I was usually the student who was cheated off of rather than being the one who cheated off a classmate. Once in junior high I knew one of my classmates was looking at my test so I purposely wrote down the wrong answers. After he turned in his test, I erased what I had and wrote down the correct answers. He was so confused when he got his test back with an F. In that same class my teacher gave us a take home history test and I googled the questions word for word and the entire test popped up with the answers. (Teachers using online tests rather than their own questions just makes it easier for students to cheat)
Another time I let one of my good friends look at my pre- algebra homework right before first period when we had that class and my teacher caught him. My teacher gave us a huge spiel how her niece was denied valedictorian because she let someone cheat off her. We still remember that to this day and kind of just laugh.
I think in today's society it is acceptable for students to cheat at least once in their lifetime. Students forget a worksheet in their locker, or they had a night game and were too tired to do it. I feel like people's lives are crazy and it is bound to happen. Another reason I have cheated in the past is because I felt like the assignments or quizzes were pointless such as online multiple choice questions over chapters to read. If teachers make the questions open ended to include student perspectives of the information and allow them to apply it to their own life, I think students would be less likely to cheat. I found a list of 14 reasons why students cheat that I find very accurate. I disagree a little in the order of reasons, which I will explain why later. Here is the list.
1. Ignorance or miseducation
2. Lack of research and information literacy skills
3. Confusion about how to cite sources
4. Careless note taking
5. Pressure to get good grades, competition or fear of failure
6. Education as a commodity
7. Lack of knowledge or misconception of copyright, intellectual property or public domain
8. The culture of downloading and sharing
9. Students as "natural economizers"
10. Poor time management and organizational skills
11. Lack of confidence in writing ability
12. The thrill of rule-breaking
13. The social acceptance of cheating
14. Assignments that students see as pointless or trivial
In my opinion I most time students cheat, they know they cheat. I think that the second half of reasons should really be at the top of the list. An explanation for each reason and the list can be found at http://www.ryerson.ca/academicintegrity/faculty/whycheat/pointless.html. What were some reasons you have cheated in the past? How will you handle cheating in your future classroom?
I know throughout my school years there are numerous times that I have cheated along with multiple instances that I knew I was being cheated off of. My main reason for cheating was because I felt as if I had not prepared myself well enough when it came to the material. Or I just plain did not understand it, especially if it was english, not my strong subject. I feel like another reason that students cheat is that this generation is just plain lazy. We have so much technology at out finger tips that we have become lazy and do not want to think for ourselves. I know when it comes to cheating in my future classroom... I will not allow it, students need to learn to think for themselves and cheating is one way that stops this from happening.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to comment on Kamry's comment. I will also not allow cheating in my future classroom. It's important for students to learn how to be successful on their own, without creating shortcuts or cheating to get by. If someone cheats to get through their entire school years, that lifestyle will career over into adulthood and they'll cheat to get by in the real world. Not okay. ....in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI would never allow, or tolerate cheating in my future classrooms either. I was once in a compromising position, I constantly did my work for an honors class that my best friend never worked at and got caught when she cheated off me, we both received zeros. Although upsetting, this taught me to respect that teacher and helped me learn ways around cheating to be successful.
ReplyDelete