How to Promote Academic Integrity in Your Classroom
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Write down the policy. Include in the course syllabus a statement about the University's policy on academic honesty, adding a description of what is and is not acceptable behavior in this particular classroom. (Refer to Rights and Responsibilities, Section 4.)
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Say it out-loud. Review this information, particularly what constitutes integrity in your course, during the first lecture or class session. Also reviewing expectations before each quiz and exam is a helpful reminder to students to maintain their integrity.
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Get to know your students. Students who feel connected to their instructors are more likely to ask for help when they need it; in turn, instructors who know their students can tell when work handed in is not original. Such relationships foster mutual learning and understanding, and encourage students to do their best.
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When assigning papers, give clear guidelines about the rules of proper citation. Do not assume that all of our students have been sufficiently educated about the basics of writing a research paper; many have not. Refer them to style manuals or other documents that will help them develop their own ideas and cite other works properly.
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In laboratory work, help students avoid fabrication of data. A failed experiment may not produce the results students are expecting. The pressure on students to come up with viable data can be alleviated by allowing time for replication of the experiment, offering a set of usable data or encouraging students to prepare a report discussing the factors that influenced the experiment.
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Require students to develop their own ideas and substantiate them. Consider shaping assignments that force students to explore the information they use through analysis or comparison. The Center for Academic Integrity suggests assigning research topics that are narrow and specific, and requiring students to submit drafts and outlines prior to the final due date.
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Enable Turnitin. Turnitin can be used for any assignment submission through Latte. The system compares student work to other sources across the web as well as institutional repositories from Brandeis and beyond. View the instructions on enabling Turnitin within LATTE.