Question: Every state has its own “law of the land” governing how things work within that state. What is this document called?
Answer: Magna Carta
Hang on, what?
Oh well – there are always a few curve balls like that when grading student work. No idea WHAT that kid was thinking when they came up with that one. On to the next paper…
Answer: Magna Carta
And the next…
Answer: Manga Carta
Well, at least that one’s a LITTLE different. Wonder if I should be reading it from right to left?
I flip through a dozen or so more… Magna Carta, Magna Cart, Magnum Carter, Magna – oh, good! Here’s one with that answer left blank and another which (almost) correctly replied that the highest source of state law is a “contution.” Full credit for that one, kid.
Copying is nearly inevitable in high school. There are ways to prevent it, but they’re not particularly practical. The most Draconian requires all work to be done in class with no talking and no technology. Even if students were in class every day and consistently finished at the same time, that would quickly get boring. Besides, I don’t actually mind my students talking a bit while they work, and I encourage them to use technology (appropriately).
It’s also possible to rework assignments so that the same material is covered in several different ways. They’re all “learning” the same stuff, but without the exact same examples in front of them. The problem with this solution is obvious – most of us can barely keep up with our workload when we’re only making one version of each assignment. Plus, I like genuine collaboration.
I can already hear my colleagues from the upscale suburbs eagerly explaining how I need to change my entire way of thinking about “school work.” Go ahead – get it off your chest.
Yes, there are all sorts of ways to design assignments so that the product consists of far more than filled-in-blanks or copied definitions. Ideally, I’d avoid questions from the text or anything that smells vaguely of “worksheet” completely – if that were realistic. At the moment, my friends, we may have to compromise – I’ll agree that your creative projects and Socratic discussions are way cooler and more pedagogically sound than my vocab crossword puzzles, and you thank the teacher gods that you work in a setting which hasn’t driven you to try things like vocab crossword puzzles.
Some of us teach in settings where project-based learning, creative group activities, or self-directed anything may be possible, but hardly flows naturally. When presented with low-performing students of dubious emotional stability and limited social skills, there are times when “old school” approaches become far more attractive than I would have suspected a few short years ago.
So, I explain things with visuals as support (i.e., “lecturing”). I read the material out loud while they follow along. And many of our assignments strive for basic content retention – nothing grander.
I’ll give you a moment to either pity or judge me before I continue.
My kids aren’t “stupid” – they simply don’t come from worlds which prepare them for “let’s break into groups and role-play some of the non-military issues sparked by the Civil War.” On the other hand, most aren’t particularly hungry for content knowledge. Those who care about their grades are primarily concerned with “getting it done” rather than self-directed learning journeys in which the teacher is merely a helpful “guide on the side.”
I don’t mean to sound bitter. I’m not. Well… not much. Most days.
I rarely get asked depth questions about anything we’re covering. At best, I get protests thinly disguised as inquiries – “What are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to write? Is this good enough? Can I finish this at home?”
That last one is code for, “Can I just not do this and you leave me alone?” In reality, most interactions as I walk around the room are driven by their hope that if they act interested for a few minutes, I’ll move on and bother someone else.
Still, some of them genuinely hope to pass – which brings us back around to copying.
As with so many other forms of cheating, I used to wish they wouldn’t do it. Now I just wish they’d do it better.
If you’re going to cut and paste from the internet, at least take out hyperlinks and phrases like “that’s why this website was created.” It’s also best to avoid verbiage you’d never actually use yourself, and may not even understand.
Prompt: What led to the formation of the Populist Party in the late 19th century?
Answer: A vibrant industrial economy catapulted the nation to a world leader in mining and manufacturing; the agricultural sector overcame organizational and technological challenges to increase productivity; and the innovations in financial, accounting, and marketing methods laid the foundation for a powerful economy that would dominate the globe in the 20th century. The emergence of this economy, however, did not come without challenges. Workers in both the industrial and agricultural sectors offered an alternative path for the American economy in the form of labor strikes and populist reforms; their attempts to disrupt the growing concentration of wealth and power played out in both the polls and the factory floor.
When I get this from Kevin, the same kid who got credit for “contution” a few questions ago, I can’t help but suspect he’s done a little “independent research” in order to get his answer.
The fun part comes when I find the exact text he’s used and point it out to him. Over half the time, students will insist that they didn’t copy from the internet. The similarity is purely coincidental – or perhaps the internet copied from them. Some grow quite agitated and defensive, which is either amusing or just weird, depending on how much sleep you had the night before.
Just to complicate matters, answers used on ‘cheat’ sites are often copied from the same source, or perhaps from one another. That means that while I may have located the plagiarized paragraph on StudyHelp.com, the student remains confident in their denial because they know darn well it came from CheaterCheater.com and so I clearly can’t prove anything!
Other times, someone has clearly done the original assignment (which everyone else has copied) using the assigned materials. I can tell they’ve pulled words and phrases from the text, it’s just that they apparently had no idea (or interest in) what they meant.
Question: According to Andrew Jackson, what were FIVE reasons Indian Removal would be good for (white) Americans?
1) put an end to dangerous collision
2) whites strengthen the frontier
3) financial advantage
4) mississippi and western alabama of indians
5) place a dense and civilized in place of the savages
Please understand that I’m not belittling the student who wrote these answers, bizarre though they may be. At least whoever it was actually did the work (well, sort of) – unlike the majority of their classmates that day. I might even be willing to dig back through the text and try to discern where they came up with some of these fragmented thoughts and phrases in hopes of giving them partial credit. That’s not what makes me crazy.
What makes me crazy is that I’m currently looking at 17 copies of the exact same contorted responses, word for word. That means that at least 16 times after someone first scrawled this unique take on Indian Removal, other students WHO ARE ALL PERFECTLY SMART ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE WHETHER OR NOT SOMETHING MAKES ANY SENSE copied these responses precisely without letting the words penetrate far enough into their brains to send up a few red flags.
I’m not proud when I tell you that I’ve several times suggested to entire classrooms of students that they focus on copying from someone with a higher grade than themselves because I’m less likely to notice when more answers are correct. Sure, it was partly sarcastic – but only partly.
And therein lies the inherent flaw with the whole copying strategy. Students who actually read the material and make an effort to do well are far less likely to snap that pic when finished and begin the eternal circle of sharing. That means that most of the time, students unwilling to do their own work are not only copying, they’re copying work that sucks to begin with.
Still, I’m certain there are a few in the mix who are at least capable of giving decent answers for me to read over and over and over again. Perhaps if I suggested they divvy up the assignments like the AP kids did at my old school – you know, “divide and conquer”?
I know, I know… they should all do their own work, or at least collaborate in some meaningful way rather than partake in meaningless transcription. But I’m told it’s important we give our kids input and a sense of “ownership” over their own learning, so I’m trying to be open to a little compromise here. I even tried seeking solutions from the students themselves – an informal writing assignment to get their input and ideas on how to reduce copying.
I’ve been reading through their submissions. At least one of them (I’m not sure who) had some pretty good ideas, despite their distinctive spelling and grammar errors. The good news is, most of the class must agree with their suggestions – given how many of them turned in the exact same list.