Academic Dishonesty

7^th and 8^th grade mythology class – Students are copying off others, the internet, and using ChatGPT. They wait until the last minute to do their work then feel they need to cheat to finish on time.

The teacher has tried one-on-one talks with students, phone calls home, zero on the assignment and redoing the work with a new topic (both per handbook policy). A lot of students are still getting away with academic dishonestly. The teacher desires all students to complete their own work without having to resort to punishments for cheating.

How we talk about cheating after it happens matters. There are studies that show students do not think cheating is bad. Students may view it as just a way to get things done, vs. a morality issue. You may have to discuss with them “why is cheating wrong?” Avoid saying “when you cheat, you are only hurting yourself.” This isn’t true (most cheaters benefit), and it is a selfish reason for moral behavior. It is more useful to teach:

• Cheating undermines the purpose of the assignment. It circumvents learning.
• Cheating is not fair to others. Other students want a level playing field. Cheating is an assault on students who behave honestly. It is an immoral act because it is uncaring toward others. Cheating undermines fairness, equity, and trust.

Induction is an important strategy for emphasizing why standards are in place and how our actions affect others.

Some schools have infrequent cheating, and other schools have almost universal cheating. Research shows that students are more likely to cheat under these conditions. You may want to think about which conditions you can control and which solutions to enact:

1. They think “everybody does it”. Solution: Define cheating and make it clear that cheating is not acceptable.
2. They think it is OK to cheat. Solution:  Be a role model of honesty. Make the fact that you value honesty very clear. Enforce serious consequences for dishonesty. Most cheating that is detected is not punished, and high school students are blasé about cheating if they know there will not be consequences (or only mild consequences) and if they think the teacher does not care.  
3. They are not clear on what is cheating. Most people do not understand plagiarism.  Solution: Explain it, and guide what is OK and what is not OK. When is collaborating good vs. cheating? How do you use other people’s words?
4. The emphasis is on performance, rather than mastery.  They get rewards for grades, but not for learning (e.g., parents give them cash for grades, schools remove them from athletic eligibility). Solution: Care about student learning. When students believe the teacher cares about teaching them the subject, students are less likely to cheat. Avoid negative competition. Cheating is less likely when there is an emphasis on improvement and learning, rather than on doing better than others or on extrinsic rewards like grades or athletic eligibility.
5. They feel disconnected to school. Solution:  Develop a warm, mutually respectful relationship with students. Students who view the teacher as disrespectful of students and who do not respect the teacher are more likely to cheat (Murdock & Stephens, 2007).

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