Dear Editor,
The editorial in last month’s Scholium, “Teachers Underestimate Internet,” underscored the evolving nature of academic assignments imposed by modern technology—specifically, Episcopal’s “unexplainable naivety…when it comes to the role of the internet in take-home assignments.” My knee-jerk reaction: there’s a reason that Turnitin.com exists.
I respect the candor and curiosity expressed by the editor and wanted to continue the dialogue from a faculty perspective. Most faculty members are well aware of the plagiarizing temptation that online resources offer, particularly with the Advanced Placement curricula: free response, document based, and multiple choice questions, answers, and solutions are all readily available at the click of a button. In fact, many of us AP teachers spend time at the beginning of each school year showing our students how to navigate through AP Central’s online database of questions and solutions, along with other helpful websites. I guess you could say we show our kids where to go to cheat, but the genuine intention is to provide students with the tools to inform themselves, examine examples of exemplary vs. mediocre essays, and build fluency with problem solving.
The editor recommends that teachers should, “eliminate this (cheating) temptation (and)… stop using material that is directly recycled from the Internet.” This is not a practical option for AP courses, whose curriculum and assessments are externally dictated. Even the most experienced AP teachers, teachers who serve on Test Development Committees and design AP tests, rely heavily on the vast library of past exam questions. I am confident in exclaiming that neither I, nor any of my AP colleagues, recycles online material as “…a matter of laziness.” Rather, we strive to serve the best interests of our students and provide an authentic course curriculum, reflective of undergraduate work and undergraduate testing that mirrors the experience at the most rigorous colleges and universities across the nation.
The editor reports being shocked each time a class assignment is found online verbatim and questions “…a lack of commitment from the teachers.” Now it’s my turn to register shock: Lack of commitment? I feel incredibly fortunate to work alongside some of the most passionate and dedicated colleagues I’ve ever known, with a student body that demonstrates an exceptional level of respect and gratitude for their talented teachers.
Trolling the internet can provide us with almost anything, illicit or legitimate. Where do we factor in student accountability? Our stripes of Self-Control and Honesty? In most courses only a minor portion of a student’s grade is derived from take – home assignments, and if a student chooses to short-circuit his/her grade by cheating, they only serve to undermine themselves. A window into the mindset of teachers’ use of the Web and students’ exploitation of it are essential elements in the ongoing conversation about academic integrity, professionalism, and student responsibility.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Gray Mitchell