I completely agree about the importance of academic integrity. This is not a new problem. Over the years (centuries?), faculty have implemented various procedures to prevent cheating, yet as Tricia points out, many students still find ways to cheat. It seems impractical to develop and implement a completely secure system, especially in TBL.

I advocate fostering a culture of trust between students and faculty. Faculty assume that students are honest, apply reasonable safeguards to limit cheating, and follow through with penalties for those who break this trust. This may include reminding students of any institutional honor codes. I realize this won't be 100% effective, but I have been satisfied using this approach at several institutions. I have never received complaints from students that others are cheating.

One of the advantages of TBL is that students who engage in the activity will learn the material better than those who do not. If students understand that this will help them succeed on other course exams, or standardized testing, it will encourage them to engage in the activity.

Chris


Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 14:01:13 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: IF AT problems
To: [log in to unmask]

Hello everyone - I am new to TBL but not to academic integrity so I had to weigh in on this very important discussion. 

As many as 42% of undergraduates admit to cheating at least once per year, so the actual percentage who cheat is quite high. While I think that the TBL method by itself will actually reduce the opportunities (and temptations) to cheat, cheating will still happen. That's not really the problem though. The problem occurs when educators fail to respond. Educational institutions around the world are generally failing at this and, as a result, we are graduating students who have internalized cheating as an acceptable method to get ahead and have grades that may not be reflective of the learning and abilities implied by their degree.

So, Dan is absolutely correct - not only is it important to address cheating in order to ensure a trustworthy and fair learning environment for all students, but it is absolutely critical for teaching students professional integrity. This is my area of specialty, so if anyone is interested in researching academic integrity in the TBL classroom or folding professional integrity lessons into your existing curriculum, I'd be happy to discuss with you.

Tricia Bertram Gallant, Ph.D.
Director, Academic Integrity Office
University of California, San Diego
508A Student Services Center
9500 Gilman Drive, 0069
La Jolla, CA, 92093-0069
858-822-2163
858-534-7925 (fax)
 
UCSD is an institutional member of the International Center for Academic Integrity
From: Team-Based Learning [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of DAN BROWN [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, October 20, 2013 4:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: IF AT problems

I agree with Chris that if learning is taking place we shouldn’t get hung up on issues relating to grading.  In fact, I don’t grade application exercises and find the level of engagement to be just as great as it is during tRATs, which are graded.  As long as learning occurs, I can assess it in other ways.

 

I am concerned, however, especially in a professional program, about allowing students to violate standards of academic integrity.  If there is a stated policy that teams must not share answers during a tRAT, then violations of that policy warrant commensurate student accountability.  I state clearly that such activity will result in all members of both teams receiving a zero on both the iRAT and the tRAT.  I’ve had to act on the policy only once, and the effect was profound.  I’ve seen first-hand that students who are willing to risk their own grade to “cheat” on a quiz or exam are loathe to inflict punishment on innocent classmates.  Hence, team, rather than individual, consequences serve as a powerful deterrent.  More importantly, allowing an act of dishonesty to go unpunished might inadvertently reinforce unprofessional behavior.

 

As we focus on optimizing the effectiveness of our TBL methods we should also keep in mind the development of our students from a more holistic perspective.

 

Thanks.

Dan Brown, PharmD

Director of Faculty Development

Professor of Pharmacy Practice

Palm Beach Atlantic University

MATTHEW 5:16

 

From: Team-Based Learning [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Neil Haave
Sent: Saturday, October 19, 2013 8:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: IF AT problems

 

This is where using online RATs can be an advantage. Most, if not all, LMS's have the ability to randomize answer choices and question order so that overhearing the letter choice of an adjacent team is of no use. But of course the advantage of the IFAT cards is that they are low technology and thus are not prone to technical glitches. And students really do enjoy the tactile task of scratching the answers on the cards.

 

One must be very careful to address this sort of dishonesty ASAP because it can poison the learning environment: if teams realize that others are cheating and not being penalized they could start to think that they need to cheat in order to remain competitive. No matter how much I tell my students that I do not grade on a curve, they still approach their learning from a competitive point of view.

 

My two cents.......

 

Neil Haave

Assoc Professor, Biology

University of Alberta, Augustana Campus

On Saturday, October 19, 2013, Douglas C. Anderson, Jr., Pharm.D., D.Ph., C.A.C.P. wrote:

On 10/19/2013 11:48 AM, Chris Burns wrote:

In response to a survey about TBL, over 80% of my students reported that the GRAT helped them understand the core concepts and correct misunderstandings. This is what counts.

Are one or two groups gaming the system and listening in on other groups? I don't care. When I walk around the classroom the discussions are at a high level. The vast majority of students are learning the material and developing team skills. Those that don't do the work won't get all the benefits and may not do so well on course exams.


My concern is that the effect of not doing well on the exam is going to affect some students in the groups that cheat more than others.  I'll give it a shot this week with using multiple cards.  I have 9 groups, 4 different IF AT forms.



-- 
Douglas C. Anderson, Jr., Pharm.D., D.Ph., C.A.C.P.
Professor and Chair
Department of Pharmacy Practice
Cedarville University School of Pharmacy
 
Phil 4:13



--
Neil Haave, PhD | Associate Professor, Biology | Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta | [log in to unmask] | 780-679-1506

DISCLAIMER: Any and all spelling mistakes contained in this email were inserted at the whim of my iPad