I watched the Quality Matters (QM) Quality in Action recording “Plagiarism: The Devil is in the Details” with Rebecca Graetz, an instructional designer at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Thomas More University. Graetz asked the audience what plagiarism checker they use with options like Quettext, Turnitin, Grammarly, and Ouriginal (now part of Turnitin). They chose Ouriginal at Thomas More. Graetz talked about the need to define a student’s perspective on plagiarism and introduce academic misconduct and citation etiquette. Graetz had a slide with key questions to ask faculty on plagiarism:
- Why do you think they plagiarised?
- What is a way to work with students so they know what is wrong?
- Did you have the plagiarism checker on in your assignment?
- Have you posted the Academic Honesty Policy in your syllabus?
- … and how to correct this?
Graetz shared an example of plagiarism in an ethical writing course. When they analyzed the text, Graetz noticed the plagiarism detector Ouriginal did not detect it because they edited the document with spaces, capitals, and minor edits. Wow. Graetz contacted the software company and they did confirm that that was the likely scenario. The students confessed and acknowledge what they did. However, the professor did not report the students. Graetz suggested encouraging students to get help from campus resources and sign a contract stating the understanding of plagiarism… Dr. Jerome Stuart in Creative Arts Writing Instruction at Thomas More University created a video about plagiarism while wearing devil horns. It was hilarious and also impactful. David Houston shared that they have students four weeks into the semester to submit their schedule for the final week when assignments are due. The planning is helpful; I can envision putting this into a weekly reflection. Mayra Rivera demonstrates the plagiarism checker reports and how to read them. Graetz emphasized the opportunities to discuss the importance and consequences of plagiarism.
