Think about how you present academic integrity in your class. All too often, academic misconduct and consequences are the sole concepts of academic integrity. Too much emphasis is weighted on a single exam/paper/project, leading to increased student pressure and the likelihood of cheating. When students have guidance on how to navigate your course, approach their studies, and reflect upon their learning, they are more motivated, more deeply engaged, and more academically successful.

Now think about your parenting style versus how you were raised. What methods did your parent or guardians use to teach you important lessons? What methods do you use on your children? Which system or methods do you feel have been the most effective in communicating values with an emphasis on the importance of those values? When you instruct your children not to do something, don’t they almost always ask you “Why?” Was your parent or guardian’s typical response, “Because I said so”, effective on your children or did they challenge your reasoning? This inquisitive thinking should be applied to discussions about academic integrity.

Provide actual reasoning as to the WHY. Communicating the rationale behind your content choices, your assignment design, and the course structure itself has been shown to improve student retention, grades, and learning outcomes (Winkelmes et al., 2016; Ou, 2018). Highlight underlying foundational values within the education system: original thought, scholarly conversation, respect, understanding, and exploration. For example, a student who can explain a concept in their own words rather than regurgitating text has truly learned that concept. When a student truly understands that concept, they can develop their own voice, and scholarly discussions can take place. This in turn allows new concepts or ideas to be developed and overall intellectual advancement.

Evaluate your learning environment. Over-emphasis on grade performance and high-stakes exams or assignments increases the likelihood of cheating (Lang 2013). Visualize a toddler sticking their hand in the cookie jar. The toddler knows they will get in trouble if caught stealing cookies without permission. Yet, if given the chance, the child might drag a chair or stool to the counter to get ahold of one of those delightful treats.

I’m not saying students are children, but the same logical approaches can be translational. Simply knowing the consequences of cheating only deters misconduct, not stopping it nor encouraging constructive behavior development. Students enrolled in courses with tests worth 50% or more of their grade are more likely to be concerned with performing well rather than learning the material, thus increasing the likelihood of misconduct (Karpicke and Roediger, 2008).

Karpicke, J.K. and Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science 319: 966-968.

Lang, James M. (2013). Cheating lessons: learning from academic dishonesty. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Ou, J. (2018). Board 75: Work in Progress: A Study of Transparent Assignments and Their Impact on Students in an Introductory Circuit Course. Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, Utah. https://peer.asee.org/30100

OSU. Designing Assessments of Student Learning. https://teaching.resources.osu.edu/teaching-topics/designing-assessments-student

Winkelmes, M., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Harriss-Weavil, K. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students’ success. Peer Review, 18(1/2).