Jason,
Thanks for plugging philosophy. I'm strongly of the opinion that
philosophy is much less prone to plagiarism than other disciplines,
precisely because getting students to think independently is at the core
of philosophy teaching. I know of no empirical evidence to support my
apriori hypothesis, and I intend to conduct a survey of philosophy
students, using a questionnaire which has been tried out in other
disciplines. In my own, long experience (including having submitted over
500 essays to Turnitin), the rare cases I have detected always involve
students who are taking a philosophy module as an elective, or as part
of a joint-honours programme. This is not to claim that single-honours
philosophy students never plagiarise, but that if teachers of other
disciplines taught more like philosophers do, there would be much less
of a problem.
George.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Campbell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 April 2005 11:46
To: Plagiarism; George MacDonald Ross
Subject: RE: How low can it go? Oh, much much lower!
Could I take a step away from the good/bad, black/white, blame and
responsibility aspects to say that with the experience of ten years as a
university lecturer behind me, I think we have to recognise a change in
underlying culture.
1. we're now in the information age
2. we now have instant access to a plethora of information
3. we give students access to this information. Indeed, we promote
it.
4. we ask students questions
5. they turn to the information
It wasn't that long ago a student could impress with information. As a
law student into technology, I remember the thrill of turning up with
unreported case reports off Lexis. Lecturers come from an age where
finding information was a skill and an art. Making information-use
rather than information-finding the focus of learning will happen, but
it's a big oil tanker to turn around. I don't think we're doing so
badly in the UK. I also studied in France, where university law
teaching amounted to a listen, record, repeat process. There were days
when I wondered if we should ditch every subject bar philosophy, and
assume that any information needed to answer a subject-specific question
would be readily available!
I don't think a focus on good/bad lecturing is the answer. I had some
appalling lecturers as a student fifteen years ago (and some good
ones!), but as far as I'm aware, there was little plagiarism taking
place. I think it has more to do with culture and the nature of today's
learning. Cheers, Jason
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Legal Aspects of Online Learning Environments Conference/Workshop - 1-2
June, Uni of Warwick. Further details:
http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/events/06_OLE_Warwick.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Jason Campbell
JISC Legal Service Manager
University of Strathclyde
Alexander Turnbull Building
155 George Street
Glasgow G1 1RD
Tel: 0141 548 4939 (office)
Tel: 0141 548 2889 (direct)
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Plagiarism [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of George
MacDonald Ross
Sent: 19 April 2005 10:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: How low can it go? Oh, much much lower!
I don't disagree with Mike. It is a grey area, with only a few instances
of nearly pure black, and the actions of both staff and students need to
be taken into account. I wrote rather forcefully in my article, because
it was directed against a small minority of academics who deny the very
concept of plagiarism. In my view, this undermines the HE project of
getting students to think independently. I have come increasingly to
believe that students are encouraged in bad academic practice at school,
and that the key to addressing the problem lies in inducting students
into good academic practice from the moment they enter university, and
in ensuring that all teaching and assessment fosters good practice. This
requires much more radical change than adding bolt-on skills modules, or
issuing students with handbooks. As Mike says, the resolution will not
be as soon as we like.
George.
-----Original Message-----
From: Plagiarism [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mike
Reddy
Sent: 19 April 2005 09:20
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: How low can it go? Oh, much much lower!
Post-Modernism is often represented as "there is no such thing as
ownership", as George is well known for attempting to refute. However,
this is not a black and white world. We can choose to avoid the extremes
of "property is theft" OR to require that "everything is owned" -
including my DNA, which in America at least can be patented by any
doctor who took a sample and did a bit of lab work! Both positions are
valid at the same time. Neither are sufficient alone.
Essays on plagiarism are a reflection of the fact that the academic
community are discussing the issue (finally). However, I believe it's
going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better:
1) Denial - about 6 years ago
2) Panic - about 4 years ago
3) Attempted Quick Fix - 2 years ago until the present day
4) Panic - The next two years?
5) Resolution - Not as soon as we would like
6) And on to the next crisis in HE...
Stage 2 was all about the students. Stage 4 will be about the lecturers,
and may require a good deal of soul searching. However, I don't agree
that we should point the finger exclusively at lecturers - although I
have regularly gone on the record saying we should look at learning
practice and assessment strategies - or the students either - Is it just
me that gets sick of seeing 'cheat' and other emotive words being used
as if the student body are some sort of low life scum?
The world is not black and white. No matter how comfortable it is to
totally blame others, or ourselves. Hair shirts solve nothing.
Mike
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