Guest Blogger: Bill Donohue
Here we are in Spring, and as we
all await those final student products that demonstrate student learning from
another successful semester, I know what you are thinking: “I wonder how
Donohue’s use of Turnitin that he blogged about in
January went this semester.” Fear not; I am here to give you an update!
Throughout the semester, students
were required to submit select writing assignments using the Turnitin feature
on Moodle. These assignments were ones that I have seen plagiarism in the past from
essay mills or Sparknotes.
Overall, I saw five instances of
plagiarism, two of which came from the same student. These are interesting
cases to discuss as they shed light on both teaching and learning at Lincoln.
In ENG 101, students had to write
an essay about Langston Hughes based on a close reading of his poetry and
essays. Two students submitting essays to Turnitin had high similarity scores that proved to be
opportunities for formative teaching and learning.
Both essays had sentences copied
and pasted from internet sources. One student had minimal use of plagiarized
sentences, and I addressed the issue through feedback about proper citation on
the assignment through Turnitin’s feedback studio. The other had a very high
rate copied sentences. I addition to feedback on the essay, I followed up with
the student during a writing workshop. An underlying issue for the student was
not understanding the writing assignment and the critical thinking concepts we
had been discussing and practicing building toward the essay assignment. In a
desperate attempt to submit something, the student wrote a biography of
Langston Hughes, mainly by copying from internet sources. Not only was this
teachable moment about plagiarism, but also a formative learning opportunity
regarding the more difficult concept of close reading and critical thinking.
The student revised the essay and was able to engage in the independent
thinking and writing exercise intended by the assignment (without plagiarism).
In ENG 099, there were three
instances of plagiarism for assignments related to the reading of the novel A Lesson Before Dying. Two of the plagiarized
submissions were by the same student. My
concerns are broader than difficulty with course content as seen in ENG 101.
All three plagiarized papers were
emailed to me as opposed to submitted to Turnitin, as required. Part of the
reason for need to email the assignments was that the assignments were
completed after the due date. Turnitin will not accept submission past the due
date. (The regular Moodle assignment submission function allows for a due date
and a grace period. Good to know if using one or both tools during a course). I
uploaded these emailed assignments to Turnitin for analysis and feedback. However,
the emailing of the plagiarized assignments may be an attempt at subterfuge by avoiding
the plagiarism checker altogether.
One student had
a similarity score in the green at 23%, but the plagiarism detected was enough to
fail the student. Although the assignment required analysis, a
more difficult task than writing a summary, this is a student who usually does
not have problems thinking independently and is quite vocal in class. One
reason for the plagiarism might be the desperation to submit a late assignment.
However, the student came to class high last week (smelled like marijuana;
glassy, bloodshot eyes; delayed responses; evasive). My fear is that the
student is heading down a road that will adversely affect academic performance.
The other
student emailed both a chapter summary assignment and a character analysis
assignment after the due date. Both were heavily plagiarized. The student has
been consistently inconsistent all semester. When she is on, she does quite
well. But other times, she misses class or does shoddy work, if she has
completed the work at all. Other than online feedback, I have not had a chance
to talk to the student directly, mostly because she has missed class. In an
email exchange on a different topic, she did indicate how “swamped” she is with
work, especially in trying to complete overdue work with work that is due next
week. Is this another case of plagiarism due to desperation? Does she not know
how to properly complete the assignments? Is she struggling with course
content? Is she failing at organizing and prioritizing her work? How is she
spending her time outside of class? Is she going to make it? What can I do for
this student?
Such are the
questions that keep me up at night.
One change that
I made for a final writing portfolio assignment in ENG 099 was to engage higher
level thinking skills. The straightforward character analysis that was
plagiarized by two students has been altered to an assignment where students
are placed in a position of running for sheriff in the fictional Louisiana town
where A Lesson Before Dying is set. The students need to have an understanding of
the character responsible for much of the systemic racism in the town in order
to create an argument as to why they should be sheriff instead. The critical
thinking started right away in our class discussion of the assignment when one
student asked about the time frame. Should they write in the 1940s setting of
Bayonne, Louisiana, or current day? We settled on 1940s Louisiana, but without
voting restrictions based on race or gender.
I look forward
to reading those assignments and all the final portfolios due next week from
another semester of teaching and learning.
What was your
experience with student writing and/or the use of Turnitin in your classes this
semester?
