines; war and peace. . .
alternative fuel sources and environmental considerations). . .
I apologize, didn't mean to go on so long. . .
I hope these opinions and notions help avoid the plagiarism concerns before
they become an epidemic!
Aloha y'all ... Earl J.
USA Special Operations Command
History and Archives
Digital Information Delivery Specialist
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
"Just an old Maui boy with a poor sense of direction...
working his way home - one state at a time -
currently working in the State of Confusion!"
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